Category Archives: School / University

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

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Bethel, CT – Fire at middle school put out by fire sprinklers

Numerous fire department in the area Bethel responded to a large commercial building fire and a fire at a middle school Sunday afternoon.

According to the Stony Hill Volunteer Fire Company’s Facebook page, numerous companies from Fairfield County responded to a large fire in the Francis J Clarke business park.

Firefighters also responded to Bethel Middle School on calls of smoke in the building. The sprinkler system was able to put out the fire.

Bethel Middle School will not be session Monday.

It is unclear if anyone was inside or hurt at the time of the fires.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Hingham, MA – Classroom electrical fire kept in check by fire sprinklers

Classes at Hingham High were cancelled today after a fire broke out in a classroom cabinet full of electronics early Friday morning.

The fire was put out by 7 a.m., but Deputy Fire Chief William Powers said there is smoke and water damage throughout the building. He said fire, cleanup and alarm crews on scene are hoping the school can reopen Monday morning, Wicked Local reported.

“On scene we had a heavy smoke condition and a water flow, which meant the sprinklers had fused,” Powers said.

The deputy chief said the fire started in a classroom cabinet that held a TV, VCR and several computers.

“Something obviously overheated and caused an electrical fire,” he said. “The sprinkler head directly above the cabinet kept the fire in check, but it continued burning in the cabinet until we got there.”

Firefighters cut off power to the building.

“There is a need for cleanup and we cannot occupy the building today,” Superintendent Dorothy Galo said in a message Friday morning. “We will appreciate everyone’s cooperation in staying away from the HS building to allow the needed cleanup.”

All classes and Advanced Placement exams have been cancelled. Galo said students who were scheduled to take an AP exam will be contacted individually.

High School administrators are working from Town Hall. Classes in Hingham’s other five schools will still take place.

Weymouth, Hull and Cohasset firefighters responded to the school when the second alarm sounded, and Rockland and Scituate covered the station.

Powers said the school is about 800 feet from the Hingham fire headquarters, which prompted quick response from firefighters. He said there were no injuries.

The fire is being investigated by Hingham police and fire, the Hinghal building inspector and the state fire marshal’s office.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Plainfield Township, MI – Classroom fire quickly extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Sprinklers put out a small fire in a Northview High School classroom Monday evening.

The Plainfield Township Fire Department says the fire was out by the time fire crews got on the scene. No one was hurt.

Photos posted to the department’s Facebook page show minimal fire damage to a lab.

The cause of the fire has not yet been released.

Tuesday classes are not expected to be affected.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Los Angeles, CA – Fire at high school extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A fire at San Pedro High School damaged a single classroom on Tuesday morning but was out by the time firefighters arrived at the campus.

Firefighters, shortly before 8 a.m., responded to reports of smoke and fire on the campus at 1001 W. 15th Street, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

They arrived to find that a sprinkler system had extinguished the fire.

Firefighters helped clean up.

There were no reported injuries, or ongoing hazards, to students or staff, fire officials said. The cause of the fire and the amount of damage it caused were under investigation.

College/University (on campus), Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant, School / University

Urbana, IL – Fire at campus restaurant held in check by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

The basement of the nearly 80-year-old Illini Union at the University of Illinois campus in Urbana-Champaign has reopened after a fire forced it to close for several hours.

Chief Urbana Fire Investigators Jeremy Leevey told the (Champaign) News-Gazette that crews responded to a small fire at Einstein Bros. Bagels at about 6:15 a.m. Thursday. Leevey says the union’s sprinkler system and firefighters were able to put out the fire. He says the cause is undetermined. Leevey says the restaurant has smoke damage but the dollar loss was minimal.

The university’s Illini Alert system issued a message about 6:30 a.m. Thursday saying there was a fire at the union and to avoid or leave the area immediately.

No injuries were reported. Officials say the union is fully operational.

College/University (on campus), School / University

Princeton, NJ – Overnight fire at Princeton University extinguished by sprinkler system

A fire broke out at Fine Hall on the Princeton campus around midnight Saturday and was quickly extinguished by the sprinkler system. The building is closed as crews clean up water damage. The fire was contained to a classroom on the 12th floor. Sprinkler water runoff affected that floor and most of those below it. Classes will not be held in the building Monday and Tuesday. University officials are working to move the classes to other locations. Affected students and faculty members will be notified by email.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. A firefighter from the Princeton Fire Department needed medical assistance and was taken to a hospital and released. No one else was hurt. Other agencies responding to the fire included Kingston Fire Company, Lawrence Road Fire Department, Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, Plainsboro Fire Company, Princeton Fire Marshal, Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad, and West Windsor Emergency Services. From the University, responders included the Department of Public Safety, the Facilities organization, Site Protection and Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Emergency Services.

