Fire crews say they responded to M.L.K. Jr. Blvd and Annadale Avenue for a small fire on the first floor, which was quickly extinguished by the sprinkler system. The facility had extensive water damage and many of the occupants were temporarily displaced.
Fire officials say one person was transported to a local hospital with smoke inhalation. Fire investigators say an oxygen generator may have been the cause of the fire.
Firefighters responded to an apartment fire in the area of 6000 NW 26th Street, just before 6:04 a.m. Firefighters arrived on scene in just under five minutes and immediately began extinguishing the fire and searching for victims. The 27 firefighters who responded had the fire extinguished within 4 minutes of arrival. Building damage was limited mostly to the apartment of origin. Damage to an adjacent apartment was minimal. No civilian or firefighter injuries resulted from this fire. Two neighbors were displaced. The fire is under investigation.
While firefighters were finishing up at the first fire, a second multi-family residential building fire was reported at 6:23 a.m. near the 3000 block of NE 28th Drive (GRACE Marketplace). Firefighters arrived on scene in six minutes to find the building full of smoke and immediately began efforts to locate the fire and search for victims.
Prior to the arrival of firefighters, the building’s fire sprinkler system controlled fire growth, allowing occupants time to escape and limiting building damage. The 27 firefighters who responded completed extinguishing the fire within 10 minutes of arrival. The fire caused minimal damage to the building. One civilian suffered a very minor injury, and no firefighter injuries were reported. Ten neighbors were displaced.
The fire appears to have been caused by several charging battery packs. Fires caused by batteries and battery chargers are a growing problem. The National Fire Protection Association recommends that you avoid charging a device under a pillow, on a bed, or on a couch, and do not keep charging the device or battery once it is fully charged.
“From what I know so far, it seems there was a small fire contained by the sprinkler system,” said Nate Moss, chief of the Athens-Clarke County Fire and Emergency Services Department. “Crews are still at the scene clearing smoke and checking for extension.”
The incident resulted in the closure of North Lumpkin between Broad and Clayton streets.
Moss said additional information would be available later today.
The Globe is one of the landmark establishments in downtown Athens and was designated among Esquire magazine’s “Best Bars in America.”
Spokesperson Cynthia Schuster said firefighters were dispatched to 30 East Campus Mall at 12:33 a.m. for a fire alarm activation. Schuster said no one was around to report the fire to 911.
Upon arrival, firefighters were met by members of the UW-Madison Police Department and UW Security.
The crew entered the building and noticed an odor of smoke. The odor was followed to a wood workshop, where the crew found the room full of smoke and an automatic fire sprinkler activated.
Beneath the active sprinkler was a burned-up garbage can and its contents on the floor. Just one sprinkler head activated, but it extinguished the fire and prevented the fire from spreading, according to Schuster.
Damage from the fire is estimated at about $2,000. Damage was contained to some paint cans, a portable electric sander, cabinets and other items.
Firefighters moved the burned items outside, ventilated the area, and turned off the fire sprinkler system.
With the sprinkler systems temporarily shut down, UW Security provided fire watch until a responsible party returned to the building.
The fire was reported at 5 p.m. at the Fremont Recycling & Transfer Station at 41149 Boyce Road. The fire was in the electronics recycling storage area.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. There were no reports of injuries to firefighters or employees.
The fire was contained to the area of origin and operations were able to resume in the remainder of the facility.
Around 9 p.m., Syracuse Firefighters were dispatched to investigate a fire alarm activation at the Crowne Plaza Hotel at 701 East Genesee Street, in downtown Syracuse.
When firefighters arrived on the scene moments later, they found an active alarm in the building, indicating a fire sprinkler activation on the 20th floor. Firefighters also noticed water leaking from elevator shafts on the first floor, and a faint odor of smoke in the lobby. The incident commander at the scene immediately requested the alarm be upgraded from an alarm investigation response.
The water leaking into the elevators had caused them to become disabled, and unusable, on the first floor. As additional crews of firefighters arrived at the scene, they began moving equipment and personnel up to the 20th floor via the stairwells to investigate. As crews neared the top, they encountered a worsening smoke condition, and eventually found fire on the 20th floor.
