Category Archives: College/University (on campus)

College/University (on campus), Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

Normal, AL – Sprinkler system activates in overnight fire at university housing complex; No injuries reported

Note: On January 19, 2000, a fire in a dormitory at Seton Hall University tragically took the lives of three students and injured many more.  The residence hall did not have a sprinkler system.

The Foster Complex at Alabama A&M University has been reopened after a fire that started in a single room at 11:50 p.m. Monday. According to the university’s director of housing, Karla Miller, the fire activated sprinklers.

Jerome Saintjones with the university says the fire was caused by an electrical outlet, and the major factor impacting the need to temporarily reassign rooms was the triggering of the sprinkler system. He says the first and second floors of the women’s side of the structure were especially affected by this. University officials say they are using an incremental move-in approach, and the students who were reassigned after the fire have been notified of the move-in schedule. Students have been scheduled to return to the building by Friday, February 22, or have been reassigned to other residence halls. Male students have been allowed to return to the Foster Complex, and times were scheduled for all female students to pick up personal items. Female students who live on the first and second floors have been advised by the university to pack enough items for the rest of the week, during which they will remain displaced. Female students on the third, fourth and fifth floors will be able to return to the building on Wednesday. Officials say the university has and will continue to provide toiletries, blankets and hygiene items to the students that were displaced, and these are available at the 500-bed, five-story Foster Complex.

College/University (on campus), School / University

Knoxville, TN – Fire in on campus lab and classroom building is limited by sprinkler system

A small fire in Strong Hall last Saturday morning has resulted in some water damage on the second through fifth floors. The building and all of its labs are open today. The fire was sparked by electronic equipment on a workbench in Room 525G. Fire damage was minimal and limited to that room. Most of the water damage is limited to the north end of the fifth floor and the areas below. The damage from the fire itself was minimal due to the proper operation of the fire sprinkler system.

College/University (on campus), School / University

Cambridge, MA – Sprinkler system activates in laboratory fire at MIT; No injuries reported

A small explosion in a basement lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology prompted a large emergency response last Thursday morning, officials said. The explosion went off at 25 Ames St. around 10:30 a.m., prompting the sprinklers to turn on, according to the Cambridge Fire Department. No injuries have been reported. Officials say the situation is stable. No additional information was immediately available.

College/University (on campus), Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

Merion, PA – Overnight fire in on-campus student apartment suppressed by sprinkler system

An apartment fire broke out on November 30, 2018, on the St. Joseph’s University campus at 701 City Avenue. The Fire started shortly before 12:40 AM while many students in the in five-story fully occupied building slept, studied, or in this case prepared a late night meal. The fire was fueled by a pan of cooking oil on the stove. The cooks had left the room and left the oil boiling unattended. The pan burst into flames, and the fire crept silently up the wall towards the ceiling of the apartment’s kitchen.

At precisely 12:38 AM the Montgomery County 911 communication center received the call for help. The dispatch center located in Eagleville sprung into action, immediately dispatching the Lower Merion Fire and Police Departments. “The sprinkler system did its job here and potentially saved lives,” said Lower Merion Chief Fire Officer Charles “Chas” McGarvey.

While the first responders were en route to the potential inferno the automatic sprinkler system kicked in and suppressed the fire. By the time the fire department and police were on location, the fire was out. Water was flowing from the sprinkler system, and a light haze of smoke filled the apartment. Residents self-evacuated when they realized there was an actual fire in the building, and not just an alarm.

Nine LMFD fire vehicles were on the scene arriving from across the township, including Station 26 from Narberth, Station 21 from Penn Wynne, Ladder 25 from Ardmore, and Engine 28-1 from Bala Cynwyd responded. The Lower Merion Fire Marshal’s office was on the scene.

College/University (on campus), School / University

Oxford, OH – Car fire doused by garage sprinkler system at Miami University

A car caught fire in Miami University’s North Garage near Farmer School of Business on Friday morning just before 10 a.m.

Haolin Xi, a sophomore Japanese major, noticed smoke coming from the hood of his Audi A4 immediately after parking in the garage. He exited the vehicle and saw the smoke had been replaced by flames. Xi poured a bottle of water on the fire, to no avail. He then flagged down a woman who called the police on his behalf.

No other vehicles were harmed by the fire, and it was quickly doused by the garage’s sprinkler system and contained by the Miami University Police Department (MUPD) and Oxford Fire Department (OFD) first responders. According to the notice posted on myMiami, one MUPD officer was treated for smoke inhalation. There were no other injuries.

Benton Hall, which is situated on top of the garage, was evacuated, but the fire alarm system did not go off and students were not notified until professors were told to evacuate the students.

Xi is unsure of what caused the fire to start.

College/University (on campus), School / University

Victoria, BC, Canada – Sprinkler system activated for arson fire at Camosun College

A 30-year-old Victoria man was arrested and could face charges after he was believed to have sparked fires at Camosun’s Interurban Campus and at the Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence early Sunday morning.

The incident has caused Camosun to close their PISE, Centre for Business/Access and Trades Centre buildings on their Interurban campus for assessment. Any classes Monday in those buildings are canceled for the day.

All other buildings on the campus are open.

The University of Victoria is allowing any paid PISE members to use their CARSA facilities on Monday and Tuesday, your current membership card is all that is required.

The Saanich Fire Department says they responded to the PISE building following a general alarms activation at 2:20 a.m., when they arrived they discovered a broken glass door and two small fires set. They were able to extinguish both quickly with help of the sprinkler system.

Around 15 minutes later an intruder and fire alarm were both tripped in the nearby Camosun College Interurban Campus at the Centre for Business and Access building. Saanich police were called to the scene and searched the building before allowing Saanich fire to extinguish the single small fire.

Officials say the man was apprehended after a K9 unit was called in.

