Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic

Lexington, KY – Sprinkler system activated for fire at cancer center; No injuries reported

Firefighters are investigating the cause of a small fire that set off some of the sprinklers in the UK Markey Cancer Center early Wednesday morning.

A small fire broke out at around 3 a.m. in the Comprehensive Breast Care Center located on the second floor of the Whitney-Hendrickson Building. This building is part of the UK Markey Cancer Center and faces Huguelet Drive.- Advertisement –

As designed, heat from the fire activated sprinklers, which produced water to fight the fire.

Firefighters said they didn’t see any flames or smoke from outside the building but did find two sprinklers had been activated on the second floor because of a small fire.

Firefighters put it out, shut down the sprinkler system and ventilated the building. No injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Schedulers are contacting patients with appointments Wednesday to reschedule or redirect them.

Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

Caldwells, NJ – Sprinkler system activated for fire at university residence hall

A fire was extinguished at a Caldwell University residence hall on Monday, authorities said.

According to the Caldwell Volunteer Fire Department, their peers in West Caldwell got a call about an active fire alarm at the Mother Joseph Residence Hall at 5:17 p.m. The Caldwell Fire Department was immediately dispatched to the scene.

On arrival, firefighters found the alarm sounding and the building evacuated. Firefighters soon found “heavy smoke” coming from the second floor and an activated sprinkler system. Arriving fire crews stretched a line to extinguish the fire in the second floor recycling area, officials said.

Caldwell firefighters got mutual aid from Essex Fells, West Caldwell, Cedar Grove, North Caldwell, Roseland and the West Essex First Aid Squad.

All units were clear of the scene at 7:07 p.m. The cause of the fire is under investigation, authorities said.

Officials said that fire damage was limited to the room of origin, but smoke and water damage was found throughout the building.

“The sprinklers and fire alarm system did their job and kept the fire in check until fire units arrived to completely extinguish the fire,” Chief Andrew Pollara said.

Caldwell University staff relocated students to other residence halls on campus, authorities said.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

San Diego, CA – Fire on 10th floor of hotel extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A minor fire in a high-rise hotel next to Petco Park prompted an evacuation of the structure today along with closures of various nearby streets in the western reaches of the downtown East Village district.

The non-injury blaze erupted within a mini-refrigerator in a 10th-floor guest room at the Omni San Diego Hotel about 1:15 p.m., according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

The flames spread to a wooden cabinet and a small section of wall before being extinguished by a built-in fire-sprinkler system, SDFRD spokeswoman Monica Munoz said.

“The hotel (also) has an automatic system that notifies everyone inside to evacuate when … activated,” she said. “So that is what took place. The only fire damage was to the room itself where the fire started. There is some water damage to other areas.”

Authorities shut down a stretch of L Street, which fronts the hotel, and parts of J Street, K Street, Sixth Avenue and Tony Gwynn Drive while firefighters made sure the blaze was fully under control.

Apartment Building, Residential

Frisco, TX – Fire on 12th floor of apartment complex contained by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Fire investigators are investigating a fire that started in an apartment at the Twelve Cowboys Way Luxury Apartments. The fire was contained in the apartment due to the activation of the fire sprinkler system.

Dispatch was alerted by the alarm company of a “water flow” alarm at 12:13 p.m. Sunday. The first unit arrived four minutes later. Frisco Fire responded with one engine, one ladder truck, and one battalion chief on the initial assignment due to it being an alarm investigation.

During the investigation by the first arriving unit, smoke was found in the building.

Additional units were requested as a working fire was declared. The fire was found in an apartment on the 12th floor, was kept small, and was not allowed to grow as rapidly due to the fire sprinklers that had activated when the fire began. A total of 19 units and 43 personnel were used to help extinguish the fire.

The Frisco Fire Department announced 1:11 p.m. Sunday through social media that the fire was declared “out.”  Just after 2:30 p.m., the department announced that residents were being allowed back into the residences with restoration crews on scene.  

No civilian or firefighter injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Twelve Cowboys Way is a 17 story luxury high-rise building with garage and offices on floors one through five and residential apartments on floors six through 17.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Austin, TX – Arson Fire on 10th floor of Driskill Hotel extinguished by sprinkler system

There was a small fire on the 10th floor of the historic Driskill Hotel in downtown Austin Monday morning.

