Apartment Building, Residential

Rapid City, SD – Single sprinkler holds apartment fire in check; No injuries

A fire sprinkler is being credited for saving a Rapid City apartment building this morning.Thursday, you couldn’t really tell that there was a fire in the building on the 400 block of Bernice Street early Thursday morning.  Fire crews could see smoke coming from the 3rd floor of the apartment, near Elk Vale Road.  Three stations responded, but crews only needed to use a fire extinguisher to put out the fire.  That’s because a single sprinkler head in the apartment kept the fire in check and limiting the damage.  Nobody was hurt and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Winston-Salem, NC – Sprinklers contain fire in 850,000 sq. ft. furniture plant; No injuries reported

A fire at the United Furniture Industries plant on Hanes Mill Road on Wednesday morning forced the evacuation of the 850,000-square-foot building, with no injuries reported after Winston-Salem firefighting crews extinguished the fire. The fire department stayed on the scene most of the afternoon, checking over the area where the fire occurred in the rear of the building on its southwest side. The fire was called in about 11:44 a.m.

Company spokesman Robert Cottam said the fire is believed to have been caused by a short circuit in some medium-voltage wiring. Insurance and fire investigators will be coming to the plant today to continue the fire investigation, he said. “We lost some furniture and have some smelly smoke damage, but we can fix that,” Cottam said. “We had no injuries and the evacuation went as planned.”

The fire started in a part of the plant where finished furniture items are kept prior to shipping them out. “There were flames visible,” Cottam said. “There were sofas on fire. It was not an excessively large fire, contained to about a 10-by-12- foot area. The Winston-Salem Fire Department did a great job. Our sprinkler system worked as it was supposed to.” Cottam said there would be a “significant product loss” of 7,000 to 10,000 pieces of upholstered furniture.

“That is in one section of the plant, but the others are going to be fine,” he said. “The inventory is not a total loss.” The fire was under control by 12:30 p.m.

Roger Brown, who works in a different part of the plant from where the fire occurred, said that he got right out when the alarm sounded. “We didn’t see smoke when we were in the place,” Brown said. “Once we got outside we could see black smoke billowing.”

Brown said he and other workers were told to take the rest of the day off and that the plant would be closed today.

Cottam said production will also probably not take place on Friday and that production at the plant would probably be up and running again on Monday. Distribution could be back in gear by Friday afternoon or sooner, he said.

United’s facility on Hanes Mill Road, formerly known as Hanesbrands’ Weeks plant, specializes in making promotional upholstery — lower-cost items used to draw customers into a store — and vinyl furniture in the $299 to $699 range.

United has about 350 employees at the 850,000-square-foot plant at 401 W. Hanes Mill Road.

When Hanes Hosiery Mills Co. opened the Weeks plant in 1960, it was the largest manufacturing plant in North Carolina. Hanes Hosiery spent about $30 million on the plant, which would be about $245 million in today’s dollars, according to calculations from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Astoria, OR – Fire in mechanical room at Comfort Suites Hotel contained with help from sprinkler system

Monday night Astoria Fire Department and an Officer from Astoria Police Department were dispatched to the Comfort Suites in East Astoria for a report of a natural gas leak behind the building.  While the fire department was evacuating the building the gas leak ignited from an unknown source.  An intense fire broke out igniting the hotel triggering a working fire response.

Astoria fire department was able to quickly address the fire after the evacuation of the hotel. The fire had minimal penetration into the buildings mechanical room where a sprinkler activated.  A large water supply pipe burst inside the hotel flooding the first floor.  Displaced hotel patrons were relocated to other area hotels. Multiple agencies responded as mutual aid, including Olney Wulluski Fire Department, Lewis and Clark Fire Department, Warrenton Fire Department, Knappa Fire Department, Medix Ambulance and Clatsop County Sheriff’s Department.

The cause of the original gas leak and ignition source are under investigation. Members from the Clatsop County Fire Investigation Team and Oregon State Police Arson investigators will be meeting this morning to continue the investigation.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Wenatchee, WA – Sprinkler system helps control foam tray fire at packaging company

A fire in foam apple trays at Dolco Packaging was confined from spreading by an exterior sprinkler system and a quick response by firefighters.   The foam trays were stacked on pallets  in an outdoor storage yard and the burning material put up a significant amount of black smoke when it was first reported to RiverCom about 7:20pm.  The facility is located at 1121 S. Columbia Street in Wenatchee.

The Wenatchee World reports crews from Chelan Fire District #1 and Douglas Fire District #2 arrived and quickly knocked down the fire.   A 2nd alarm was sent out requesting more firefighters but was quickly cancelled when the fire was brought under control according to  Chelan County Battalion Chief Cary Neu.   He reported some smoke damage to the interior of the warehouse but the majority of the damage was outside.  The cause of the fire was not available.

Uncategorized

Petaluma, CA – Sprinkler system keeps dryer fire from spreading at adult memory care home

Nearly 60 residents of an adult care home in Petaluma were evacuated Sunday after a fire ignited in a laundry room.

Petaluma Fire responded to the call at 3:54 p.m. and found smoke pouring out of a roof vent at the Adobe House, a memory care facility at 750 N. McDowell Blvd.

