Category Archives: Townhouse / Condominium

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Frisco, CO – Sprinkler system activated for fire at condominium; No injuries reported

Fire crews responded to a fire at a condominium off Frisco Main Street around 4 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 8, according to Summit Fire & EMS.

The fire protection district responded after it received an alert of sprinkler water flow at the Bear’s Den Condos Building B on Granite Street in Frisco, Summit Fire & EMS spokesperson Steve Lipsher said. A battalion chief arrived on scene moments later to find that all of the occupants had evacuated the building and one unit on the upper floor was filled with smoke, Lipsher said.

The fire had triggered a single sprinkler head, which “did its job perfectly” and kept the fire from spreading, Lipsher said. No one was in the unit at the time, so “if it weren’t for that sprinkler, the fire certainly could have become a more significant problem,” he said.

Three engines, a fire truck and two medic units responded to the scene and checked for any extension of the fire but found none, Lipsher said. Power, gas and waterflow to the buildling were turned off. It was determined that the fire had been limited to the one condominium unit but that two units below it had been damaged by water, he said.

No one was injured. Fire crews could not provide an immediate estimate on the extent of property damage. The cause of the fire remains under investigation but it is not believed to be suspicious, Lipsher said.

“All things considered, these sprinkler systems when they do work as they’re designed, they really do make a big difference,” Lipsher said. “We’re really thankful there was no injuries.”

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Calgary, AB, Canada – Sprinkler system activated for cigarette fire on condo balcony; No injuries reported

A condo building in northwest Calgary had to be fully evacuated on Wednesday morning due to a balcony fire.

The Calgary Fire Department (CFD) says crews were called to a four-story residential building on Royal Oak Plaza NW near Country Hills Boulevard NW and Royal Birch Boulevard NW around 7:50 a.m.

Fire crews arrived to find a fire on a south facing balcony on the fourth floor. Officials say an outdoor balcony sprinkler activated and contained most of the fire.

The fire department says flames made their way into the attic space of the unit. The resident of the unit made attempts to extinguish the blaze but found it was too large.

“Fire crews hit the fire quickly with a master stream from a deck gun and then also deployed other apparatus including a ladder truck to continue firefighting efforts,” reads a release from CFD.

The entire 120 unit building was evacuated. The resident in the unit that caught fire escaped without injuries. Officials say no other injuries were reported.

Officials say one resident slept through the entire incident because he was wearing noise cancelling headphones.

“This is an important reminder that if people choose to use devices that significantly diminish their senses, this can put them at significant risk of missing lifesaving signals that there is an emergency and that they need to evacuate the building immediately,” reads the release.

CFD says most residents were being allowed back into their units by Wednesday afternoon.

Investigators determined the fire was unintentional and was cause by a cigarette butt being put in a planter pot. The fire department is reminding smokers to adhere to the following guidelines when disposing of smoking materials:

  • Use a deep, wide, sturdy metal container with a lid, filled part way with sand or water that should be emptied regularly.
  • Ensure all butts and ash are out by soaking them with water prior to putting in the trash.
  • Never put out cigarettes or smoking material in flower planter, peat moss, your lawn or garden.
  • Extreme caution should be used in the city’s natural areas and green spaces where extremely dry vegetation covering the ground provides readily combustible fuel if an ignition source is applied.
Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Forest Hill, MD – Sprinkler system activated for microwave fire in condominium

A microwave started a fire at a condominium building in Harford County, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal.

A neighbor of the occupant heard a smoke alarm and later discovered the occupant inside her apartment with heavy smoke, fire officials said. Another neighbor assisted her out of the apartment.

Neighbors exited their units after the fire alarm sounded, according to fire officials. One fire sprinkler activated and contained the fire within and around the microwave in the unit with minimal fire damage.

Water damage affected two units, including the unit of origin and the unit directly below, fire officials said.

Acting State Fire Marshal Jason M. Mowbray stated, “Residential fire sprinklers are proven to save lives, prevent injuries, and protect property and valuables. This is yet another example of how the presence of an automatic fire sprinkler system protected occupants and prevented substantial fire damage to residential property.”

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Bowie, MD – Sprinkler system activated for fire at condo building; No injuries reported

Four residents and multiple dogs had to be rescued from a burning condo building in Prince George’s County on Monday afternoon.

Prince George’s County Fire and EMS first tweeted about the fire around 1:40 p.m. The fire burned through a condo building in the 15600 block of Everglade Lane in Bowie.

The fire department responded just after 1 p.m. Heavy flames were showing through a second and third floor balcony and spread to the roof.

Percy Jacobs was working on a friends apartment across the street when it happened.

“I heard a loud sound, it sounded like a gunshot,” Jacobs said. “I looked out the window and saw a man leaving. Then I saw the flames on the first floor porch, then spread to second floor, then to the third floor.”

Jacobs said he called 911, then noticed people still inside the building.

“I asked 911, ‘Should I go over there? Should I knock on doors and get people out?’ They said, ‘No, stay where you are,'” he said.

“But that is hard. It’s hard to not help when lives are in danger.”

Fire crews got to the scene within minutes.

Four residents and multiple dogs had to be rescued from two different balconies, but no injuries have been reported.

The American Red Cross is on scene to help the affected residents. As many as 12 families were seeking assistance from the Red Cross. It’s not clear if there were more people displaced who didn’t need their help.

