Firefighters responded to the building located at 737 Crocker St., south of Seventh Street, at 3:32 a.m., according to Nicholas Prange of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
“The growth of the fire was initially stunted by a fire sprinkler activation inside the building, minimizing the spread and damage,” Prange said.
A knockdown was declared at 4:12 a.m.
No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire was under investigation.
*** No Media Coverage – Fire Department Reported *** The McKinney Fire Department received a report of a structure fire at approximately 10 p.m., on Friday, Feb. 22 at Wonderland Montessori, 3132 Hudson Crossing. A person passing by the building called 9-1-1 after hearing the alarm and seeing the flashing strobe lights. When firefighters got inside, they found that two fire sprinkler heads kept the flames from spreading. There was minor damage to a cabinet area. An investigation is underway into why the system did not notify the alarm company. The alarm company would then have called 911.
“This is exactly how fire sprinklers are supposed to work,” said McKinney Fire Marshal Mike Smith. “In this incident, the building was empty and the fire would have gotten much further if the sprinklers hadn’t kicked in.”
Fact: Fire sprinklers are activated by heat, so only the sprinklers closest to the flames will be activated. This limits water damage to the rest of the structure.
For the second straight day, in much a similar way, a bathroom was burned by an arsonist in Juneau.
The fire came less than 24 hours after an as-yet-unidentified arsonist set a fire in a Thunder Mountain High School bathroom.
Katie Bausler, a spokeswoman for the hospital, said a man identified as Arlo Bradstreet set a small fire in a bathroom trash can. The fire melted the trash can and was sufficiently hot to trigger the bathroom’s sprinkler system.
According to court records online, Bradstreet has been charged with second-degree arson, a class B felony. He is scheduled to be arraigned on those charges at 1:15 p.m. today at Dimond Courthouse.
Two patients and 15 staff were working in the hospital’s emergency department at the time: All were exposed to smoke, but none sought medical attention, Bausler said.
Quinto said a triage nurse in the emergency department reported hearing a loud boom and feeling the room shake as the fire took place. It is yet not clear what, if anything, exploded during the fire.
Bausler said the noise and shaking may have been caused by the sheer force of the sprinkler system starting.
“The sprinklers really did their job,” Bausler said, adding that an inch of water covered the floor of the emergency department’s waiting room before cleanup began.
When the Empire visited the hospital Wednesday morning, there was little sign of damage and more sign — literally — of cleanup. “Wet floor” signs were scattered around the waiting room near floor fans attempting to dry the scene.
Fire crews gained control of the small blaze by 4:11 p.m. and assisted in smoke removal and water cleanup before residents were allowed back in the home, Petaluma Fire said.
There were no reported injuries. The fire caused an estimated $30,000 in damage, excluding cleanup costs.
“The first arriving fire company found heavy black smoke showing from the roof area on the west side of the building. Firefighters initiated an interior attack and brought the fire under control in approximately 40 minutes,” Antenore said in a news release.
Antenore said the response was upgraded to a box alarm because of the size of the building.
Fire department officials said the building’s sprinkler system activated and “held the fire in check” until the blaze was extinguished.
Firefighters contained the fire to a refrigeration compressor room.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. Damage estimates were in the process of being compiled Sunday afternoon.
“The facility resumed partial operations this morning and is expected to resume full operations later today,” the fire chief said Sunday.
Firefighters from Batavia, St. Charles, Elburn, West Chicago, Fermilab, South Elgin, Elgin, Wheaton, Bartlett and North Aurora assisted Geneva on the scene.
Antenore said no one was hurt.
