Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Mishawaka, IN – Fire in test booth at manufacturing facility is extinguished by sprinkler system

A fire broke out at AM General’s Mishawaka plant last Friday morning, causing an evacuation of employees.  According to our partners at WSBT, Penn Township Fire Department responded to the call from AM General’s H1 plant around 8:30 a.m. today. Upon arrival the firefighters found that the plant’s sprinkler system had extinguished the fire after two to three minutes. AM General spokeswoman Deborah Reyes said in an email that the fire was confined to a vehicle roll test booth, and caused “negligible impact to the production process as it was halted during the fire inspection.” No injuries or illness were reported. Reyes said the company will make temporary adjustments to its production process without the use of the roll test booth, and added that the company’s safety drills and tests were successfully executed.

Apartment Building, Residential

McKinney, TX – Apartment kitchen fire extinguished by sprinkler system; Fire Department reports

Units from the McKinney Fire Department (MFD) and its’ investigators were called to an apartment building at 6150 Alma Rd. on Tuesday for a water flow alarm. A kitchen fire had broken out in a second floor unit. Fortunately, the fire had already been extinguished by the apartment’s Fire Sprinkler System. The cause of the fire was determined to be a stove burner that the occupant had left on, which caused a plastic bowl to ignite.  “Never leave cooking food unattended and double check that stoves and ovens have been turned off,” said McKinney Fire Marshal Michael Smith. “This case shows how sprinklers save lives and property – avoiding millions in damage and repair costs.”

Apartment Building, Residential

Normal, IL – Fire at student apartment building kept from spreading by automatic sprinkler system

The Normal Fire Department reports an automatic sprinkler kept a fire from spreading in a student apartment on Willow Street Wednesday afternoon.  The department received the call after 1 p.m. for the fire in a third floor bedroom at The Lodge on Willow. Firefighters discovered that the sprinkler in the bedroom was putting water on the fire. Firefighters ventilated the room and made sure the fire was out. “This is a perfect example of a fire sprinkler system getting water on an early stage fire fast and knocking the fire down before it got out of control,” Normal Fire Chief Mick Humer said in a release. Moderate smoke and heat damage was reported to the bedroom with water damage to the room’s contents. Damage was confined to the bedroom.  The occupant was not home. No injuries were reported.  No damage estimate is yet available as investigators try to determine the cause.

Apartment Building, Residential

Dover, NH – Apartment kitchen fire extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A fire at a Grove Street apartment Sunday was much different from one that occurred there nearly 16 years ago because of the sprinkler system that was installed, said the city’s fire chief.  At around 5:25 p.m. Sunday, the department was dispatched to the apartment building on 71 Grove St. And by the time the firefighters got the hose up to the second floor for the cooking fire, it was extinguished by the sprinkler system. The sprinkler system was added when the building was rehabilitated after the fire because of changes in the city’s fire code, Hagman said.

The fire on April 1, 2002, started in a second-floor apartment, like the one on Sunday. However, unlike Sunday’s fire, the 2002 one required rescuing two people from the apartment, said Chief Eric Hagman. Current Assistant Fire Chief Paul Haas was a firefighter then and a part of that rescue, he said.  The fire began in the kitchen where residents were getting ready to fry food when the oil got too hot and ignited, Hagman said. The fire spread to the kitchen cabinets but when the heat sensing sprinkler system activated, the fire was soon extinguished, Hagman said.

He said the residents, while they could have stayed at the apartment last night, went elsewhere for the night. The apartment below experienced some water damage. However, Hagman said that is much different than having to relocate all the residents in the building because of a fire, which occurred in the 2002 fire.

“That’s the benefit of having a code required sprinkler system,” he said. “There was no need for rescues and people got to stay in their apartments. It was a real good outcome.”

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Cambridge Springs, PA – Sprinklers help minimize damage in compressor room fire at manufacturer

A fire that occurred the evening of Feb. 5 at Lord Corp. in Cambridge Springs caused minimal damage, according to Cambridge Springs Volunteer Fire Department Jeff Murdock.  Cambridge Springs firefighters were called to a structure fire at Lord Corp. at 5 p.m., according to Murdock.  When crews arrived they found heavy smoke and a small fire coming from a compressor located on a mezzanine area, Murdock said.  The fire was declared out by 5:35, Murdock said. The sprinkler system in the building activated, which caused some water damage to a break room and restroom located under the sprinklers, according to Murdock.

