Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant St. Louis, MO – Sprinkler system stops spread of overnight fire at linen company June 23, 2017 viking210 A Soulard business where three employees died after a piece of a water tank crashed through the ceiling in April was damaged by a fire overnight. Around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, firefighters were called to the Faultless Linen Company in the 2000 block of South Broadway. Further investigation revealed a hopper filled with linens was hanging from a conveyor belt when it caught fire. Workers reportedly left the building Tuesday around 11 p.m., which led investigators to believe the fire started between then and 2 a.m. The building’s smoke alarm notified the fire department of the blaze. The building’s sprinkler system kept the fire from spreading until it could be knocked down. No other details regarding the fire have been released.
Apartment Building, Residential Aiken, SC – Sprinkler system keeps overnight apartment fire from spreading June 22, 2017 viking210 The Aiken Department of Public Safety is investigating an early morning fire Sunday at an apartment complex on Hollow Tree Drive in Aiken that left multiple people homeless. Sgt. Michael Grabowski, with Aiken Public Safety, said fire crews responded to Hollow Tree Drive around 12 a.m. “It was a small fire,” Grabowski said. “Crews came in quick and got it under control as fast as they could.” Two apartments caught fire, but the buildings sprinkler systems helped prevent the fire from being worse, Grabowski said. No one was injured in the fire, he said. American Red Cross disaster-trained volunteers reported Sunday morning that they are assisting multiple families whose homes were damaged by the fire.
Adult Care/Rehab Center, Residential Glendale, WI – Fire at transitional living center suppressed by sprinkler system June 21, 2017 viking210 This evening at approximately 7:16pm, the Bayside Communications Center received a report from an alarm monitoring company of a fire alarm sounding at Dycora Transitional Living Center, 1616 W. Bender Rd. in Glendale. Within seconds, a 911 call was received reporting a fire on the second floor of the facility. Fire and law enforcement units were dispatched immediately. Glendale Police Officers were on routine patrol in the general area. Officers reported heavy smoke in one of the wings of the building on the second floor upon their arrival. The affected wing of the building was occupied by 16 patients. Facility staff and police began evacuating residents in the affected area. The first arriving fire company proceeded to the second floor of the facility and began searching for the location of the fire. Additional arriving fire companies searched the facility for any fire/smoke victims and assisted in extinguishing the fire. A fire was located that was contained to one room of the building. The fire sprinkler system had extinguished a majority of the fire. Firefighters completed extinguishment of the fire and began to remove smoke from the building. Additional paramedic units were called to the scene as a precaution based on the type of facility involved in the incident. One patient of the facility was evaluated by paramedics but refused transport to the hospital. Damage to the facility is still being assessed. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Additional injuries to occupants and damage to the facility was prevented by the quick activation of the fire alarm and fire sprinkler system. While the size of the fire was small, the amount of smoke that is produced by a fire creates significant challenges for ensuring the safety of the occupants of buildings. According to a release from the North Shore Fire Department, the importance of maintaining working fire alarm and sprinkler systems in buildings cannot be understated and was demonstrated in this incident.
Primary / Secondary School, School / University Marshfield, MA – Trashcan fire in high school woodshop put out with help from sprinkler system June 21, 2017 viking210 The building has been deemed safe after a trashcan fire at Marshfield High School activated the sprinkler system. There were no injuries. The Marshfield fire department responded to an alarm at the school at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning. A custodian pulled the alarm after finding a fire in a trashcan in the wood shop area. The building’s sprinkler system and the fire department put out the fire. The shop has extensive smoke and water damage, and the rest of the building was also lightly damaged by smoke, Fire Chief William Hocking said in a statement. The trash barrel was next to a table saw in the shop. The fire has been deemed accidental. The building was occupied at the time, but no injuries were reported.
