Category Archives: Shopping Mall

Retail, Shopping Mall

Mill Woods, AB, Canada – Activated sprinkler system assist firefighters in containing shopping mall store fire

The Millbourne Market Mall in Mill Woods was forced to close Sunday after a fire in the kitchen of a restaurant. Fire crews responded to Remelies Cuisine in the area of 76 Street and 38 Avenue around 12 p.m. after the sprinkler system activated during a fire.  Firefighters contained the blaze to the kitchen and put it out quickly.  Officials said no one was hurt.  The mall is closed for the rest of Sunday, and the fire is under investigation.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Greenville, DE – Overnight jewelry store fire controlled by sprinkler system

A building fire that caused about $100,000 in damages to the Jewelry Exchange of Delaware in Greenville was deemed accidental, according to the State Fire Marshal’s Office.  The fire, which happened around 2:30 a.m. at the Greenville Crossing II Shopping Center on Kennett Pike, prompted the response of the Talleyville Fire Company, said Assistant State Fire Marshal Michael Chionchio. Investigators determined that the fire started in the back of the store when an electrical malfunction involving a refrigerator sparked the blaze, Chionchio said.  The automatic sprinkler system that contained the fire until firefighters arrived, he said. No one was hurt.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Duluth, GA – Fire at shoe repair shop in Gwinnett Place Mall controlled with help from sprinkler system

Shoppers fled Gwinnett Place Mall on Thursday afternoon after a fire broke out at a shoe repair shop, causing smoke to pour out into the mall’s open spaces.

Gwinnett County fire Capt. Tommy Rutledge said firefighters were called to the mall at 4:54 p.m. because of a fire at the Heel Quick shop. They arrived to find the sprinkler system had gone off, but a moderate amount of smoke was still present in the second floor atrium area between Sears and Mega Mart, where the shoe repair shop was located.

Rutledge said the fire started in an area of the shop where a shoe repair machine was located. “The fire was pretty much being controlled by the sprinkler system,” Rutledge said. “The sprinkler fire suppression system pretty much did its job and kept the fire from spreading. There is extensive water damage in that immediate area and seeping down to the first floor.”

The major fire damage was confined to the area where the machine was located in the Heel Quick shop, and fire investigators were looking into what the exact cause of the fire was. Rutledge said a store employee was using the machine when the fire began, but the employee was able to get away without being injured.

“It appears to have originated in that piece of machinery,” Rutledge said.

He also said no shoppers or employees of other stores in the mall reported any injuries to fire or police officials.

The fire department spokesman added that the sprinkler system’s containment of the fire made it easier for firefighters to get into the store and put the flames out.

“They were able to put the fire completely out with only two water cans off the (fire truck) apparatus,” Rutledge said. “In other words, they didn’t have to pull hose lines into the building.”

The mall was initially evacuated only between Sears and the Mega Mart, but Rutledge said the amount of smoke coming from the store caused them to quickly evacuate the rest of the mall as well.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Yakima, WA – Car fire in parking garage prevented from spreading by overhead sprinkler

A car fire in a garage above the former downtown Yakima mall was prevented from spreading by an overhead sprinkler that activated before firefighters arrived Tuesday afternoon.

Yakima firefighters responded to the fire around 2:30 p.m. on the second level of the garage. The sprinkler confined the fire to a single car before firefighters moved in with hoses, the fire department said.

Shift commander Mitch Cole said the fire was accidental. The car’s driver said she heard a pop while leaving the garage and saw smoke coming from the engine compartment, Cole said in news release.

The car and its contents were destroyed. The fire department estimates the loss to be $1,800.

The fire department said there was no damage to the parking garage.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Oneonta, NY – Fire at Southside Mall contained by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A sprinkler system contained a fire in a service room at Southside Mall early Wednesday morning, officials said. The flames were extinguished and the mall was open as usual.

Crews went to the rear side of the main mall building at about 4 a.m. after responding to multiple alarms at the property reported by an alarm company through Otsego County 911, Oneonta Fire Department officials said, and crews were at the mall minutes later.

Oneonta crews put out flames in a small area of a service room in the main building at the mall on state Route 23 in the town of Oneonta, said Fire Chief Patrick Pidgeon.