A crew working in the building noticed the smoke and evacuated, according to Murdock.  “As they were evacuating they saw the fire start,” he said.  The fire is considered to be accidental due to an overheated motor and belt, Murdock said.  Cambridge Springs firemen were assisted at the scene by volunteer crews from Venango, Saegertown, West Mead 2 and Edinboro. Meadville Area Ambulance Service was also at the scene.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Centralia, WA – Overnight fire at restaurant doused by sprinkler system

A kitchen fire damaged Centralia’s Casa Ramos restaurant Saturday night, according to the Riverside Fire Authority.  Smoke was reported coming from the restaurant in the 900 block of Harrison Avenue at 11:56 p.m. Saturday. The business was closed and no employees were at the location.  Deputies from the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office were at the scene and confirmed seeing smoke in the bar area.  Firefighters forced entry and found a small fire burning on the floor near a “large natural gas burner,” according to the RFA.

The restaurant’s sprinkler system extinguished most of the fire, and firefighters used a small amount of water to take care of the rest.  The kitchen sustained heat and smoke damage. According to the RFA, the building’s owner believed the business would be open the following day.  The fire is not considered suspicious, but the cause is under investigation, according to the RFA.  The Chehalis Fire Department, West Thurston Regional Fire Authority and the Centralia Police Department also responded.

Other Business

Pikeville, KY – Theater fire caused by pyrotechnics is put out by sprinkler system; No injuries

Firefighters were called to a small fire Saturday afternoon on the stage at Jenny Wiley Theatre.  Pikeville 911-Public Safety Director Paul Maynard says the fire occurred after a malfunction during a test of the venue’s pyrotechnics. The fire was contained to a portion of the stage, and the building’s sprinkler system worked as designed to put it out. The burnt portion of the stage was removed from the building. The theater sustained some smoke and water damage.

No one was hurt in the incident. Jenny Wiley Theatre released a statement about the incident, saying the fire occurred during preparations for the opening the youth program’s production of “The Tempest.” The statement said while the fire was minor, it did destroy the set for the production. The theater requested donations to offset the cost of repairs.

Office Building

San Diego, CA – Sprinkler systems assists firefighters in suppressing office building fire

A sprinkler system and quick response by firefighters limited damage from a fire to an office building Saturday in San Diego, authorities said. At about 5:15 p.m. a passerby noticed flames coming from the side of a building at 9449 Balboa Avenue, fire officials said. It went to a second alarm at 5:31 p.m. and the flames were out within 20 minutes.  Fire damage was confined to the third floor exterior deck and water damaged a couple of law offices next to the deck, firefighters said. No injuries were reported, they said. The fire was caused by discarded smoking materials, officials said.

Apartment Building, Residential

Chesapeake, VA – Apartment fire caused by malfunctioning heater extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries

An apartment building in Chesapeake caught fire Sunday night. Firefighters were called to the 2800 block of Parkside Drive around 8:35 p.m., and arrived 6 minutes later. Smoke was coming from the two-story building. As fire crews entered the building they found that a fire in a first floor apartment unit had been extinguished by the building’s fire sprinkler system. Water from the sprinkler system caused damage to three adjoining units. Officials said the cause of the fire was from a malfunctioning heater located in the fire damaged apartment. No injuries and the Red Cross has been contacted to assist the displaced occupants.

Apartment Building, Residential

Lawrence, KS – Early morning apartment fire suppressed by sprinkler system

One person was rescued from an apartment that caught fire early Saturday in downtown Lawrence, authorities said. The blaze was reported at 5:16 a.m. Saturday at 800 New Hampshire Street. The first firefighter arrived on the scene at 5:18 a.m. and reported nothing was showing from the five-story apartment building, said Division Chief Justin Temple, of Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical.

Crews then located a fire in Apartment 302 of the building. Fire crews located, then rescued, a resident from the apartment. Temple said the building’s fire alarm system activated and alerted all residents. He added that the fire sprinkler system in apartment 302 activated and helped control the fire until crews could extinguish the blaze, which was declared under control by 5:49 a.m. Other residents of the building were displaced and were assisted in a temporary move to 888 New Hampshire by representatives of First Management. All displaced residents were later allowed to return to their apartments.

Temple said the resident from apartment 302 was treated at the scene, then taken to Lawrence Memorial Hospital. The person’s name and condition weren’t immediately available. No other injuries were reported. Fire department investigators were called to the scene to determine the fire’s cause. An estimated dollar loss wasn’t immediately available.

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