Category Archives: Retail

Other - Retail, Retail

Salem, VA – Storage room fire at Big Lots store doused by sprinkler system

On Saturday, the Salem Fire & EMS Department responded to a fire at the Big Lots retail store located at 1227 West Main Street. According to authorities, it happened at approximately 10:39 a.m.. The fire was contained to a storage room in the back of the building, however, the store did sustain some smoke damage.

Officials said the first units arrived within four minutes of receiving the call and found heavy smoke in the back of the structure. The majority of the fire had been extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system. Crews were able to bring the fire under control within five minutes of arrival, officials said.

It took crews approximately 30 minutes to remove the smoke from the building. Approximately 17 personnel from the Salem Fire & EMS Department (Engine 1, Engine 2, Engine 3, Tower 1, Medic 802, Medic 803 & Command 1) responded to the call. The fire remains under investigation by the Salem Fire & EMS Fire Marshal’s Office, and there is no damage estimate at this time.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Knoxville, TN – Grocery store fire put out by sprinkler system; Store quickly returns to normal operations

Fire crews filled the parking lot at a North Knoxville grocery store Monday night after a vent fire in a back bathroom filled the store with smoke. The call came just before 10 p.m. at Kroger, 2217 N. Broadway, in the Broadway Shopping Center. Crews say the fire appeared to have started accidentally in an electrical vent in a back bathroom. The store’s sprinkler did its job and put the fire out.

The store filled with smoke and 20 people were evacuated. Investigators say no one was injured. Knoxville Fire Department spokesman Capt. D.J. Corcoran says fire inspectors were called to the scene to address inventory storage practices as store stock was blocking the cutoff for the sprinkler system.

The store later returned to normal operations

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Jerome, ID – Fire officials credit sprinkler system after early morning fire at market

Jerome fire officials are crediting a store’s fire suppression system for preventing what could have been a major disaster Sunday.

According to the City of Jerome fire crews were called to Ridley’s Family Market at around 6 a.m. to a report of a fire. Jerome Police arrived and found smoke and fire in a back room not open to the public. The store was quickly evacuated before fire crews arrived on scene. The fire spread quickly with help from combustible material inside the store. But, within several minutes the sprinkler system kicked in and halted the spread of the blaze.

Once fire crews arrived they searched for any hidden fires and didn’t find any. Investigators believe the fire was accidental. Officials say that the business was able to open several hours after the fire thanks to the sprinkler systems. The City of Jerome says this is the second building saved by a sprinkler system in the last 18 months.

Other - Retail, Retail

Henderson, NV – Overnight fire at PetSmart store contained by sprinkler system; No animals injured

No animals were injured this morning after a fire this morning in the laundry room of a Henderson PetSmart. The Henderson Fire Department responded around 1 a.m. to the facility at 286 W. Lake Mead Pkwy., according to a Henderson news release. An employee working overnight discovered the fire and called 9-1-1.  The first arriving engine crew observed heavy smoke coming from the facility’s laundry room. The clothes dryer was the source of the fire, and crews extinguished it.

The building’s sprinkler system was activated and helped contain the fire. The store was closed at the time. There are about 80 pets at the facility.  Five engines, two trucks and two rescue units responded. There were no injuries.  The cause of the fire was determined to be accidental. Total loss is estimated at $5,000.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Las Vegas, NV – Fire at strip mall contained to bathroom with help from sprinkler

A business in the southwest part of the valley was damaged Saturday night in a fire.

Around 8:30 p.m., the Clark County Fire Department responded to a report of a fire at 8090 S. Durango Drive, near Windmill Lane. Upon arrival,  personnel reported a single-story strip mall with a small volume of smoke coming from the structure.

Crews forced entry and made an offensive fire attack. The fire was found in Suite 111, the location of Prime Social Marketing, in a bathroom. Crews knocked down the fire with the aid of sprinkler activation.

Firefighters were able to prevent extension to other suites of the building. The fire is under investigation. Damages have not been estimated.

There were no injuries reported.

Other - Retail, Retail

Shrewsbury, MA – Suspicious fire at nail salon controlled with help from sprinkler system

A fire inside a Shrewsbury nail salon located in the White City Plaza has been deemed suspicious by authorities after they discovered flames inside the business early Tuesday. The Shrewsbury Fire Department said firefighters were called to 20 Boston Turnpike around 1:40 a.m. for a water flow alarm. Firefighters found the front door at Creative Nails & Spa, located at 50 Boston Turnpike, had been shattered.

