Category Archives: College/University (on campus)

Fire at Mississippi State University dormitory contained by sprinkler system (Starkville, MS)

Mississippi State University officials say repairs are beginning immediately on a women’s dormitory that was damaged by a Sunday night fire that appears to have been started by a candle burning in one of the rooms. The university said nobody was injured, but more than 150 students stayed elsewhere Sunday night after a fire began around 8 p.m. in one wing of Oak Hall, which opened in 2012. Local fire officials said the fire on the third story of the four-story building appears to have been caused by a candle burning in one of the rooms, and it was contained by sprinklers.

Arson fire at Yale University bookstore controlled by building’s sprinkler system (New Haven, CT)

On Monday, the bookstore called in Fire Investigators to investigate an arson fire. According to a statement issued by NHPD spokesman David Hartman, after reviewing the store’s security footage, the police found the suspect lighting several fires throughout the bookstore with a lighter. The fire in the bathroom also triggered the bookstore’s sprinkler system, helping to limit the damage.

College campus fire contained by sprinkler system (Iowa City, IA)

A fire began in the Iowa City Chemical Building at 3:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 24. The flames began on the building’s fifth floor and were controlled by the school’s fire sprinkler system. No one was injured in the fire. Investigators believe the fire’s cause was the ignition of chemicals, but it is still under investigation.

Sprinklers assists in the quick suppression of a university chemical fire (St. Catharines, ON, CA)

A chemical fire was quickly suppress in a lab at Brock University Friday evening. A graduate student was conducting research when a chemical reaction caused a flash fire in a fume hood.  The sprinkler system activated. An area of the fourth floor remains closed this weekend but officials from Brock University expect the lab to re-opened early next week.

Sprinklers control college bathroom fire started by arsonist (Fort Pierce, FL)

Fort Pierce police arrested an 18-year-old student for the arson fire that started in an upstairs bathroom at Indian River State College Tuesday morning.  Respondents to a 911 call found a bathroom trash can on fire, which caused the fire sprinklers and alarm to go off.  Police said school administrators alerted them to a possible suspect, who was taken in for questioning.

College fire extinguished by sprinkler system (Red Wing, MN)

A late night fire the morning of Saturday, March 29 at a technical college, called the attention of fire crews. Though they arrived within seven minutes of their call, fire crews found the the building’s fire sprinklers had effectively put out the flames. 

According to the Red Wing Fire Department, “The presence of a working sprinkler system and alarm system made what may have been a tragedy into a moderate inconvenience.”

No injuries were reported.

Fire on college campus eliminated by sprinkler system (Cortland, NY)

State University College in Cortland, New York had a fire begin in the Old Main Building on December 30. Firefighters found that the majority of the fire had been extinguished by the time they arrived; it appears that the fire began on or above the third floor of the building. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

** Blog Editor’s Note – Please let us know what you think of the coverage by Syracuse.com, which focused on water damage rather than the lives and property saved by the automatic fire sprinkler system**

Sprinkler assists fire crews in university fire (East Stroudsburg, PA)

A fire started in the Enrollment Services Center building of East Stroudsburg University on Friday morning. While the cause is under investigation, fire officials claim the fire appeared to have started by a computer. No one was injured.

** Blog Editor’s Note – Please let us know what you think of the coverage by the Pocono Record, which focused on water damage rather than the lives and property saved by the automatic fire sprinkler system**

Sprinkler system helps to put out fire at university (Charleston, SC)

A fire began in a first floor restroom at the Medical University of South Carolina on Wednesday, November 20. When firefighters arrived to the scene, they discovered that the fire had been almost completely extinguished by the fire sprinkler system. The building did not need to be evacuated, and the cause of the fire is under investigation.