Other - Retail, Retail Benton Twp, MI – Arson fire at thrift store extinguished by sprinkler system July 24, 2015 viking210 A thrift store fire in Benton Township has now been declared an arson. According to our reporting partners at Herald Palladium, the fire broke out just before 5 p.m. Sunday at the Valueland thrift store in the 1800 block of m-139. Police now believe that the fire was set to the store to try and cover up a robbery after money was missing from the store office where the fire started. The fire was quickly put out by the store’s sprinkler system.
Other - Retail, Retail Bixby, OK – Sprinklers contain fire at bicycle shop after truck crashes into building July 11, 2015 viking210 Bixby crews were on the scene of a fire at Bixby Bicycles after a pickup truck crashed inside around 5 a.m. Saturday. The deputy chief with Bixby fire told said the businesses at The Market Place Center were without water until just before 10 Saturday morning. Crews blocked off the rear exit of Bixby Bicycles where the pickup truck crashed through the building near 111th and Memorial. The deputy chief said that it was the sprinkler system that kept the fire from spreading to the other units. The crash didn’t cause any structural damage to the strip mall. The bicycle shop was supposed to open at 10 this morning, but the owner says they’re still open for business. He says they have a warehouse on the other side of their bicycle shop that they can operate out of. Police are searching for the driver who crashed into the building.
Other - Retail, Retail Portsmouth, NH – Sprinkler system limits damage in overnight fire at auto body shop July 9, 2015 viking210 A radio likely sparked an early morning fire at an auto body shop that would have caused about $100,000 in damage, if not for a working sprinkler system, said Fire Chief Steve Achilles. Firefighters responded to the Portsmouth Autobody Center at 4:36 a.m. Wednesday when an alarm sounded from the 700 Peverly Hill Road business, said the fire chief. When they arrived, it took firefighters about 15 minutes to locate the fire because it was in back of the main building, inside a separate 200-foot by 120-foot metal building, Achilles said. Firefighters had to force their way into the locked and smoke-filled building and one firefighter injured his hand while making entry, according to Achilles. He was treated at Portsmouth Regional Hospital and released, the chief said. Once inside, firefighters “used a line to knock down the remaining fire,” said Achilles. An investigation concluded with a theory that a radio, or a wire to a radio, started the fire inside a storage cabinet, Achilles said. No vehicles or people were in the building at the time, he said.
Other - Retail, Retail Kent, WA – Sprinkler system stops fire at car audio business June 14, 2015 viking210 2 Comments A business’s sprinkler system stopped a fire from spreading and limited damage in the 25900 block of 104 Avenue Southeast, the Kent Fire Department RFA reported. The car audio business was closed when the initial call came in for a sprinkler water flow alarm at 7:36 p.m. When the first engine from Kent Fire arrived, they found water and smoke coming from the business, which was at the end of a strip mall. Firefighters entered the building and found a small fire that had been extinguished by the sprinkler system. It was the water coming from the sprinkler heads that set off the alarm. The presence of the sprinkler system kept the fire from causing more damage or spreading to adjacent businesses. A small amount of water was found in the next business, which had seeped from the affected area. The cause of the fire is under investigation. There were no injuries.
Other - Retail, Retail Spokane, WA – Sprinkler system keeps fire from spreading at tanning salon June 7, 2015 viking210 A Spokane, Washington woman is okay after her tanning bed caught fire with her inside while at the tanning salon. The woman said she heard a sizzling noise, then saw plastic from the bed bubbling up near her feet and that’s when she quickly got out. An employee called 911. When firefighters arrived the tanning bed was engulfed in flames. A sprinkler system kept the fire from spreading. The salon owner says the tanning bed was about five years old. The fire chief at the scene says another tanning bed caught fire last year at a different tanning salon in town.