Apartment Building, Residential Petaluma, CA – Apartment kitchen fire extinguished by sprinkler system; Elderly couple and daughter escape without injury June 20, 2017 viking210 A small kitchen fire Friday displaced a Petaluma couple from their apartment at a senior living complex, fire officials said. An oiled pan heating on the stovetop was left unattended and caught fire about 12:15 p.m. at the Vintage Chateau Senior Apartments on North McDowell Boulevard, Petaluma Fire Battalion Chief Jeff Schach said. The fire triggered the sprinkler system in the second-floor apartment. The water extinguished the fire and caused some flooding in the unit and ceiling damage to the first-floor apartment below. Three people were home at the time of the fire, an elderly couple and their daughter, but no one was injured, Schach said. The unit sustained water damage and the residents would be displaced for several days, Schach said.
Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential Belleview, FL – Single sprinkler controls attic fire at assisted living center; Lightning strike identified as cause June 19, 2017 viking210 The fire that forced the evacuation of residents and staff at an assistant living facility in Belleview was apparently caused by Mother Nature. According to a spokesperson from the State Fire Marshal’s Office, it appears the fire was caused by a lightning strike. Damage to the attic area is approximately $30,000. The exact cause of the fire won’t be determined until the investigation is complete. Marion County Fire Rescue officials said Friday there were reports of heavy weather with lightning in the area prior to the fire. Fire officials said the blaze started in the attic above the electric panels and moved along the trusses. Firefighters, sheriff’s deputies and others placed 56 residents from Hampton Manor Assisted Living, 10590 SE 62nd Avenue Road, onto buses that transported them to another Hampton Manor facility. Fire officials said they received the call about 5:05 p.m. and arrived on scene at 5:11 p.m. The fire was under control at 5:29 p.m. Beatrice Kelty, community director at Hampton Manor, told the Star-Banner that Donna Clifford was in the kitchen when she heard a pop sound in the breaker and then saw fire in the ceiling. Clifford, the dietary supervisor, immediately pulled the alarm. There were seven staff members on duty at the time of the fire. Kelty said she quickly went to the kitchen and doused the blaze with a fire extinguisher. Kelty said she and the other team members, including Dawn Crossley, a resident care manager, went to get the residents and evacuate them. None of the residents were in the kitchen at the time of the fire. When the fire started, Kelty said, they were in the middle of dinner. “My team was excellent and the residents cooperated,” Kelty said. According to a fire report, as the fire made its way through the attic, a single fire sprinkler was activated and it contained the fire to the general area until firefighters arrived. The report also said that as soon as flames were seen in the attic, a staff member pulled the kitchen pull station that activated the hood. Though no fire was present in the hood, fire officials said it prevented the gas from going into the kitchen. “The early actions by the staff to activate the fire alarm and notify MCFR along with the operation of the sprinkler system allowed for a quick response and to contain the damage,” according to the report. Cindy Campbell, director of operations, told the Star-Banner that all the residents remain at the Hampton Manor at 1500 SE 24th Road because the Belleview building sustained significant damage in the kitchen area. Campbell said its unknown when the repairs will begin or end or when residents will be able to return to the Belleview building. For now, she said, they’re looking for an alternate location, and the residents at the Southeast 24th Road facility are adjusting well.
