Apartment Building, Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Prior Lake, MN – Sprinkler system stops fire at senior apartment building; No injuries reported

The Prior Lake Fire Department responded to a cooking fire at the Grainwood Apartments building Tuesday night. With temperatures dipping below zero degrees around 7:15 p.m., when firefighters responded to the scene, 5119 Gateway St. SE, Fire Chief Rick Steinhaus said he was happy that a sprinkler system within the building extinguished the fire almost immediately.

“It did what it was supposed to do,” he said.

The building was evacuated due to the fire and three units were displaced due to “extensive water damage” from the sprinkler system, Steinhaus said. There was very little fire damage, the chief said. Steinhaus said Tuesday night’s fire is a good example of why the state of Minnesota has been fighting for sprinkler systems in all commercial buildings. “It’s considered a sprinkler save,” he said of the fire.

The Grainwood Apartment complex held its grand opening in August. The building includes 168 living units plus community areas, which include a kitchen, craft room, salon, fitness area, theater and underground heated parking. The building is for adults age 55 and up.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Staunton, VA – Kitchen fire at assisted living center extinguished by sprinkler system

A fire at Brookdale Staunton caused a partial evacuation of the building Monday afternoon. The Christmas Day blaze came from a grease fire in the kitchen at the assisted living center, said Lt. Justin Siron, of Staunton Fire and Rescue. It occurred just after 2:30 p.m. Monday. There were no injuries from the incident. The fire was contained to just the pan, and the kitchen and dining area of the building were evacuated, per protocol, Siron said. The fire activated the building’s sprinkler system, which extinguished the fire.

Apartment Building, Residential

Burton, SC – Apartment kitchen fire caused by unattended cooking extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Just after 6 p.m. Thursday, Burton and MCAS firefighters responded to an alarm activation at Magnolia Park Apartments on Laurel Bay Road. When they got there, they found the residents evacuating and smoke was coming from a second-floor apartment. Upon investigation, crews learned the resident fell asleep while cooking. The unattended food ignited, and the growing flames spread to the cabinets activating the fire alarm as well as a single fire sprinkler head which extingui9shed the fire before the first firetruck arrived. That sprinkler system saved Christmas for 16 families in the apartment complex. No injuries were reported.

Fire crews say cooking is the leading cause of fires, and with the holidays approaching, Burton Fire officials are urging citizens to be extra careful when at the stove, and to place fire extinguishers where they can be seen, quickly accessed, and used.

Apartment Building, Residential

Sioux Falls, SD – Sprinkler system prevents apartment fire from spreading

A sprinkler system liked prevented more widespread fire damage to a downtown Sioux Falls apartment building. Firefighters responded to a fire alarm at the Huey Apartment Building at 112 N. Phillips Avenue Thursday night. When they went inside, they found water coming from an upper floor and found smoke on the third floor. They found heavy smoke in one apartment, but the fire had been extinguished by the sprinkler system. No one was in the apartment at the time of the fire.

Crews evacuated the building and took some displaced residents to the downtown Holiday Inn to keep them out of the cold. There is light smoke damage on the floor of the fire, as well as water damage in the apartment below. Six apartments in the building have damage. Sioux Falls Fire Rescue’s Fire Prevention division is investigating the cause of the fire.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Rockingham, NC – Sprinkler system extinguishes plastics fire at packaging manufacturer

Firefighters didn’t have much fighting to do when they responded to an alarm at Direct Pack East late Wednesday night. Several bags of ground-up plastic caught fire at the manufacturing plant in the former Trane building on Airport Road, according to Bill Bayless, deputy chief of the East Rockingham Fire Department.

Crews from ERFD and Cordova responded after the call went out around 11:30, but Bayless said “the sprinkler system had it extinguished by the time we got there.” The only damage, he added, was to the bags — “It didn’t even smoke up the building.”

A front-end loader was brought in to take out the molten material where firefighters sprayed it down to make sure the hot spots were out. “We don’t know why they smoldered like that,” said Laura Murphy, vice president of marketing for Direct Pack. She said the company would be conducting an internal investigation into the cause.

Fire / Police Station, Government/Military

Batesville, IN – Emergency vehicle fire at at fire station controlled with help from sprinkler system

A Batesville Fire Department ambulance was heavily damaged and four people were injured by a fire early Friday morning at the fire station.  Just after midnight the emergency vehicle caught fire in the garage bay, causing the sprinkler system to activate. Firefighters quickly pulled the ambulance out of the building and the blaze was quickly extinguished.  There was slight damage to the door and soot that will require clean up. Four fire department workers were treated and released for smoke inhalation. No damage estimate is available for the ambulance. The cause is under investigation.

