Other - Storage / Warehouse

Frederick, MD – Sprinkler system keeps exterior fire at UPS facility from spreading inside

An overnight fire at a UPS center in Maryland has sent a yet undetermined number of packages up in smoke during this holiday season. WUSA-TV reports Frederick County Fire Department spokesman Kevin Fox says the fire was reported about 11:40 p.m. Monday. News outlets report responding crews found 10 trucks and a package loading structure ablaze. Fox says it took firefighter around 45 minutes to bring the blaze under control. He says the building suffered mostly exterior damage since a sprinkler system activated inside the main structure. The Fire Marshal is investigating the fire’s cause. A representative for UPS says the company is working to identify and notify shippers of the damaged packages, as well as reroute packages that would have gone out on the damaged trucks.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

West Fargo, ND (No Media Coverage) – Early morning fire at kindergarten center extinguished by sprinkler system

*** NO MEDIA COVERAGE — READER REPORTED ***

A blog reader reported this sprinkler save from the Lodoen Kindergarten Center. The following message was sent from the school:

“At approximately 6:00 AM this morning, the West Fargo Fire Department responded to a fire alarm at our school. The alarm went off due to a small fire on the stove in the staff lounge. The fire was extinguished by the sprinkler system by the time the Fire Department arrived, but they did check our facility to ensure there were no further issues and that we could have school as normal. None of our classrooms were impacted, and students had a normal day today.”

Restaurant

McKinney, TX – Sprinkler system keeps restaurant dumpster fire from spreading

The McKinney Fire Department (MFD) responded to an incident at 8 p.m. Thursday at Spring Creek Barbeque, 1993 U.S. 75, where first responders saw smoke and heard the fire alarm upon arrival.

An investigation revealed the fire sprinkler system had activated and suppressed a fire within the dumpster. A single sprinkler head is credited for the minimal fire damage and reinforced the value of fire sprinkler systems in commercial structures.

Twenty five MFD personnel and investigators from the fire marshal’s office responded to the fire. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire was determined to disposal of ashes into the dumpster.

“This successful sprinkler save continues to demonstrates the effectiveness of automatic fire sprinkler systems in a commercial environment. Had a fire sprinkler system not been present, the outcome may have been very different,” said Deputy Fire Marshal Andrew Barr.

For additional information on fire protection systems, code requirements or other fire prevention topics, visit mckinneyfire.org or call 972-547-2862.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Greensboro, NC – Motel fire caused by cigarette doused by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Sprinklers doused a fire inside a motel room and kept it from spreading to others, firefighters said. Firefighters responded about noon Saturday to the In-Town Suites at 501 Americhase Drive for a reported fire. Chief Jim Boggs with the Greensboro Fire Department said some of the fire trucks that were en route were called off because the sprinklers took care of the fire. He said the fire was accidental and caused by a cigarette.

“It was controlled pretty quickly,” he said. The fire was contained to one room at the motel which had 133 guests at the time, including the one in the damaged room, according to a fire department news release. The occupant of the damaged room had to be relocated. Boggs said there was some fire and water damage to the room. No injuries were reported. To avoid such fires, the department urges people to use fire safe cigarettes, smoke outside and not smoke when sleepy or after having consumed medicine or alcohol. Firefighters also say people should check furniture before going to bed to make sure smoldering cigarette butts have not fallen out of sight.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Kent, WA – Warehouse fire caused by recharging forklift battery controlled by sprinkler system

What started as a sprinkler water flow alarm (SWFA) on Friday night turned into a commercial fire in the 20100 block of 72 Ave. S., Kent, the Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority reported. No one was in the building at the time of the fire and there were no injuries. When firefighters got on scene they discovered that the entire warehouse and office spaces of the building were filled with smoke, Puget Sound Fire said. The engine company quickly upgraded the alarm to a full “commercial structure fire” to add additional units.

The fire appears to have originated where a forklift’s battery was being charged, fire officials said. The SWFA was set off when the heat from the fire activated the sprinkler head directly above it, exactly as it was designed to do, fire officials said. The movement of water through the pipes sent a signal to the alarm monitoring company, which called the local 911. The activated sprinkler head controlled the fire and kept it from spreading, giving firefighters the time needed to access the inside of the building with fire hoses to fully extinguish it, Puget Sound Fire said. Because of the size and height of the concrete tilt-up style building, firefighters are using large fans to clear out the smoke. A fire investigator will go in once that is accomplished to confirm the cause of the fire.