“There was smoke from an interior fire and water from the sprinkler system coming out of the structure,” the fire department posted on Facebook. “Firefighters quickly deployed an attack hand line, made entry and extinguished the fire.”

The sprinkler system was shut down after the fire was brought under control. The damage caused by the fire was limited to the nail salon. The fire is under investigation by Shrewsbury Police and the State Police Fire and Explosion Investigative Section.

Auto Dealership, Retail

Elgin, IL – (NO MEDIA COVERAGE) Sprinklers limit spread of fire at car dealership

*** NO MEDIA COVERAGE — FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORTED **

On Sunday February 28, 2016 at 1920 hours, the Elgin Fire Department responded to 1385 E. Chicago Street (Biggers Chevrolet) for flames visible from the roof. Elgin Police Department units arrived first and confirmed there was fire on the roof.  Police and fire units were delayed getting into the property due to the presence of security gates.

The fire response was upgraded to a Box Alarm level bringing in seven additional area fire departments. The fire was quickly extinguished and upon initial investigation the buildings sprinkler system had activated confining the fire and limiting its spread.  Additionally, ladder companies accessed the roof and found fire extension around a vent stack which was also quickly confined and extinguished.  The fire was brought under control in approximately 40 minutes.

The damage was confined to a heating unit in the Shop area, a spray booth and the roof covering. The preliminary damage report is estimated to be approximately $40,000 to the structure and contents.  No vehicles were damaged during this event.

Elgin Fire Department investigators were called to determine the cause and the origin of the fire and no firefighters or civilians were injured due to this event.

Other - Retail, Retail

Canton, MI – Sprinkler system helps saves salon in Victorian building from fire

A Canton salon and spa owner has refused to let a fire and water damage shut down her business in a two-story Victorian building in Cherry Hill Village. “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass,” said Melissa Huetter, owner of Indigo Salon, Spa & Boutique. “It’s all about perseverance and resilience.”

Huetter was out of town — hundreds of miles away — when she got word that a second-story fire occurred about 4 a.m. Friday, Feb. 12, inside Indigo Salon. She caught a flight home within hours. Huetter said there was speculation the fire was electrical, but an official cause hasn’t been determined.

The fire set off an alarm and a sprinkler system that doused the blaze before Canton firefighters arrived. “If the sprinkler system hadn’t been there,” Deputy Fire Chief Chris Stoecklein said, “that building could have been a total loss.”

Because the fire occurred about 4 a.m., Stoecklein said, the salon, located at Cherry Hill and Ridge roads, could have been engulfed in flames before anyone noticed it. Still, Huetter said the sprinkler system caused widespread water damage to 50-60 percent of her salon because it sent water from the second floor throughout much of the west side of the building.

The fire forced the salon to close for the busy Valentine’s Day weekend, but Huetter reopened the following Tuesday. Repairs are continuing, but Huetter and her 36 employees have managed to resume full service ranging from massages to facials to body waxing. She said the east side of the building wasn’t damaged like the west side. The entire spa side was untouched.

“We are still offering everything that we originally offered,” Huetter said. “We are just doing it with modified logistics.”

Retail, Shopping Mall

Scottsdale, AZ – Overnight fire at strip mall minimized by sprinkler system

Functioning sprinkler systems and work from the Scottsdale and Tempe fire departments helped keep a strip mall fire to a minimum overnight. Crews responded to a reported fire near Scottsdale Road and McDowell where they found smoke on the inside of the building. Firefighters found a small fire inside, but fortunately, the sprinklers were keeping it from spreading further. No one was inside the building at the time and no injuries were reported. At this time, there is no word on what caused the fire.

Other - Retail, Retail

Anchorage, AK – Sprinkler system helps firefighters contain fire at auto repair shop

A sprinkler system helped firefighters quickly control a fire at Alaska Transmission and Gear near Arctic Boulevard and Dowling Road, the department says. “When we arrived, there was just light smoke showing,” Anchorage Fire Department spokesman John See said of the 12:49 p.m. fire at 5901 Arctic Boulevard. The flames were contained to contents inside the business and did not necessarily burn the structure, See said. The fire was under control within minutes, he said. It’s unclear how the fire began.