Apartment Building, Residential

Chilliwack, BC, Canada – Fire at four story apartment building suppressed by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

With cold weather here and a Winter Storm Warning in effect the Chilliwack Fire Department is warning residents not to leave combustibles near heat sources after a fire Monday night. On Feb. 6 at approximately 9:45 p.m. the Chilliwack Fire Department was dispatched to a reported structure fire in the 8900-block of School Street.  On arrival crews saw smoke from a second-storey apartment window of a four-storey residential building.  Firefighters responded from Halls 1 and 4. The sprinkler system was primarily responsible for extinguishing the fire, minimizing fire damage to the tenant’s unit.  The tenant was home at the time of the fire. There were no firefighter or civilian injuries.  The cause of the fire appears to be accidental.  The Chilliwack Fire Department is reminding residents to keep combustibles at least one metre away from heat sources.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Vinton, VA – Sprinkler system halts fire in maintenance closet at fabric manufactuer

Firefighters responded to a small fire at Precision Fabrics in Vinton on Saturday night.

The fire caused no injuries and had been extinguished by a sprinkler system by the time units arrived, said Lt. Richard Williams of Roanoke County Fire & Rescue.

The incident, which occurred at about 10 p.m., didn’t damage the facility at 323 W. Virginia Ave., he said.

“It was like a plastic bucket of materials that caught on fire, not the actual structure,” he said. The fire occurred in a maintenance closet in an outlying part of the facility, he said.

Fire units from Roanoke, Roanoke County and Vinton responded to the incident.

Apartment Building, Residential

Dumfries, VA – Apartment kitchen fire contained and extinguished by sprinkler system

On Sunday, February 5 th at 9:50 p.m. fire and rescue units were dispatched to an apartment fire located in the 16600 block of Harwood Oaks Court in Dumfries. Upon arrival, firefighters heard the smoke alarm sounding.

As they made entry, fire and rescue crews observed a kitchen fire that had been extinguished by a sprinkler head in the kitchen. Due to activation of the building’s sprinkler system, the fire was contained to the kitchen area and quickly extinguished. The occupants were not home at the time of the fire; no injuries reported.

According to the Fire Marshal’s Office, preliminary damages are estimated at $40,000. A Building Inspector posted the home unsafe. Red Cross was on scene to assist the family, 3 adults and 4 children, displaced by the fire.

The origin and cause of the fire was a cooking fire on a kitchen stove top and has been determined as accidental.

Apartment Building, Residential

East Stroudsburg, PA – Sprinkler system knocks down fire at student housing complex; No injuries

Firefighters responded Monday at 1:06 p.m. to a fire at University Ridge Apartments, a student housing complex at East Stroudsburg University. The apartments are located at 400 East Brown Street.

Flames had traveled up a wall between buildings nine and ten, also known collectively as Delaware Hall.

“Everyone was being evacuated when they called us,” said Marshalls Creek Fire Chief Joseph Luisi. Dispatchers had also called Stroudsburg Borough, Stroud Township and Shawnee fire departments.

No injuries were reported, said Luisi. Pennsylvania State Police were investigating the cause of the fire.

“Building nine sustained most of the damage,” said Luisi. The building’s “water curtain” sprinkler head extinguished much of the fire once flames reached the attic, at which point firefighters had already arrived to the scene.

Firefighters extinguished the fire by around 3 p.m. and were escorting students through the buildings to retrieve personal items. The university issued a statement saying some 112 students were displaced by the fire damage.

“We’re making accommodations for any displaced students,” said Kenneth Long, vice president of administration and finance at ESU. The university reserves a certain amount of on-campus residence space for emergencies and could also place students in a nearby hotel if necessary, he said.

Apartment Building, Residential

Bloomington, IN – Sprinkler system extinguishes cooking fire at apartment complex

Some apartments had water damage after the sprinkler system extinguished a small cooking fire at Smallwood Plaza Apartments on College Avenue. The fire was reported at 8:45 p.m. Sunday night.  According to Bloomington Fire Department Sgt. Danny Gillespie, the fire started in an apartment on the sixth floor but was put out after the sprinkling system activated.  When firefighters arrived, the shut off the sprinklers and were on the scene for about two hours helping to clear out the water and smoke.  Sgt. Gillespie says there was water damage to the the apartment where the fire started and several units below it.

