Category Archives: Other – Storage / Warehouse

Other - Storage / Warehouse

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.

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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.

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

A vessel in dry storage caught fire Friday afternoon at the Loggerhead Marina. The first arriving crews found that a boat on the top rack was on fire, said Capt. Albert Borroto, spokesman for Fire Rescue. The sprinklers of the facility activated and helped to keep the fire under control.

The firefighters quickly extinguished the fire and protected two nearby boats for fire exposure. The three affected vessels were brought down from the storage area and investigator was called to the scene.

There were no injuries reported.

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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/.

Other - Storage / Warehouse, Other Business

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.

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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.

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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.

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Chattanooga, TN – Fire in cotton bales at ADM plant contained with help from sprinkler system

Chattanooga firefighters battled a fire in South Chattanooga at ADM Southern Cellulose Products at 103 W. 45th Street on Thursday. Chattanooga Fire Department spokesman Bruce Garner says though there was only light smoke visible from the outside, once inside the large building, they could see dozens of cotton bales that were on fire.

CFD says the company had recently repaired the sprinkler system in the building and it activated properly, which helped to keep the fire contained. A total of 13 fire companies responded to this fire. The fire was brought under control in 15 to 20 minutes.

No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire will be ruled accidental.  Company executives told firefighters that the bales are held together by wire, and they believe a wire on one of the bales might have created a spark against the concrete while being moved by a forklift. When the spark hit the cotton, a fire broke out.  About 200 bales of cotton were involved in the fire.  The dollar loss was estimated at $30,000.

The building itself was not damaged and company executives said the fire will have minimal impact on its operation.

Other - Storage / Warehouse, Other Business

Pottstown, PA – Sprinkler system activates to help save auto restoration business from overnight fire

Seven fire companies responded to an early-morning alarm at the Eastwood Co. warehouse on Robinson Street Thursday for a blaze at the auto restoration supplier.  Pottstown Fire Chief Richard Lengel said the alarm sounded at 4:52 a.m. when the sprinkler system at the business  tripped.

The fire was caused by a malfunction in the conveyer system, although it’s not exactly clear how that happened, Lengel said. All four of Pottstown’s fire companies — Goodwill, Empire, North End and the Phillies — responded to the scene as did Sanatoga, West End and Limerick fire companies from neighboring communities, Lengel said.

New Hanover and Ringing Hill were on call while the fire was being fought. The fire itself was “not very big, it was under control by 5:21 a.m.,” Lengel said.  The primary problem for firefighters was finding the flames.  “The sprinkler did its job, so the place was filled with smoke and we had a hell of a time finding the actual fire,” Lengel said. 

Because of all the automotive restoration products in the building, and the chemicals they contain, Lengel said the firefighters used air masks for the first hour as a precaution.  Estimating the damage is difficult, Lengel said, because he does not know the value of the conveyer system, “which may be computerized, I couldn’t be sure” and because of the amount of water damage done to very specialized automotive products.

 “But without the sprinklers, we wouldn’t have a building, and we would still be there now, and tomorrow and maybe the next day,” Lengel told The Mercury Thursday evening. “I’m serious, that’s a high-rack warehouse in there and who knows how long some of that stuff might have burned.” 

Eastwood Co., a supplier of auto restoration materials started out in Philadelphia in 1978 and has since made its headquarters just off Shoemaker Road in Pottstown. 

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Nashua, NH – Truck fire inside warehouse held in check by sprinkler system

Firefighters quickly extinguished a truck fire Monday night inside a three-story warehouse on Bridge Street, which houses a truck repair shop and kitchen cabinet outlet. The building’s sprinkler system kept the fire in check.

Fire crews arrived just after 10:30 PM to find a fire in the engine compartment of a plow truck parked in the rear garage area. Firefighters forced their way through double overhead doors to put out the fire. Some of the firefighting operations were delayed as crews encountered broken hydrants due to plow operations and a buried water shut off, fire officials said.