Apartment Building, Residential

Hendersonville, TN – Apartment kitchen fire extinguished quickly by residential sprinkler system

The Hendersonville Fire Department responded to a fire at 7:42 p.m. Jan. 13 at the Luxe Apartment complex, where a kitchen fire occurred in building B. The fire was extinguished quickly by the sprinkler system, while the owners left the apartment, according to the release.  The fire department began salvage and overhaul and shut off the sprinkler system. No injuries were reported. The fire department remained on scene until all water was removed from the second floor apartment.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Palo Alto, CA – Restaurant fire controlled with help from sprinkler system

A restaurant fire in Palo Alto led to street closures in downtown last Monday afternoon.  Crews responded to multiple reports from passersby of a structure fire at Three Seasons restaurant at 518 Bryant St. shortly before 2:30 p.m., when smoke and flames were visible from the two-story building, according to emergency-radio dispatches. When firefighters arrived, a restaurant manager told them the restaurant was empty and they made their way inside, according to dispatch radio.

Plumes of smoke were coming from the roof. Palo Alto Fire Battalion Chief Bobby Davis said the fire started in the kitchen and spread over the stove and other equipment. Flames in the kitchen went up the flue to the roof. Two of three vents burned up, he said. The blaze was extinguished about 20 minutes later. No one was injured and no other buildings were damaged. There was some smoke and water damage where the sprinkler system turned on, Davis said.

The cause of the fire was not immediately apparent, and fire officials are still doing a formal investigation, he said. Police had blocked off University and Hamilton avenues between Bryant and Ramona streets until about 4 p.m., the agency said on Twitter.

Apartment Building, Residential

McKinney, TX – Apartment kitchen fire controlled by single automatic sprinkler, limiting fire damage

Firefighters were called to the Magnolia Ranch Apartments, 3191 Medical Center Dr., at 6:21 p.m. last night for a water flow alarm. They arrived to find that a cooking fire in the kitchen had been extinguished by an overhead fire sprinkler. The single sprinkler is credited for the limited fire damage and shines a light on the value of having fire sprinkler systems installed. The resident was treated for smoke inhalation.   According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), kitchen fires account for about half of all home fires and fire injuries. Unattended cooking was a factor in 33 percent of all kitchen fires.  “This demonstrates the effectiveness of automatic fire sprinkler systems. A kitchen fire like this could spread quickly in an apartment building environment,” says McKinney Fire Marshal Mike Smith. “Without the sprinkler system, the outcome could have been much worse.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Parsippany, NJ – Sprinkler system assists firefighters in extinguishing laundry room fire at Hampton Inn

Rainbow Lakes Volunteer Fire District 2 along with the Mount Tabor Volunteer Fire District 1 were dispatched to the Hampton Inn & Suites, 3737 Route 46 for an activated fire alarm at 11:33 a.m. on Monday, January 15.  While responding the dispatcher got a call stating there was a fire on top of the water heater in the laundry room.  Mutual aid was requested and prior to getting water on the fire the sprinkler activated extinguishing the bulk of the fire.  The building was evacuated and the evacuation of the above floors was ensured by members of the Parsippany Police Department.

The building was checked to ensure the fire did not spread. Members on scene ventilated the entire building as smoke had spread throughout the common areas on all floors. There were no injuries and the hotel resumed operations.

In addition to Rainbow Lakes Volunteer Fire District 2, Mount Tabor Volunteer Fire District 1, Parsippany-Troy Hills Volunteer Fire Department District 5, Parsippany Volunteer Fire District 4 Rapid Intervention Team, Boonton Township Fire Dept Rapid Intervention Team, Parsippany Police Department, Par-Troy Emergency Medical Services and Parsippany Fire Prevention were dispatched to the scene.

Other - Retail, Retail

Belmont, MA – Sprinkler system controls fire affecting three businesses

A building’s sprinkler system did its job preventing a fire from spreading and allowed the Belmont Fire Department to extinguish a one-alarm blaze that damaged three businesses in Cushing Square around 8 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 14.

A fire alarm was activated at 8:23 p.m. at 448 Common St. in what is called The Spirited Gourmet Building, said Belmont Fire Chief David L. Frizzell at the scene. When fire equipment arrived two minutes later, the fire control panel indicated a blaze in Pilgrim Shoe Repair.

Upon gaining access, crews discovered the store full of smoke and small fire in the back corner of the operation.

“The sprinkler’s worked controlling the fire long enough for our personnel to knock it down,” said Frizzell. Fire crews spent nearly two hours searching for “hot spots” in the walls and ceiling. Besides the Pilgrim, water damage was reported in The Spirited Gourmet and the Fred Astaire Dance Studio.