The Austin Fire Department says the hotel’s sprinkler system extinguished the fire. Only one room was impacted by the fire. Fire crews are now working to reduce any smoke or water damage.

The hotel has been evacuated and there are street closures along Brazos Street between Sixth and Seventh streets.

So far the cause of the fire is not yet known.

Apartment Building, Residential

Lancaster, PA – (no media coverage) Microwave fire extinguished by sprinkler system

Sprinklers save lives and buildings. Sprinklers turn potential really big fires into very small boring fires. A single automatic sprinkler head saved a 3 story wood frame occupied apartment house in Lancaster Township Fire Department this morning. The microwave oven caught fire even though it wasn’t in use. The occupants fled the building as the fire started spreading. The kitchen sprinkler head went off and PUT OUT the fire. We spent 30 minutes cleaning up instead of 3 hours in a water battle. 30 people have a home and a million dollar apartment building has some water damage instead of being bulldozed into a rubble pile. Sprinklers save lives and property.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Long Beach, WA – Sprinkler system activated for dryer fire at restaurant

A popular Long Beach restaurant was spared serious damage after catching fire Monday evening, May 10.

No injuries but moderate damage were reported following a Monday evening fire at the Lost Roo restaurant, 1700 Pacific Ave. S. in Long Beach.

The fire, reported around 6:30 p.m., generated a quick response from several local fire departments including Ilwaco, Long Beach and Ocean Park.

Damage to the business, closed at the time of the fire, was mainly confined to the back kitchen area. It was initially suspected that it started in a clothing dryer, which was loaded with towels.

The charred, front-loading dryer was removed out the backdoor by firemen along with armloads of scorched linens.

Lost Roo owners Tania and Travis Miller were nearby and responded to the scene along with a growing gathering of curious onlookers.

“Nobody really knows what happened; we were actually closed today,” Tania said. “I would assume some sort of electrical issue. Travis and I were sitting at The Depot having dinner for Mother’s Day and our alarm company called and said there was smoke and that our sprinkler system had been deployed. It appears the fire started with the dryer but we’re not really sure yet.”

Tania, who has owned the business four years, said some employees were working in the morning but the business had been closed to customers for the day.

Tania praised the fast response from local fire departments and the effectiveness of the sprinkler system.

“This is a first, but the fortunate part is that sprinkler system did what it’s supposed to do. It went off right where the fire was at and put it out,” she said. “The damage is very minimal in regard to what potentially could have happened — it’s fixable.”

The business will be closed in the coming days for repairs. The official cause of the fire remains under investigation. The call-out lasted about an hour.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Cumming, GA – Sprinkler system activated for restaurant fire on Mother’s Day

Authorities say several dozens of people, including patrons and employees, had to evacuate from a popular Korean restaurant on Mother’s Day, after an outside fire.

Forsyth County Division Fire Chief Jason Shivers said damage was significantly limited thanks to all systems working properly and keeping an external fire at Q Korean Steakhouse from causing any significant damage inside.

Those systems included smoke alarms and the sprinkler system which both activated around 6:45 p.m. when the fire started. 

However, they also included a third element – an off-duty Alpharetta firefighter who immediately used three dry chemical fire extinguishers to help control the flames until local crews could arrive.

At this point, the fire’s cause is considered accidental, however, the specific cause hasn’t yet been determined. It’s unclear how long, at this point, repairs will take or when the restaurant intends to reopen.

Apartment Building, Residential

Ithaca, NY – Sprinkler system kept apartment fire under control until fire crews arrived

The Ithaca Fire Department responded to a call for a fire alarm activation at Titus Towers, an apartment complex on South Plain Street just before 10pm Friday.

Smoke could be seen coming from the building outside but once inside, responders found that the fire was contained to one apartment. The fire was still burning when help arrived, but sprinklers were able to keep it under control.

Firefighters rescued one person  in the apartment as well as a neighboring tenant uninjured.

Responders credit the working smoke detector, fire alarm, and sprinkler system for keeping the fire contained and everyone safe. Following apartment damage the Ithaca Housing Authority is now helping the occupants with clean up and accommodations.

Reporting on lives and property saved by fire sprinklers