Apartment Building, Residential

Conroe, TX – Conroe FD reports two apartment sprinkler saves in three days

On December 13, 2018, at approximately 9:34 p.m., the Conroe Fire Department was notified of an apartment fire at 1840 Longmire Rd (The Landings of Conroe Apartments). Conroe Firefighters arrived at approximately 9:43 p.m. to find a kitchen fire that had been extinguished by the automatic fire sprinkler system. There were no injuries to occupants or firefighters during this incident.

On December 15, 2018, at approximately 3:22 p.m., the Conroe Fire Department was notified of an apartment fire at 1900 Westview Blvd. ( The Lakes at Westview Apartments). Conroe Firefighters arrived at approximately 3:29 p.m. to find a kitchen fire that had been extinguished by the automatic fire sprinkler system. One occupant was transported to Conroe Regional Medical Center ER due to a fall that occurred after the fire.

These incidents demonstrate the importance of properly installed and maintained automatic fire sprinkler systems in residential occupancies. It is likely that the automatic fire sprinkler systems saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage and property loss to the owners and occupants of both buildings. Further, no adjacent occupants were displaced and possible injuries and deaths to citizens and firefighters were prevented.
The cause of both of these fires has been determined to be unattended cooking. Unattended cooking represents the leading cause of residential fires in Conroe, and throughout the United States, each year. The Conroe Fire Department would like to remind the public to:

**Keep an eye on what you fry;
**Be alert when cooking; and
**Keep things that can catch fire away from the cooking area.

Over 3,000 people die in non-sprinkled residential fires each year in the United States. Automatic fire sprinkler systems have over 100 years of proven performance protecting life and property. These incidents represent the third and fourth time, respectively, that an apartment fire has been extinguished in the area of origin with the assistance of an automatic fire sprinkler system within the City of Conroe during 2018.