Pidgeon said no one was hurt and the cause of the fire was under investigation.

Upon responding, crews checked buildings on the mall property and found water coming out of a doorway in the back of the main mall structure, Pidgeon said. Three sprinkler heads in the service room had provided sufficient water to suppress the blaze so that crews were able to enter the building and service room, he said, and crews used a fire extinguisher with water to put out flames that were showing.

Southside Mall was open as usual, according to Luisa Montanti, general manager at the mall. The fire was in a stock room, sprinkler heads were replaced and the electrical panels were being checked, she said.

“It was a small incident,” Montanti said. She expressed gratitude that the sprinkler system worked and for the quick response of the Oneonta Fire Department.

Oneonta crews were back in service after the fire at about 6:15 a.m., officials said.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Brampton, ON, Canada – Shopping mall fire held in check by sprinkler system; Fire started in clothes dryer

Two burnt towels in a clothes dryer started a fire that forced the evacuation of a Brampton shopping mall on Thursday morning (Jan. 5), according to Brampton Fire and Emergency Services officials. A sprinkler kept the fire in check at Royal Crest Mall, at 50 Kennedy Rd. S., according to firefighters; but a significant amount of smoke was generated.  Firefighters were called at 10:20 a.m., with reports of smoke coming from the mall at Clarence Street.  Five trucks and a district chief initially responded, but the first alarm was quickly upgraded to a second alarm in response to the heavy smoke. Three more trucks and a platoon chief responded.  The mall was evacuated, and a Brampton Transit bus kept evacuees out of the cold. Tenants and shoppers were allowed to return after the smoke was cleared.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Miami, FL – Sprinkler system helps prevent shopping mall fire from spreading

A sprinkler system played a role in containing a fire that took place Monday night at Ultra Mall in downtown Miami. The fire started at about 10 p.m. in the 1100 block of Southwest First Avenue.   Smoke was  coming from the storefront of Flossie’s — a store that sells items such as incense, oils, candles and books — when firefighters arrived.

Miami Department of Fire-Rescue Capt. Ignatius Carroll said a sprinkler system contained the fire to a small area and prevented it from spreading to neighboring businesses.  “A small fire was located inside of the store and was quickly extinguished,” he said.   No injuries were reported.  The cause of the fire remains under investigation. 

Retail, Shopping Mall

Phoenix, AZ – No injuries as sprinkler system knocks down fire at Guitar Center

The sprinkler system was the hero of the day after a fire broke out at a Guitar Center off of I-17 and Peoria Avenue overnight Wednesday. 

Phoenix fire officials said sprinklers put out most of the flames before crews arrived. 

The Guitar Center has water damage, but fire officials said had the sprinklers not been in place, the story could have gone much differently.

The Guitar Center doesn’t have a fire wall, meaning the flames could have easily spread to surrounding businesses in the strip mall.

Luckily, no one was injured. 

Detectives will now investigate what cased the fire to break out. 

Retail, Shopping Mall

Las Vegas, NV – Sprinklers assist firefighters in containing wood pallet fire at shopping mall

The smell of smoke may have alarmed some Boulevard Mall workers and shoppers early today. Turns out, it was a few wood pallets burning in one of the stores shortly before 9 a.m. Saturday, according to Clark County Assistant Fire Chief Larry Haydu. Ten units responded to the call at 8:57 a.m. and the first arriving engine found the small fire within three minutes and quickly extinguished it. Battalion 2 reported there was some smoke intrusion into approximately four stores and there was some water damage caused to the structure when the fire sprinkler system activated. There were no reported injuries, and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Winnipeg, MB, Canada – Fire in shopping mall food court extinguished by sprinkler system

The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service is investigating the cause of a fire in the food court at City Place early Tuesday morning. Firefighters were called to the City Place mall at 234 Donald Street just before 1:45 a.m.  An official with the fire department said the sprinkler system had extinguished the fire before crews arrived, but there was a lot of smoke that had to be removed from the area.

The food court is open.  Manchu Wok, where the fire appears to have occurred, has cracked glass and smoke damage.  There were no injuries.  There is no damage estimate at this time.