Auto Dealership, Retail

Epping, NH – Sprinkler system helps firefighters tackle blaze at auto dealership

Firefighters battled a two-alarm fire in the service department area of Hurlbert Toyota that forced more than 40 workers to evacuate the building Monday afternoon.

Fire crews from several towns responded to the car dealership at 58 Calef Highway (Route 125) after the fire broke out just before 4 p.m.

The cause of the fire wasn’t immediately known, but it may have been started by an overheated motor in an air compressor, according to Jeff Hurlbert, the company’s vice president.

Epping Fire Chief Don DeAngelis said he saw fire inside the compressor room when he arrived.

The sprinkler system activated and helped contain the fire, he said.

“There was a lot of grease that was stored there and that caught fire and started rolling out on us,” DeAngelis said.

One employee was treated after he appeared to suffer some burns when he attempted to extinguish the fire, DeAngelis said.

The fire quickly went to two alarms to bring more apparatus to the scene.

DeAngelis said Epping fire crews ran out of water shortly after arriving, but water continued to flow as soon as Brentwood firefighters hooked up to a nearby hydrant.

Employees began evacuating the building moments after the fire broke out and the alarms and sprinklers activated. Some waited outside in the cold while others walked over to the McDonald’s restaurant next door to stay warm.

“When the alarm went off I immediately evacuated the upstairs and came down and started evacuating the main floor and saw the smoke,” said company president Roy Hurlbert.

He said more than 40 employees were working at the time and made it out safely.

The extent of the fire, smoke and water damage wasn’t immediately known.

Residential, Single Family Home

Lake Havasu City, AZ – Fire at duplex home contained with help from sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Lake Havasu City firefighters responded to a fire at a duplex in the 2700 block of Bluewater Drive Sunday afternoon. The fire was reported by the neighbor of the duplex. Four engine companies, a battalion chief, and two fire investigators responded to the fire and gained control of the fire in 16 minutes. The occupant of the duplex unit that was on fire was sleeping and woke up due to water flowing from the fire sprinkler system. No injuries were reported. Crews remained on the scene an additional hour conducting an investigation of the incident. Damages were confined to the unit that was on fire.  The cause of the fire is under investigation.

 

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Chelmsford, MA – Sprinklers stop spread of fire at restaurant; Neighboring business spare damage

A fire at Zesty’s Pizza in North Chelmsford left the establishment with smoke and water damage at early Monday morning.  The Fire Department responded to 10 Vinal Square at about 4:40 after a DPW worker reported the fire at Vinal Square Plaza, according to Fire Chief Gary Ryan. The fire was knocked down about an hour later, Ryan said.  Ryan said a pharmacy and cleaning business both sustained significant water damage. The owner of the pharmacy is working with his counterparts so that his customers can get the medications they need.  “The sprinkler system activated to minimize the fire damage,” Ryan said in an email. “The fire is currently being investigated by the State Fire Marshal’s Office.”  Ryan also said the department is working with other store owners, investigators and utilities to get the other businesses in the plaza up and running again, although they were not damaged by the fire.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Yuma, AZ – Fire in snake habitat at local business is put out by sprinkler system

The Yuma Fire Department said a business fire may have originated from a large snake habitat where a four-foot long ball python died. Officials said on Sunday just before 1:30 p.m., a passerby reported seeing water coming from a building at 4221 East 30th Place occupied by SunRay Electric. Yuma Fire Department personnel arrived to find that there had been a fire inside that had been extinguished by the building’s fire suppression sprinkler system. Firefighters ensured the fire was out and shut down the water flow to the system.  The fire was found to have originated in a large snake habitat and the cause is under investigation. It was stopped from spreading beyond the habitat and extinguished by the fire sprinkler system. A four-foot long ball python died in the fire. The fire damage was limited to the area of the habitat. There were no employees at the business at the time of the fire.

Government/Military, Other-Government/Military

Hamilton, ON, Canada – Fire at city recycling center extinguished by sprinkler system

… Units reported to a fire inside a city recycling facility at 1579 Burlington Street, where garbage had caught fire.  Mostacci said the building’s sprinkler system had extinguished most of the fire, but firefighters pulled garbage out of the building and wet it down. There was no financial loss as a result of the fire, he said.

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