Category Archives: School / University

NOTE – Residence Hall, Dormitory, and Fraternity-Sorority is included under Residential Category

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.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Milton, WA – Boiler room fire at middle school suppressed by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Classes and all school-related activities are canceled at Surprise Lake Middle School in Milton on Tuesday after a fire in the boiler-room area damaged one of the school’s buildings.  The school’s sprinkler system quickly kicked in and put the fire out just as parent Raj Sanghera came to pick up her son from soccer practice.

“We heard the fire trucks come in. First there was just one. And then a couple more came. And then we actually started smelling the smoke,” she told KOMO News. “So, a lot of us parents walked over here and we saw the smoke shooting up from the roof.”  A small number of students and staff members had to be evacuated. They were forced to leave their belongings behind.  None of the classrooms here were touched, administrators said. However, there is a smell of smoke in the air. The fire marshal plans to rule the fire as accidental, he said.

“I’m happy that it was after school — that there were very few students inside the school. And nobody got hurt. Everyone’s safe,” Sanghera. said.  “There were no injuries from the fire. And the good thing is the fire suppression system actually worked and put the fire out before it spread too far,” Alfano said. District staff members will meet Tuesday morning to talk about next steps and a plan to let students get any belongings that were left behind. The district’s other schools will be on their regular schedules Tuesday. Ironically, the building where the fire happened at Surprise Lake Middle School was already set to be demolished next June, Alfano said. Voters passed a $176 million bond last February to build new schools and upgrade others, which includes replacing Surprise Lake Middle School. It was built in the early 1970s. Construction on the new building is set to begin in July, Alfano said.

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.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

College Hill, OH – Duct fire in air handling system at elementary school extinguished by sprinkler system; School in session next morning

A College Hill school suffered minor smoke and water damage after a fire Tuesday night.  Crews were called to Pleasant Hill Academy on W. North Bend Road just before 10 p.m. after an air handler reportedly overheated and caught fire.  Officials said the fire was contained and a sprinkler located in the air duct extinguished it.  The flames caused an estimated $15,000 worth of damage.  One classroom had significant fire damage and another had water damage.  No one was hurt.  School will still be in session Wednesday.

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.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Innisfil, ON, Canada – Sprinkler system suppressed fire at secondary school until fire crews arrived; No injuries reported

Innisfil Fire crews were called to Nantyr Shores Seconday School in Alcona on Tuesday afternoon after receiving a report of a fire.

According to Innisfil Fire, a small fire was detected in one of the school’s washrooms.

Officials say the sprinkler went off and it suppressed the fire until crews arrived on scene.

According to a tweet from the Simcoe County District School Board, students from Nantyr Shores Secondary School were evacuated to St. Frances of Assisi Catholic School.

Innisfil Fire says the fire was put out and there were no injuries as a result of the incident.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Vienna, VA – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire in high school classroom

A fire in a Madison High School classroom forced the cancellation of a drama performance on Friday, Nov. 9. There were no injuries.

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue responded to the fire around 6:49 p.m. Friday. Firefighters arriving on scene found smoke showing from the roof line of the school but found fire sprinklers had put out the blaze in a classroom. The fire was contained to the classroom.

About 125 students and staff had been in the building when the fire occurred. Smoke alarms and sprinklers alerted them to the fire. Most evacuated, while first responders helped others get out safely.

Fire investigators say a malfunctioning kiln left on unattended started the fire. A kiln is an oven for drying ceramics. Damages were estimated to be $3,000.

The school tweeted that the drama performance of “Noises Off” had been cancelled for that day. The play went on as scheduled on Saturday, Nov. 10 and has additional dates on Nov. 16-17 at 7:30 p.m.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Wyoming, OH – Fire in high school science classroom activates sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Students at Wyoming High Schools were dismissed early after a small fire broke out in a science classroom last Thursday morning.  In a note to parents, schools officials said the fire started around 9 a.m. and that no one was injured.  The Wyoming Fire Department responded and the fire was extinguished.

The school’s sprinkler system went off, causing wet conditions at the school.  Students were evacuated to the middle school, where they will be dismissed at 11 a.m.  “Students will be reunited with their belongings from the high school as soon as possible,” school officials said.