A fire safety sprinkler system installed inside of a warehouse complex on Petaluma’s Industrial Avenue managed to fully extinguish a fire that broke out inside of the building Sunday evening, limiting the damage to an estimated $50,000, according to the Petaluma Fire Department.
Petaluma firefighters responded to a water flow alarm at 1340 Industrial Avenue at 7:30 p.m. yesterday, and arrived to find the odor of smoke and water coming out from under the structure’s
exterior doors. Crews forced their way into several of the building’s units, discovering one to be completely full of smoke with around three inches of water covering the floor.
The sprinkler system had fully extinguished the fire, which appeared to have started in an office area, according to the fire department. The system had caused minor flooding in an adjoining unit.
Crews shut down the system, evacuated the smoke and began removing water to prevent further damage.
The business owners arrived later that evening, and are now working with a local cleanup company, according to the fire department. There were no individuals working in the building at the time, and there were no injuries. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Firefighters from the Petaluma Fire Department and Cal Fire responded to the incident, with the Lakeville Volunteer Fire Department and the Wilmar Volunteer Fire Department providing coverage in the city.
The fire started about 3:30 p.m. in the parking lot at 879 S. Gladiola St. (3400 West), catching a semitrailer on fire and then jumping to the building, according to Salt Lake Fire Capt. Mark Bednarik. The fire reached one business, a leather and furniture company, while sprinkler systems in the building kept it from reaching other businesses.
As many as 70 firefighters were on the scene Sunday afternoon, Bednarik reported, extinguishing the fire in the warehouse by about 5:15 p.m. Had it spread deeper into the warehouse, crews would have faced “a very different fire,” he said.
“The potential is very high (for damage),” the captain said. “They use a lot of foams and a lot of synthetic materials, and once that ignites, there are very toxic fumes and very hot fires that are difficult to extinguish.” The fire caused at least $150,000 in damage to the business, Bednarik said, with the total expected to climb as water damage to the furniture business’ inventory is assessed.
“One of the business owners made the comment that if the water soaks up into that foam, they could be throwing away $50,000 to $60,000 in product,” Bednarik said. “That’s probably what they’re going to be facing over the next week or so.” With the warehouse fire extinguished, crews turned their focus to the flames that had burned nearly an acre of vegetation and destroyed other items in the yard, including pallets, trash bins and other machinery.
Firefighters remained on scene Sunday evening to manage a number of lingering burning and hot spots. “Once you get those plastics burning, they burn hot and they burn deep through that pile,” Bednarik said. “(Firefighters) are using a front loader from the city to break it apart and open it up.”
Crews were also forced to deal with explosions coming from propane tanks and other items inside the building as they battled the blaze. The cause of the initial fire is unknown, though Bednarik said the fire does not appear to be suspicious. Crews closed roads for about a half a block around the building as they fought the fire.
A fire at the Kent Buildings Supplies in Charlottetown last night was the result of halogen bulbs overheating from the emergency lighting, said Charlottetown fire inspector Winston Bryan after the investigation was concluded this morning.
The Charlottetown Fire Department responded to the call at 10:50 p.m. yesterday to the building on 65 Marsh Rd. Pallets of inventory and cardboard were ignited from the emergency lighting, which was powered by halogen bulbs.
The halogen bulbs produced enough heat to cause ignition of a box, which then spread to other boxes on the shelving unit.
The fire was contained in the warehouse area and shelving units, said Bryan. What contained the fire was the sprinkler system, said Bryan.
All clear was given at around 2 a.m. today with no injuries sustained Though this doesn’t happen often, it tends to happen more so in warehouses with the stacking of goods up against lights.
“Over time they will ignite,” said Bryan.
It boils down to training within the businesses to install lighting at proper heights. “Take it into consideration what you are actually storing in your warehouse… should be designed around that.”
“The sprinkler system basically contained the fire to one particular area of the building,” he said. “So having your sprinkler system maintained and inspected on a year to year base, as per code, assisted in the suppression of the fire.”
Reporting on lives and property saved by fire sprinklers