The building was equipped with a sprinkler system.

Eighty firefighters were involved in putting out the blaze.

No other details have been released.

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Winnipeg, MB, Canada – Sprinkler system activated for fire at condo building; No injuries reported

No one was injured following a fire Monday evening in a Leila North condo building. 

The fire broke out just after 8 p.m. in a four-storey condo building in the 1200 block of Leila Avenue.

The condo’s sprinkler system knocked out most of the fire before crews arrived. Firefighters finished putting out the fire and it was declared under control about an hour later.

Residents took shelter in the lobby while crews put the fire out. No one was injured.

It’s believed the fire was accidental, related to lithium-ion batteries.

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Kelowna, BC, Canada – Sprinkler system activated for fire in condo; No injuries reported

A condo building fire Sunday night in Kelowna left water damage to multiple units.

Platoon Capt. Robert Skeldon with the Kelowna Fire Department says crews were called about 8:45 p.m. to the building at 1740 Richter St.

Crews arrived to find heavy smoke coming from a single unit on the third floor, with water in the hallway.

Firefighters found signs of an obvious fire inside the unit, with two sprinkler activations.

There was no fire extension to the rest of the building, however there was water damage to multiple units, says Skeldon.

A search was conducted to ensure all occupants were safely out of the building.

There were no injuries in the incident.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but is not considered suspicious.

KFD responded with four engines, a rescue unit, ladder truck, command unit, and 20 personnel.

RCMP, paramedics and emergency support services assisted at the scene.

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Calgary, AB, Canada – Sprinkler system extinguishes car fire at condo building parkade

Residents were evacuated from a 25-unit condo building in the city’s northeast Tuesday morning after a car went up in flames in the underground parkade.

Firefighters were called to the building in the 7000 block of 80th Avenue N.E. at around 8:45 a.m.

The building’s sprinkler system extinguished the fire but residents were displaced due to smoke and carbon monoxide concerns.

As of 10 a.m., ventilation of the building was underway and fire officials expected residents would be permitted to return in short time.

A Calgary Transit bus provided shelter to some of the displaced while others entered a neighbouring building within the complex for a reprieve from the frigid weather.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Apartment Building, Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Somerville, MA – Sprinkler systems activated for two separate fires

Sprinkler systems in two Somerville buildings prevented serious fires this past week during the early morning hours while occupants were asleep, accoding to Somerville Fire Department’s Chief Engineer Charles Breen Jr.

On Friday, Oct. 28t at 4:25 a.m. the Somerville Fire Department was notified of a fire alarm activation via a building alarm system which was directly connected to the city fire alarm box system.

Firefighters were dispatched to 32 Kent Street, a 40 unit, four story wood frame apartment building. Firefighters encountered smoke on the fourth floor and forced entry into a 4th floor apartment. They found a man on the floor inside and removed him to safety. He was taken to the hospital.

Sprinklers confined the fire to one room in the apartment and firefighters completed extinguishment. Due to water damage, the building was evacuated and all occupants were temporarily displaced. The cause of the fire was determined to be accidental due to smoking.

On Sunday, Oct. 30, the department was notified of a fire alarm activation from an alarm monitoring company at 4:09 a.m.

Firefighters were dispatched to an address on Lake Street and arrived to find a sprinkler head operating in a ground level garage in a row of three story town houses.

One sprinkler head confined the fire to a very limited area in the garage and, after verifying that the fire was out, crews were able to clear the scene in 15 minutes.

The cause of the fire was determined to be an unattended candle that had ignited nearby combustible items.

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Madison, WI – Sprinkler system extinguishes cooking fire in condo

A cooking fire that broke out in an east side condo was quickly extinguished by an automatic fire sprinkler, minimizing damage and preventing fire-related injuries to occupants and firefighters.

Crews were sent to the 5300 block of Congress Avenue for reports of fire in a condo unit. Engine Co. 11 entered and found there had been a small cooking contained to a pan on the stovetop. An occupant was heating vegetable oil in the pan when it ignited. The occupant reflexively put water on the fire, which caused the fire to flare up rather than extinguish. The flare-up created more smoke and heat, triggering an automatic fire sprinkler to activate from above. The fire was extinguished by the fire sprinkler before firefighters arrived.

There was minimal smoke damage in the kitchen and no damage to nearby countertops or cabinets. The exhaust vent above the stove did suffer some fire-related damage.

Firefighters cleared remaining smoke from the unit and cleaned up some of the water. Property managers were notified of the incident and given guidance on what steps to take to restore alarm and sprinkler systems following the fire.

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Bullhead City, AZ – Sprinkler system activated for fire at condominium; No injuries reported

On Tuesday evening, April 19, 2022, at approximately 6:07 PM, several BCFD units were dispatched to a report of a possible structure fire on the 200 block of Moser Ave. The first arriving crew reported a multi-story condominium with smoke showing out of a single unit. Crews quickly confirmed that the unit was unoccupied and were able to gain access through the front door. Fortunately, the building is equipped with an automatic sprinkler system, which properly activated, contained, and extinguished the fire before it was able to spread. No injuries were reported during this incident, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation at this time.

Firefighters attribute the working automatic sprinkler system to saving lives and property. Due to the location of this fire, it could have extended into the living spaces of the surrounding units, causing extensive damage.