An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway.

Apartment Building, Residential

Lexington, KY – Sprinkler system extinguishes apartment fire originating in water heater

About 10 people were displaced by a fire at a Lexington apartment building Sunday evening, according to the Lexington Fire Department.

The blaze was at a building in the 1700 block of Augusta Court on the north side of Lexington. No one was injured.

The fire was in a water heater and was extinguished by the sprinkler system, said Maj. Maria Roberts.

Occupants of two apartments were displaced. The landlord found other places for the people to stay, Roberts said.

Apartment Building, Residential

Lawrence, KS – Kitchen fire in loft apartment limited by automatic sprinkler system

Two apartments in the Poehler Lofts, 619 E. Eighth St., were damaged Sunday afternoon as a result of a kitchen fire.  Division Chief Doug Green, of Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical, said the department responded at about 3 p.m. Sunday to a fire at the Poehler Lofts. Additionally, the lofts’ fire suppression sprinkler system activated in the unit where the fire started. 

At the scene about 90 minutes after the fire was reported, Green said he did not yet know if the residents of the two damaged apartments would be able to return to the units on Sunday. The other residents of the Poehler Lofts were able to return their apartments after a temporary evacuation, he said.

Residential, Residential High Rise

Hutchinson, KS – Fire in residential high rise contained to kitchen area by sprinkler system

A Hutchinson man “narrowly escaped the smoky conditions” of a kitchen fire late Friday night on the 11th floor of the Plaza Towers that caused other residents to flee their apartments in the 12-story building, the Hutchinson Fire Department stated.

The man used a stove burner to heat the apartment when other material on the stove ignited, according to a press release. A single sprinkler went off, and the man made his way through the dense smoke and out of the apartment. The sprinkler helped contain the fire to the kitchen area. Firefighters found the blaze spread to the kitchen cabinets when they arrived after 11:45 p.m.

Firefighters used thermal-imaging equipment to locate the fire, the release said, while other firefighters evacuated the 11th and 12th floors of the apartment building at 17 E. Second Ave. Approximately 45 apartments are being rented, the fire department said.

The man was the only one in the apartment at the time, fire Chief Steve Beer said. He was treated on site by Reno County EMS and is being assisted by the American Red Cross. Beer said the man and his son were the only residents displaced by the fire

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Vineland, NJ – Sprinkler system limits spread of school arson fire; No injuries reported

Police arrested two students on Friday and charged them with arson after an investigation into a fire earlier this month at Veterans Memorial Intermediate School.  Two 14-year-olds were allegedly involved in an incident where a fire started in a boys’ bathroom, police said.  On Jan. 2, school officials evacuated the South Main Road school, sending the student body out into frigid conditions, when an alarm sounded.  A small fire in the boys’ bathroom activated the sprinkler system.  Once fire officials were on the scene, students returned to the building and were held in the auditorium and cafeteria while firefighters ventilated the ground-floor corridor and cleaned up the standing water.   Damage at the school was deemed minimal and confined to the bathroom, school officials said.  Both teens were processed and released to their parents pending further court action. They were also suspended from school, district officials said.

 

Retail, Shopping Mall

Woodstock, GA – Afternoon fire at video game store put out by sprinkler system

A video game store suffered interior damage following a fire reported late Friday morning in Woodstock. Firefighters with Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services and Woodstock Fire & Rescue were dispatched to Max Video Games at 6424 Bells Ferry Road around 11:30 a.m. Jan. 12.  Firefighters arrived at the shopping mall located across from Walmart to find “light smoke coming out of the back” of the video store’s building, Cherokee County Fire said in a press release.

Those firefighters ventured inside the building to find the sprinkler system had been activated, which put out the fire, the agency added. Cherokee fire investigator Shane Daniel said the building suffered interior damage due to fire, smoke and water. There were no injuries, and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

Max Video Games is the company that bought out Play N Trade and relocated its operations from 2290 Towne Lake Parkway to the shopping center at the corner of Bells Ferry Road and Eagle Drive, according to a September 2014 post on its Facebook page.

As Patch readers recall, Play N Trade suffered a serious blow in September 2013 when a fire set during an armed robbery gutted a good portion of that business while it was housed at 2290 Eagle Drive. Play N Trade’s owner, Troy Brazelton, suffered second- and third-degree burns on his extremities due to the fire. Police offered a reward and interviewed witnesses related to that incident, but have not made an arrest in the case.  Return to Patch for updates.

 

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