Police are recommending serval charges of break and enter, arson, mischief and theft. The man is still in custody.

All of the fires are under investigation. One of the fires in PISE was set in the foyer at a bulletin board and was about one square-metre, the other was in the weight room and was three square-metres.

The fire in the CBA building was around one square-metre and was  from bulletin and poster boards set on fire.

As a result there was water damage for PISE in the specific areas and minimal damage to the CBA.

“Our major concern is health and safety of student and staff,” said Joan Yates, Camosun’s vice president of student services.

“We are continuing to ascertain the impact on buildings and air filtration… we are glad no one was hurt [but] it’s getting near the end fo term, not great timing but safety first.”

Most classes on the campus end next week.

The Saanich fire department says they were able to contain the fires quickly

“You never know what your going to get at a large building,” said Saanich Deputy Fire Chief Dan Wood.

“We often go to these buildings for false alarms… although our crews are trained to be ready for anything.”

As the sprinklers activated in the specific areas the alarms were activate, widespread water damage to the buildings did not occur.

College/University (on campus), School / University

New Haven, CT – Sprinkler system activated for dining hall fire at Yale University

A fire broke out in the the Pauli Murray College dining hall kitchen at around 8:15 a.m. on Wednesday, forcing diners and staff to evacuate and the dining hall to close temporarily.

The fire alarm blared across Murray’s first-year courtyard from the dining hall to adjacent entryway A. While the source of the fire remains unknown, the incident was minor and the flames did not carry from the kitchen into the dining room, according to Christian Fischer, senior director of Yale Dining. He said that a dining hall staff member activated the sprinkler system as a precautionary measure, triggering a call to the fire department.

“Safety is our number one concern and our staff is trained to deal with these types of minor incidents,” Fischer said. “Small nonalarm issues happen from time to time in commercial kitchens, and this fire, minor in nature, did not activate the alarm.”

In 2017, there were 16 fire incidents recorded in the residential colleges, including one in Murray, according to the 2017 Yale University Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. According to a member of the Murray dining staff who asked for anonymity for fear of retribution from his boss, Wednesday morning’s incident was the first time a fire has broken out in the Murray kitchen. He speculated that the flames were fueled by grease that was sparked behind the serving counter in the kitchen. The staff member contended that the whole team worked together to “take care of it” and that he was thankful that everyone was okay.

Lillie Horton ’22, one of just a few dozen students eating breakfast when the fire broke out, said she admired that everyone managed to stay calm.

“A worker ran out and screamed, ‘There’s a fire behind the skillet!’” said Horton. “You couldn’t see anything — or at least I couldn’t — but they turned on the sprinklers and [everyone] walked out really calmly.”

Horton, along with classmates Danny Kaplowitz ’22 and Carla Sanchez-Noya ’22, explained that this was not the first time the fire alarm had gone off in their courtyard. On separate occasions the three have been urged to evacuate entryways A and B for non-emergency reasons.

As a result, Kaplowitz was not worried by the ringing, as he assumed it was another false alarm. Still, both he and Sanchez-Noya evacuated their entryway.

Eight students interviewed by the News said that the fire was purely a minor inconvenience. Every member of Murray received an email about an hour after the event, explaining that the dining hall would be closed for breakfast “due to unforeseen circumstances.” Lunch and dinner options were also limited, as the grille and pizza stations remained closed.

“I stayed up really late studying for a quiz expecting to be able to sleep in,” Kaplowitz said. “The fire alarm really messed up my morning.”

In any fire emergency on campus, the Office of the Fire Marshal requires that bystanders call 911.

College/University (on campus), Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

Reading, PA – University dormitory fire contained to one unit by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

…. Firefighters had just been dispatched to a dormitory fire at Alvernia University, so some of the crews responding to the college were diverted to Lancaster Avenue. … The dorm fire at Alvernia occurred in Judge Hall, 440 Adams St. Searfoss said the fire sprinkler system contained the fire to one unit until firefighters arrived. No one was injured.

College/University (on campus), Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

Starkville, MS – Sprinkler system activates in on-campus dorm room fire; No injuries reported

Mississippi State University officials say no one was hurt by a fire in a dormitory room.  The fire happened Sunday night on the third floor of Oak Hall on the Starkville campus.  The university said in a news release Monday that in addition to damage in the room where the fire occurred, about 30 other rooms were damaged.  The sprinkler system activated.  About 60 students were displaced, and the university is providing temporary housing in a hotel.  The university says an electrical fire is thought to have ignited some bed linens. The state fire marshal is investigating.

College/University (on campus)

Tempe, AZ – Computer monitor fire in classroom building at Arizona State University contained by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A small electrical fire stemming from a computer monitor in ASU’s Brickyard complex occurred on Sunday evening, according to a spokeswoman from Tempe Fire Medical Rescue Department.  There were no reported injuries at the time of publication.  “The fire was in an actual computer monitor,” interim Assistant Chief and Fire Marshal Andrea Glass said.

The building sprinkler system was activated and contained the fire’s location until firefighters arrived to the scene, Glass said. The cause for the fire is still undetermined, but the department will conduct an investigation to determine the cause.

“There was extensive work done by the fire crew to protect the computer systems that were located on the second floor from the water damage,” Glass said.  The Brickyard, located on Mill Avenue, houses several Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering labs and classrooms, as well as the ASU Art Museum Ceramics Research Center, the School of Arts, Media and Engineering and multiple research centers.

Students working in the labs said they immediately evacuated the building upon hearing the fire alarm.  Aditya Prasad Mishra, a masters student studying computer science, was working in his lab at the time of the incident.  “I was a bit worried when I smelled the smoke coming outside,” Mishra said.  Once the fire was contained, the fire department started letting people back into their offices to get their belongings before continuing the investigation.