Other - Retail, Retail West Lebanon, NH – Overnight fire at furniture store extinguished by sprinkler system June 2, 2015 viking210 The Lebanon Fire Department is investigating a fire that took place in the early morning on Sunday inside a West Lebanon furniture store. Firefighters went to Defelice Furniture at 35 Main St. in West Lebanon at 3:39 a.m. Sunday, when a passerby reported the water motor for the building’s sprinkler system was ringing, Lebanon Fire Chief Chris Christopoulos said in a news release Sunday. After seeing water flowing from the sprinkler system, firefighters forced entry into the building and found evidence of a fire occurred on a desk on the showroom floor. The fire had been extinguished by the fire sprinkler system before firefighters arrived. Though not considered suspicious, the fire is under investigation.
Other - Retail, Retail Meridian, MS – Fire at Salvation Army store extinguished by sprinkler system June 1, 2015 viking210 The Salvation Army Thrift Store in Meridian suffered an overnight fire. “It seems it has wiped out our entire contents, either with water damage or the smoke damage,” said Salvation Army commander, Maj. Glenn Riggs. “So, we’re in a real difficult situation because we have to close and reset.” Riggs says the building suffered minor damage and the fire was luckily put out by the sprinkler system. Riggs says it hasn’t been confirmed, but it appears the fire was electrical and started around the cashier’s pod. Cleanup and clearing are the first tasks to be completed. After that, Riggs says The Salvation Army will need the public’s help. “We can’t open with an empty store,” said Riggs. “We do sell the items and the reason we sell them is, we sell them to those who can afford them, so we are able to give items to those who cannot.” Riggs says he is asking that the community be patient for the moment as the organization works to recover from the tragedy. He said he hopes when the store opens again, the community will be generous with donations. The Salvation Army Thrift Store will be closed until further notice and no donations can be accepted at this time. However, the donations of sellable items will be welcomed in a few weeks.
Other - Retail, Retail Woods Cross, UT – Sprinklers limit damage in overnight fire at retail store May 30, 2015 viking210 Officials said a fire at a local business could have been much worse if sprinklers weren’t in place. The South Davis Metro Fire Department said a “water flow alarm” alerted them to the flames at about 11 p.m. When crews got to the “Candle Warmers Etc.” building near 19th W. and 24th S., they found the sprinklers were already putting out the fire. “The sprinklers obviously put the fire out and they do a great job of that and that’s why buildings like these are required to have sprinklers,” Fire Chief Dave Powers said. “So most of the damage now is just the water damage caused by the sprinklers going off and a little bit of the burn from the fire.” Officials said it appears the fire was an accident; investigators are working to determine the cause.
Other - Retail, Retail Winston-Salem, NC – Sprinkler system contains storage room fire at furniture store May 30, 2015 viking210 The fire started about 10 a.m. in a rack storage area at the rear of the Colfax Furniture and Mattress store at 801 Silas Creek Parkway, said Battalion Chief Jeff Henley of the Winston-Salem Fire Department. No one was injured. The building’s sprinkler system helped contain the fire, Henley said. It took 31 firefighters about 30 minutes to put out the fire. The store’s employees and its customers left the store safely after the fire began, Henley said. Investigators are trying to determine how the fire started, Henley said. He didn’t have an estimate of how much damage the fire caused. The store’s warehouse manager first heard a muffled explosion or some type of loud noise shortly after the store opened at 10 a.m., said Jackson Braswell, the store’s manager. That employee then saw a rug burning, Braswell said. The sprinkler system was activated, and someone called 911. “The most important thing is that everyone got out safe,” Braswell said. “The sprinklers did their job.” Braswell didn’t immediately know how soon the store will reopen. “We will be back up and running as soon as we can,” Braswell said.
Other - Retail, Retail Ventura, CA – Sprinklers help contain arson fire at commercial retail complex May 27, 2015 viking210 Two structure fires were knocked down in Ventura Tuesday morning, officials said. The first fire, which was determined to be arson, was reported at 2:28 a.m. in the 9200 block of Telephone Road. The facade of a commercial retail complex on Telephone Road was purposely set on fire in the first incident, officials said. Responding crews discovered an exterior commercial sign in flames that had lapped onto the adjacent exterior wall of the building, officials said. The blaze triggered a fire sprinkler that held the fire in check.
