Apartment Building, Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential Hamden, CT – Fire at university apartment complex contained with help from sprinkler system; No injuries April 19, 2017 viking210 Three Quinnipiac University students in three apartments were displaced due to water damage after a kitchen fire in a student housing complex Tuesday evening, officials said. There were no injuries reported in the fire at the Whitney Village Quinnipiac University student housing complex at 3075 Whitney Ave. The Hamden Fire Department was dispatched to the kitchen fire at 6:24 p.m. after being notified by the Quinnipiac security office. Engine 5 arrived on scene at 6:26 p.m. and said students were already evacuating the building into the parking area, according to a released from the fire department. Light smoke was showing in the interior hallways and stairwell leading to the second-floor apartment, the release said. Capt. Ed Evers reported a sprinkler activation in the kitchen of apartment six. Hamden firefighters confirmed the fire had been extinguished and checked for extension into the walls and attic area. Salvage work to contain the damage from water run-off and ventilation of the building followed, according to the release. Quinnipiac security and maintenance personnel were on scene to assist students. All three displaced students were successfully relocated by the university, officials said. Hamden Fire Marshal Brian Dolan determined the fire ignited as a student resident was cooking on the stove top. The student attempted to control the fire with a hand-held extinguisher, but was unsuccessful. The resident in apartment six notified the building resident assistant of the fire, who in-turn notified QU security and the fire department, and assisted with the safe evacuation of students, fire officials said. “Residential sprinkler systems, such as the one in place at this location, are an effective means of fire control and help to minimize structural damage,” fire officials said in the release. “When combined with an audible and monitored alarm system, residents have timely notification of incipient fires and a greater chance of safe building evacuation.” The Hamden Fire Marshal’s office and the Quinnipiac Safety Department work together in an on-going basis to maintain and inspect these important systems, officials said. “We are grateful that there were no injuries reported,” Quinnipiac spokesman John Morgan said. “That is due in large part to the swift action by the Hamden Fire Department and the university’s public safety and facilities departments to extinguish the fire and contain the damage to the building, which has a fully functional fire-protection system. The three students affected by the fire have been reassigned to new units while the damaged units are being repaired.”
