Apartment Building, Residential Ithaca, NY – Sprinkler system puts out apartment fire before fire department arrives August 8, 2017 viking210 At around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, the Ithaca Fire Department was dispatched to a reported fire at 217 S. Cayuga Street “The Loft” apartment building. Firefighters arrived on the scene minutes later to find the building’s sprinkler system flowing. They were told by a maintenance worker that there was a fire in the bedroom on the second floor. Crews immediately headed up to search for occupants and to confirm that the fire was out. Other firefighters worked to shut down the sprinkler system and ventilate smoke from the building. Ithaca firefighters worked alongside building maintenance personnel to minimize the water damage to the fire apartment and those directly below. Occupants were displaced for about 45 minutes before they were allowed to return. The Ithaca Police Department and Bangs Ambulance assisted at the scene. There were no injuries to occupants or firefighters. The fire was determined to be caused when a combustible object made contact with a halogen lamp in the apartment. The Ithaca Fire Department reminds everyone that light bulbs, especially halogen bulbs, can get extremely hot. Always exercise caution when using them and keep flammable objects a safe distance away.