Other Business, Recycling / Waste Facility

Rockland Key, FL – Early morning fire at waste management facility controlled by sprinkler system

Monroe County Fire Rescue responded at 3:17 a.m. Thursday to a fire inside the City of Key West’s transfer station at 125 Toppino Industrial Drive on Rockland Key. The fire was put out just after 5 a.m. with no injuries. Here’s what happened: Crews from Stock Island, Cudjoe Key and Big Coppitt Key arrived to find heavy smoke inside the building that made it impossible to enter immediately. After using fans to push some of the smoke out of the building, crews were able to go inside and assess that the fire was in the middle of a large household trash pile.

At the transfer station, waste is separated into household trash, recycling and yard waste. “It was an exothermic reaction that caused the fire,” said Monroe County’s Deputy Fire Marshall Craig Marston, who is investigating the incident. “Chemicals mixed with the regular trash.”

An automated sprinkler system operated to keep the fire from spreading, Marston said. Crews used a large front-end loader to separate the household trash that was not burning from the fire that was deep inside the large building. Then firefighters were able to extinguished the smoldering flames.

Officials from Waste Management were on scene to help limit the damage. At the time of the fire, there were six bulk haulers in line to haul out debris to the mainland and another eight route trucks in line to bring trash to the transfer station. The fire caused only a three-hour delay in the process. Marston said this fire is a good reminder to residents on why it is important to separate household chemicals from your regular trash.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

DeKalb, IL – Sprinkler system controls afternoon fire at manufacturing facility

Seven people were taken to Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital for smoke inhalation on Wednesday after a fire at the Right Pointe Co. manufacturing facility, 234 Harvestore Drive.

The first call came in at 1:32 p.m., DeKalb Fire Capt. Luke Howieson said. A single engine company was first sent out, but after the department received reports of heavy black smoke coming out of the building, he said more resources were sent to the scene. “The fire was under control within 10 minutes,” Howieson said.  By 2 p.m., no smoke was visible outside the facility.

Howieson said the fire began in an area of the building where there is a lot of machinery. The sprinkler system was able to control the fire, and firefighters were able to contain the rest with fire extinguishers. One hand line was brought into the facility by firefighters, he said. The cause of the fire still is under investigation, Howieson said.

The Cortland and Sycamore fire departments sent ambulances to assist, and after paramedics checked out employees who were in the facility, seven were taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation, Howieson said. The rest of the employees waited in a parking lot across the street.

Right Pointe provides products for concrete and road construction professionals, according to its website, which says the company has been around for more than 80 years. It employs 77 people at the DeKalb location. DeKalb Fire Chief Eric Hicks said the company’s operations were able to continue after some equipment was moved around.

Apartment Building, Residential

Duluth, MN – Apartment fire mostly extinguished by automatic sprinkler system

One person was being treated for smoke inhalation after a fire at Duluth’s Esmond building last Wednesday morning.  The fire was reported just after 7:30 a.m. in the apartment complex at 2001 W. Superior St., according to the Duluth Fire Department. The building, formerly known as the Seaway Hotel, sustained some damage, but no residents were displaced.  The fire department reported that the fire started in the kitchen of a third-floor apartment. The tenant was assisted out of the building before fire crews arrived, but was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Officials said the fire was mostly extinguished by an automatic sprinkler system, but smoke filled the third-floor hallway. The building was evacuated, and all residents were accounted for before being allowed to return to their rooms.  The fire department said five other units sustained water damage, which was estimated at $25,000 to the structure and $4,000 to contents. The American Red Cross was assisting affected residents. The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the fire marshal.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Lebanon, OR – Machinery and duct-work fire at manufacturer put out with help from sprinkler system

The Lebanon Fire District responded to the report of a structure fire at ENTEK Manufacturing around 9:40 p.m. last Tuesday.   Crews arrived to light smoke showing on arrival and evacuation in progress. There was a report of machinery on fire with extension into the duct work.

Lebanon firefighters stretched hose lines into the structure and extinguished the fire with the assistance of the sprinkler system. Firefighters remained on scene until about 1:30 a.m. evacuating smoke and checking for fire extension. Lebanon was assisted by the Albany, Sweet Home, and Tangent fire departments. There where no injuries reported at the incident. According to their website, ENTEK “sells lead-acid separators, lithium-ion separators, extruders, and engineering services on six continents.“

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