Category Archives: Other – Storage / Warehouse

Wenatchee, WA – Sprinkler system helped fire crews knock down fire in commercial building

Chelan and Douglas County Firefighters were dispatched to a commercial structure fire on South Columbia Street this morning.  The building at 1028 South Columbia Street is owned by Mike Walker and was used mostly for storage “We were tearing out one of the walls and something sparked material in an old paint booth”  Walker said only one employee was inside and reported the fire after exiting the building.

Chelan County #1 Deputy Fire Chief Mike Burnett confirmed the likely cause.  He said the fire appeared to start when sparks or something ignited layers of old lacquer on the walls of a spray booth under demolition in the former cabinet shop.  Burnett said Lifeline Ambulance personnel who were first to arrive on scene reported smoke was billowing from an open bay door and exterior vents of the building.  There were no injuries.

An automatic sprinkler system helped fire crews knock down the flames and Burnett described the damage as minimal.

Elgin, IL – Fire in building storing large quantities of chemicals at water treatment facility extinguished by sprinkler system

A fire Friday night in a building with large quantities of chemicals at the city of Elgin’s water treatment facility was likely caused by an electrical motor failure, Elgin fire officials said.  The fire happened around 9 p.m. in a building at 375 W. River Road and was upgraded to include hazardous materials technicians from Elgin and South Elgin fire departments, according to an Elgin fire department news release. Firefighters entered the building and discovered the fire was extinguished by an automatic sprinkler system, the release stated. There was minimal chemical involvement, it stated.  Two employees were able to evacuate, the release stated. No injuries to civilians or firefighters were reported, according to the release. There was no impact to the city’s water treatment operations or to the public, fire officials said.

Mount Prospect, IL – Sprinkler system contains fire in industrial building

Fire broke out Monday afternoon in a vacant industrial building in Mount Prospect, filling the space with smoke but causing no injuries or significant damage, authorities said.

Mount Prospect firefighters responded to the blaze in the 400 block of Lakeview Court at 1:52 p.m. and had the fire under control within about 10 minutes, Chief Brian Lambel said.

The fire began when roof repair work being done as part of a renovation led to sparks falling onto insulation inside the building, Lambel said. A fire sprinkler helped contain the blaze before firefighters arrived.

Frederick, MD – Sprinkler system keeps exterior fire at UPS facility from spreading inside

An overnight fire at a UPS center in Maryland has sent a yet undetermined number of packages up in smoke during this holiday season. WUSA-TV reports Frederick County Fire Department spokesman Kevin Fox says the fire was reported about 11:40 p.m. Monday. News outlets report responding crews found 10 trucks and a package loading structure ablaze. Fox says it took firefighter around 45 minutes to bring the blaze under control. He says the building suffered mostly exterior damage since a sprinkler system activated inside the main structure. The Fire Marshal is investigating the fire’s cause. A representative for UPS says the company is working to identify and notify shippers of the damaged packages, as well as reroute packages that would have gone out on the damaged trucks.

Fort Pierce, FL – Sprinkler system keeps fire from spreading at boat storage facility

A fire in a boat storage building at the Taylor Creek Marina damaged 11 boats early Thursday, but it could have been worse, according to the St. Lucie County Fire District.

Before firefighters arrived, the building’s emergency fire sprinkler system limited the fire from spreading, said Fire District spokeswoman Brenda Stokes.

The building contained 300 boats stored in racks.The cause is classified as accidental. The fire started in one boat’s electrical system, she said.

Firefighters were called to the fire at 5 a.m. and used special breathing equipment to enter the building, which was filled with toxic fumes from burning fiberglass, Stokes said.

After the building was cleared of fumes, investigators found six boats had been damaged by fire. The remainder were damaged by smoke and from water from the sprinkler system.

The marina is in the 1600 block of North Second Street.