Teams of firefighters searched the 20th floor for any trapped occupants as other teams of firefighters connected hoses to the building’s standpipe system to fight the fire. It was quickly determined that the 20th floor, an open-plan event space frequently used for large gatherings, was empty. The fire was located and extinguished.
A sprinkler head nearby had activated as designed and held the flames in check. Crews also checked the floor below the fire, as smoke that filled the 20th floor had begun to affect the 19th floor. Incident commanders requested a ‘second alarm,’ bringing additional personnel and resources to the scene.
With the bulk of the fire knocked down, crews shifted to a ventilation operation. This involved bringing in large, powerful fans to remove smoke and other products of combustion from the affected floors.
The 20th floor sustained fire, smoke, and water damage. Syracuse Fire Investigators were at the scene working to determine the exact origin and cause of the fire. That investigation is ongoing.
Firefighters worked to protect belongings and property in the affected area, using large tarps to divert water away. No one was injured.
Hotel staff are working with fire officials to ensure any guests displaced by the fire and subsequent fire suppression operations are accommodated.
Battalion Chief Brian Harryman of the Berkeley Fire Department credited the Hope Center’s fire sprinkler system with putting out the blaze before it spread.
“It probably saved the whole building,” he said.
The Hope Center, which opened in 2022 on the site of a former city parking lot, has 53 supportive housing units while Berkeley Way Apartments, part of the same complex, has 89 affordable units and services for low-income families.
Firefighters were dispatched to the Hope Center, at 2012 Berkeley Way, just before 8:30 p.m. Monday for a report of smoke on the third floor.
“We’re getting reports of somebody blowing up their room, unknown what that means,” a dispatcher told the Berkeley Fire Department as the call came in.
Thanks to proximity, Berkeley firefighters arrived at the Hope Center in under a minute, Harryman said: BFD’s Station 2 is just across the street about 100 feet away.
Inside the apartment, firefighters found scooters and lithium-ion batteries that had been charging unattended.
The fire was out quickly thanks to the sprinkler system, but the water caused “considerable damage” to the apartment where the batteries were charging.
Several adjacent units saw minimal damage due to water that got in beneath the doors.
Firefighters had to manually turn off the sprinklers to control the flow.
“There’s a considerable amount of water damage,” a firefighter said over the radio just before 8:40 p.m., adding: “We’re going to need squeegees and manpower.”
All of the residents were able to return to their rooms aside from the unit where the fire happened.
Fortunately, Harryman said, a friend in the building offered that resident a place to stay.
“We checked around and all the shelters were full. All the hotels were full,” he said. “We really didn’t have a place to send him.”
Harryman noted that some of the scooter rental companies pay people to charge lithium-ion batteries for them. But he said he did not know if that had been the case on Berkeley Way.
BFD strongly discourages anyone from charging lithium-ion batteries inside their homes, he added. Even outside, they should not be left unattended.
“Don’t plug them in and leave for the day or leave them for the weekend,” he said. “These things are overcharging, heating up and causing fires. If you are going to charge it, remain home with it and don’t charge it inside.”
Last year, the city of Berkeley announced in June that six recent fires had been caused by unattended lithium battery charging.
“These local battery fires — involving e-skateboards, e-scooters, and at least one e-bike — have also been seen around the region and nation,” the city wrote.
The city also noted that fires could “occur spontaneously while charging” and advised anyone noticing signs of fire, such as smoke, gas and sparks, to evacuate the area and immediately call 911.
Learn more from the city of Berkeley about fire risks related to lithium-ion batteries.
There are no injuries after a building fire in Gainesville early Tuesday morning.
Gainesville Fire Rescue responded to the Hub at 1258 Northwest 3rd Avenue. First arriving crews reported smoke coming from the parking garage.
The fire was located in a dumpster on the first floor of the garage. The building sprinkler system held the fire in place until crews extinguished it.
There were no injuries reported, and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
Police are questioning one person of interest.
When crews arrived on Academy Court Saturday, they said the main body of the fire had already been extinguished.
Firefighters helped get the smoke from the building and also assisted with water removal, which eliminated further damage, said firefighters.
The cause remains under investigation.