The fire was sparked by a dryer in the facility, but the sprinkler system stopped it from spreading, Petaluma Fire said in a statement.

Fire crews gained control of the small blaze by 4:11 p.m. and assisted in smoke removal and water cleanup before residents were allowed back in the home, Petaluma Fire said.

There were no reported injuries. The fire caused an estimated $30,000 in damage, excluding cleanup costs.

Uncategorized

Geneva, IL – Sprinkler system holds fire in check at Fox Valley Ice Arena; No injuries reported

A mechanical fire that spread to the roof of the Fox Valley Ice Arena in Geneva forced the partial closure of the ice skating facility, authorities said.

Geneva Firemen were dispatched around 6:26 a.m. Sunday to 1996 S. Kirk Road on the city’s east side. The building is owned by the Kane County Forest Preserve District.

Geneva Fire Chief Mike Antenore said the alarm was upgraded when engines were on route to the scene when Tri-Com Central Dispatch reported there was smoke in the building.

“The first arriving fire company found heavy black smoke showing from the roof area on the west side of the building. Firefighters initiated an interior attack and brought the fire under control in approximately 40 minutes,” Antenore said in a news release.

Antenore said the response was upgraded to a box alarm because of the size of the building.

Fire department officials said the building’s sprinkler system activated and “held the fire in check” until the blaze was extinguished.

Firefighters contained the fire to a refrigeration compressor room.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. Damage estimates were in the process of being compiled Sunday afternoon.

“The facility resumed partial operations this morning and is expected to resume full operations later today,” the fire chief said Sunday.

Firefighters from Batavia, St. Charles, Elburn, West Chicago, Fermilab, South Elgin, Elgin, Wheaton, Bartlett and North Aurora assisted Geneva on the scene.

Antenore said no one was hurt.

Other Business

Medford, OR – Sprinkler system contains grease fire at laundry service

Just before 7:00 Saturday morning, Medford Fire-Rescue and Jackson County Fire District 3 responded to a fire alarm at American Linen Service Company between Medford and Central Point.

When crews arrived, they found open flames inside and smoke down to shoulder level. Fortunately, a sprinkler system just over the fire kept it relatively contained.

Investigators say the source was some grease rags.

“[Businesses throw the rags] in a bin and then that bin gets emptied in these big bags and ends up here, so if [the rags are] tightly wadded up and not given the opportunity to dry out, they will develop and generate their own heat,” Battalion Chief Ron Nelson said.

Nelson says most of the damage from the fire was contained to some bags of rags and some nearby shelves. He also added these types of fires are not uncommon in places that use oils and mixtures that could ignite when heated.

Other Business, Place of Worship

Methuen, MA – Sprinkler system helps firefighters control suspicious church fire

Officials are investigating a two-alarm fire that damaged the Christian Church Voice of Salvation at 5 Pleasant St. late Sunday.

Deputy fire Chief Scott Sullivan said the blaze, reported at 10:22 p.m., is still under investigation but indicated he is “leaning toward arson.” 

The State Fire Marshal’s Office is involved in the probe and took samples for analysis, Sullivan said.

Investigators used an accelerant-sniffing dog to detect possible signs of arson. A sprinkler head controlled the fire long enough for a hose team to get into the building, which housed the Red Tavern for many years, Sullivan said.

The building has many void spaces and that makes firefighters nervous, the deputy chief said. The firefighters who responded to the fire did a good job of keeping the flames from spreading, he said.

The fire damaged a rug and some furniture, Sullivan said. The Haitian-American congregation will most likely not hold worship services there next Sunday, he said.

Salem, New Hampshire, and Lawrence crews assisted Methuen firefighters. The last unit left the scene at 2:24 a.m. Monday.

Apartment Building, Residential

Racine, WI – Apartment fire started by unattended candle contained by sprinkler system

A sprinkler system is credited with containing a fire in a bedroom in an apartment Thursday morning, city fire officials said.  Racine firefighters were dispatched at 8:53 a.m. to the Regency West Apartments, 2218 Loni Lane, for a report of a fire alarm.  Fire crews, with the assistance of building maintenance, gained access to an apartment, where firefighters discovered that the sprinkler system had contained the blaze.  Fire officials said the occupants were not home at the time of the fire and no one was injured. An unattended candle was found that occupants admitted they had forgotten about, fire officials said.  Damage is estimated at $4,000 and the three occupants of the apartment were reported to be working with Red Cross for housing arrangements.  Racine police assisted at the scene.

Adult Care/Rehab Center, Residential

Portland, OR – Fire in residential room at behavior health facility put out by sprinkler system

A fire broke out at a behavioral health facility in southeast Portland early Thursday morning. Portland Fire & Rescue said firefighters were called to the fire that ignited in an apartment unit at Cascadia Behavioral Health, located at 7511 Southeast Henry Street. The small fire was put out by a sprinkler before firefighters arrived to the scene. Firefighters helped evacuate all the occupants of the smoke-filled building and searched for any additional flames.

PF&R said the fire didn’t do much structural damage, and the bit of damage done was contained to the room where the fire started. Two or three people were evaluated for non-life-threatening issues related to smoke, and one patient was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation of smoke inhalation.  PF&R said the water cleanup could take a couple of hours. The cause of the fire wasn’t immediately known.

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