Jupiter, FL – Sprinkler system keeps fire under control after boat catches fire in dry storage facility

Canton, OH – Fire at industrial distribution business contained to area of origin by sprinkler system

Stacked cardboard boxes placed too close to radiant ceiling heaters caused a fire that did about $180,000 in damage to engine compartments in the warehouse area at Detroit Diesel on Monday, firefighters said. The smoke also impacted thousands of items stored there by Goodwill of Greater Cleveland and East Central Ohio, rendering those items “too damaged to be sold in any of the stores,” said Robyn Steinmetz, vice president of marketing at Goodwill.

The damage left Goodwill pleading Tuesday for more donations from the public. No one was injured in the 12:09 p.m. blaze at 818 Mulberry Road SE, although firefighters were initially told that someone may have been trapped inside. Battalion Chief Jeff Magee said in a news release that everyone had made it safely out of the burning building.

“On arrival, units found a working structure fire at a large commercial building housing Detroit Diesel industrial supplies,” Magee said, noting that the large warehouse contains diesel engine components.

“The components were contained in cardboard boxes that had been stacked vertically and were too close to radiant ceiling heaters,” Magee said. “When the heaters activated due to the cold weather, they ignited the cardboard boxes. Two sprinkler heads activated and confined the fire to area of origin. Firefighters pulled a hoseline to extinguish the fire that could not be reached by the sprinklers.”

The structure wasn’t damaged, but about $180,000 in damage was done to the engine compartments, Magee said. The impact also hit Goodwill.

“Goodwill’s business model relies on donations from the community, which are sold in Goodwill stores, with the revenue helping to support local programs and services that help residents train for, find and keep good jobs,” Steinmetz said in a news release Tuesday.

The donated items that had been inside the warehouse would have been rotated throughout the stores in Stark, Tuscarawas, Carroll, Jefferson and Harrison counties in Ohio and Brooke and Hancock counties in West Virginia, she said.

“Stark County has always been supportive of Goodwill, and we are asking everyone to continue that tradition right now by making it a priority to drop off those donations you’ve been meaning to drop off, or using this time to clean out some closets, basements, or attics in time for the holidays,” said Doug Widrig, Goodwill’s vice president of retail operations. “It will feel good for you, and it will help Goodwill recover from this unfortunate event.”

Steinmetz pointed out that Goodwill stores and donation locations can be found online at http://www.goodwillgoodskills.org/.

Fargo, ND – Sprinkler system helps limit damage in fire at beverage wholesale business; No injuries reported

No one was injured Wednesday morning, Oct. 12, in a fire that was reported about 10:15 a.m. at Beverage Wholesalers, 701 4th Ave. N.  Employees at the business said the fire started in materials surrounding a loading dock door after some work had been done on the door.

The workers said everyone got out safely and no one was injured.  A Fargo Fire Department report on the incident said when crews arrived they found a fire that was being contained by a single fire sprinkler.

The fire was burning on and in a wall separating the loading dock area from the warehouse. Thanks to the sprinkler system and fire walls and doors that functioned as they should, fire damage was limited to a small area in the loading dock area and smoke damage was limited, the report said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.  The Fire Department estimated damage from the fire and smoke at $10,000.

Montreal, QC, Canada – Suspected arson fire at food distribution business put out with help from sprinkler system

Montreal police say they believe an overnight fire at a Saint-Leonard food distribution store was arson.  Fire crews were called to the business on Magloire Street near the corner of Lafrenaie Street around midnight.

When the firefighters arrived at the scene, they saw that a window in front of the store had been broken and noticed an accelerant had been thrown inside, said Montreal police spokesperson Caroline Chèvrefils.  The sprinkler system helped put out the fire quickly, so damage was minimal.  No one was hurt and so far police have no suspects.

Clairmont, AB, Canada – Fire at distribution center contained by sprinkler system

A second fire call went out at 1:30 a.m. Sunday. Crews from the Clairmont and Dunes stations were called to a monitored alarm at 9802 – 84 Ave, Gregg Distributors Ltd. in Clairmont where firefighters entered the bay and found a working sprinkler and smoke.  Additional crews were called to the business and the fire was quickly extinguished.

“Without the sprinkler system, the damage would have been much greater but at the same time, county crews made very quick entry into the building and knocked it down, thus reducing the overall cost to the business,” he said.

The cause is under investigation and no one was injured in the incident.