Apartment Building, Residential

Wilmington, NC – Fire department credits sprinkler system with extinguishing apartment balcony fire

A fire sprinkler was credited with confining a fire to a balcony, the Wilmington Fire Department said in a release.  A fire was reported on the balcony at 4940 Pepys Lane shortly after midnight Friday, possibly caused by fireworks, the release said. A sprinkler, activated over the balcony, extinguishing the fire.

“There were no injuries to any civilians or fire personnel reported,” the release said. “This one sprinkler head activation required less firefighters to be on scene mitigating a fire problem, saved a four-story, multi-family residential building and quite possibly saved human lives.”

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Tampa, FL – Fire at Courtyard Marriott hotel limited by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A fire forced guest and staff to evacuate a Tampa hotel. Tampa Fire Rescue responded to a fire at the Marriott Hotel located at 3805 W. Cypress Street on Thursday night. The fire started around 9:15 p.m. Firefighters said a flight attendant who was staying at the hotel started the heater/AC unit and it sparked. She immediately called 911 about the fire. “My husband and I were in there. We were watching TV and heard some commotion. I opened up the door and a lady was running down the call, everybody out!” said Yvonne Wesley Payne, a hotel guest. Firefighters said the third floor had water and smoke damage. The sprinkler system worked. Firefighters believe the cause of the fire was electrical/mechanical malfunction of the room heater. No one was hurt.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Brockton, MA – Sprinkler system keeps overnight hotel fire from spreading

A sprinkler system is being credited for averting a possible major fire or disaster at a downtown hotel early Friday morning. The Brockton Fire Department received a 911 call about 1 a.m. reporting there was an unknown fire in one of the rooms at the Elmcourt Hotel, at 33 West Elm St. When firefighters arrived, they learned that the sprinkler system had been activated on the fourth floor.

“The contents of the room, including the mattress, were on fire,” said fire Capt. Jeff Marchetti. “The sprinkler heads were flowing and kept the fire from spreading.”

The fire was caused by the careless disposal of smoking materials, the captain said.

The actual fire was contained to only the one room on the fourth floor. Firefighters had to tap into a standpipe system in the building to use a small amount of water to extinguish the parts of the fire that the sprinkler didn’t, Marchetti said.

The fire was extinguished about 12 minutes after the initial 911 call reporting it.

Although the fire was contained to one room, there was a large amount of water damage to multiple floors due to the sprinkler system, Marchetti said.

“Because of the water damage from the sprinkler heads flowing, they had to shut down power to some of the hotel,” he said.

The fire is estimated to have caused about $100,000 in damage, Marchetti said.

Fire officials said several people had to be relocated because they couldn’t stay in the rooms directly below where the fire occurred due to water damage.

But Chip Yannone, the owner of the Elmcourt, said everyone was able to stay in the hotel, some just had to switch rooms.

“We are fortunate enough to be able to keep everyone here,” he said.

Yannone said that insurance adjusters hadn’t been to the building as of late Friday morning and he wanted to wait for their investigation to be complete before discussing the possible damages.

Residential, Residential High Rise

Halifax, NS, Canada – Fire on 26th floor of high rise apartment building controlled by sprinkler system

Fire crews responded to reports of a fire at Fenwick Tower in Halifax on Wednesday. They were called at about 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday after a fire broke out on the 26th floor. Deputy Chief Roy Hollett says the building’s sprinkler system controlled the fire, and firefighters were able to put it out completely. Power was shut off to the building and there is water damage from the 26th floor and below. While the Canadian Red Cross was called in to prepare emergency shelter for residents, the city said late this afternoon that the decision had been made to allow tenants to remain in the building. Power is being restored one floor at a time, while building electricians make repairs.

Apartment Building, Residential

Cambridge, MA – No injuries in overnight apartment fire contained with help sprinkler system

A fast-moving fire in Cambridge could have been much worse if it wasn’t for the sprinkler system. Firefighters were called to a four-story apartment building at the corner Auburn and Magazine streets around 1 a.m. after flames broke out on a second floor porch. The fire then spread to two more buildings.

“I started hearing cracking and popping. We really didn’t think much of it and then I looked out my window and saw all these embers falling,”resident Andrew Colello told WBZ-TV.

“I hear a crash and there’s like a fireman knocking down my door, waking all my roommates up, getting us out of there.”

A total of 20 units were evacuated safely because the sprinklers helped contain the fire, acting Fire Chief Gerard Mahoney told reporters. No one was hurt. There’s no word yet on a cause.

The four-alarm fire came just days before the first anniversary of a massive 10-alarm fire on Berkshire Street in Cambridge. “This thankfully, had a far different outcome than that did. But we don’t like to see anybody displaced at any time, particularly in the holiday season,” Mahoney said. About 60 people were displaced in Thursday’s fire.

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