The City of Conroe Fire Department was notified of an apartment fire at 2951 N Loop  336 W (The Retreat Apartments) at approximately 4:09 p.m. on October 23, 2018.  Conroe Firefighters arrived at approximately 4:16 p.m. and discovered that there had been a cooking  fire in the kitchen of one of the apartment units which activated a single fire sprinkler head and  extinguished the fire.  There were no reported injuries to occupants or firefighters. Fire damage was confined to the stove top cooking surface. Water damage was confined to the apartment of origin. The cause of the fire was unattended cooking and was determined to be unintentional. This incident demonstrates the importance of a properly installed and maintained fire sprinkler system in residential occupancies. It is likely that the automatic fire sprinkler system saved hundreds of  thousands of dollars in damage and property loss to the building’s owners and occupants. Further, no occupants were displaced and possible injuries and deaths to citizens and firefighters were prevented.

Over 3,000 people die in non-sprinklered residential fires each year in the United States. Automatic fire sprinkler systems have over 100 years of proven performance protecting life and property.  The Conroe Fire Department would like to remind the public that unattended cooking is the leading  cause of residential fires in Conroe, and throughout the United States, each year. Being mindful while  you cook, however, can go a long way toward helping to prevent these fires:
**Keep an eye on what you fry;
**Be alert when cooking; and
**Keep things that can catch fire away from the cooking area.
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