College/University (on campus), School / University

Vancouver, BC, Canada – Arson fire in college classroom building is put out with help from sprinkler system

After fires prompted an evacuation at Langara College yesterday, Vancouver police have arrested and charged an individual. Prior to noon on April 1, first responders received reports of a suspicious fire at Langara College’s West 49th Avenue campus, according to the Vancouver Police Department (VPD). A suspect had allegedly entered the college with improvised incendiary devices. At least two of the devices were detonated, causing fires to start, before the suspect fled. According to Cst. Jason Doucette at a VPD news conference held today (April 2), several other devices were left behind. Cst. Doucette said that the VPD’s bomb disposal unit neutralized a third device.

Cst. Doucette stated that sprinkler systems at the building did activate and the Vancouver Fire Department helped to put out the fires. Initially, all classes in the T Building (Science and Technology Building) were cancelled but around 1 p.m., the college evacuated everyone from the campus and also closed its 601 West Broadway campus. Based on information provided by the school and witnesses, the VPD identified the suspect as Nasradin Abdusamad Ali of Surrey, who is a 23-year-old student of Langara College, and alerted other local police agencies. Just after 4 p.m. on April 1, Metro Vancouver Transit Police arrested Ali in Surrey and turned him over to the VPD. Today, the VPD announced that Ali remains in custody and has been charged with one count of arson related to inhabited property and one count of possession of incendiary material. Although Langara College announced at 10:20 p.m. on April 1 that the VPD completed their sweep of the campus, the college’s West 49th Avenue campus remained closed today while the 601 West Broadway campus was reopened.

College/University (on campus), School / University

Saginaw, MI – Fire at university extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A fire in a Saginaw Valley State University Building Sunday, March 31 caused damage. Officials say the fire began around 7:00 a.m. in a smart podium in room 215 of Brown Hall. The fire was quickly put out by the sprinkler system, but the water from the system caused damage to both the first and second floors of the building. Both floors are currently inaccessible until further notice. The third floor was unaffected. No injuries were reported. Fire departments from Kochville and Carrollton Townships and Zilwaukee responded to the scene.

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

New Haven, CT – Overnight fire in university residence hall contained with help from sprinkler system

Two people suffered smoke inhalation after crews responded to a fire at a Southern Connecticut State University residence hall in New Haven early Tuesday morning. The New Haven Fire Department tweeted that at around 2 a.m., fire crews responded to the West Campus Residence Complex at 160 Wintergreen Avenue after a sprinkler head was activated.

Fire officials say that the fire broke out on the second floor and they believe that it started in a trash can. Two people were treated for smoke inhalation but both refused to go to the hospital.

Firefighters were able to contain the fire to one room but students were evacuated from the building. Most of the students have since been allowed back into the dorm. Officials say that the sprinklers going off helped to put out the flames so smoke was more of an issue as it filled up the second floor. The incident remains under investigation.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Elnora, IN – Fire at elementary school suppressed by sprinkler system; School in session next day

Firefighters were called to North Daviess Elementary School Thursday evening. The Daviess County Sheriff’s Department reports an alarm was sounded at 6:51 p.m. at the school at 5498 E. SR 58 and the Elnora Fire Department was dispatched to the scene.

“We had a motor for an exhaust fan in an electrical closet short out, causing a small fire,” said North Daviess Superintendent Robert Bell. “The sprinkler system in the closet engaged and knocked down the fire right away.“

“We had crews in the building all night trying to get the water up and dry out the building,” said Bell. “The Elnora Fire Department went way above and beyond their duty because a lot of them stayed and helped us with the clean-up.”

Everyone was evacuated from the building during the fire and no injuries were reported. An investigator from the Indiana Fire Marshal’s Office was called in to look at the fire but there are no reports of anything suspicious. Officials say they were not able to put a dollar amount on the estimated damages.

“The crews did a really good job with the drying out and cleaning up,” said Bell. “We were able to start school as normal without any problems at all.”