Apartment Building, Residential Hagerstown, MD – Sprinkler system activates in overnight apartment fire giving residents opportunity to escape June 18, 2017 viking210 A Monday morning fire that displaced 46 residents at Cortland Apartments in the North End of Hagerstown started on the balcony of one of the apartments, according to Hagerstown Fire Marshal Doug DeHaven. DeHaven said in a news release Tuesday afternoon that the fire traveled up the exterior of the the building and into an attic area. Although fire walls in the attic and between the apartments contained most of the damage to one corner of the building, the blaze caused significant damage to apartments Nos. 2, 6 and 10, he said. An investigation determined that the building had functional sprinkler, fire-alarm and smoke-alarm systems, the release said. The sprinkler system was activated when balcony windows cracked from the heat, allowing the fire to extend into the apartments, DeHaven said. But the activation of the sprinkler system, along with the fire alarm, gave residents enough time to escape, he said. Bob Rhodes, the complex’s manager, said that three of the 12 units in the building sustained heavy damage. It is too early to determine whether the structure will be razed or rebuilt because fire and insurance inspectors were still assessing the damage, he said. All 61 of the residents and pets who were displaced by the fire at the apartments at 12911 Little Elliott Drive have been given places to stay until they find more permanent accommodations. Korri Faria, disaster program manager for the Red Cross of Western Maryland, said the 46 residents who were displaced by the fire are staying in hotels, or with family or friends. “We were on scene to make sure everyone has a place to stay for a few days,” she said. Faria said all of the hotel rooms are being paid for by the Red Cross, which also provided the victims with cards to buy food, clothing and other essentials they might need. The Red Cross also helped to replace medications that were destroyed in the fire, which was reported shortly after 5 a.m. In addition to the residents, the two-alarm blaze displaced 15 pets. Crystal Mowery, field service director for the Humane Society of Washington County, said a majority of the pets stayed with their owners, but one cat and one dog were taken to the humane society shortly after the fire. Another dog was taken there later that day. “We are housing the animals at no charge until (the victims) find a place for them,” she said. To her knowledge, Mowery said none of the pets perished in the fire. A single cat escaped, but it has not been accounted found.
Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant Vancouver, BC, Canada – Sprinkler system controls hotel fire until crews arrive; No injuries reported June 17, 2017 viking210 Six people have been displaced after a fire at the Rainier Hotel in downtown Vancouver. The single-room occupancy (SRO) unit on Carrall Street was evacuated around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, after some materials caught fire in a room on the third floor. The occupant of the room managed to escape without injury before fire crews arrived on scene. “There’s a fair bit of fire damage to that one room,” said Battalion Chief Terry Nikolai, with Vancouver Fire Rescue Services. Some other rooms also sustained water damage from the sprinkler system and firefighting efforts. “Thankfully the sprinkler activated and contained the fire, until our crews managed to get in there with a line and extinguish it,” said Nikolai. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Apartment Building, Residential St. George, UT – Nighttime fire at apartment complex put out by sprinkler system; No injuries June 16, 2017 viking210 Residents of an apartment complex in St. George were evacuated after a fire ignited in a single unoccupied unit Sunday night. St. George Fire Department responded to the fire just before 11 p.m. when an alarm system sounded in an apartment complex at Red Rock Ridge, 344 S. 1990 East. Officers from St. George Police Department who arrived initially found the smoke coming from the unit and its sprinkler system activated, Fire Battalion Chief Ken Guard said. “Sprinkler system put the fire out,” Guard said. The unit is unrented and no one was occupying it at the time of the fire. Residents were evacuated from surrounding units as a precaution. No one was injured. Gold Cross Ambulance also responded as a precaution. “At this time we’re investigating the cause of the fire,” Guard said. Several police officers were on hand helping with the investigation and taking statements from residents. Though surrounding units were temporarily evacuated, Guard said he expects none would be displaced. Water permeated the unit where the fire started, with some of it reaching two other surrounding units. Firefighters shut off and reset the sprinkler system then performed some minor cleanup of the water damage. Guard estimated that the damage would run approximately $2,000 at the time this report was taken, noting that it could be higher depending on how quickly the damage is addressed. “We vacated as much as the water as we possibly could, and it’s just a matter of how quickly they get a restoration company on top of it,” Guard said. “As far as I see right now, a couple thousand dollars.” This report is based on preliminary information provided by emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.
Other Business, Restaurant Vaughan, ON, Canada – Suspicious overnight fire at bakery is kept from spreading by sprinkler system June 16, 2017 viking210 A bakery in Vaughan was heavily damaged in what appears to be a “suspicious” fire overnight. York Regional Police say there are circumstances around the fire that require further investigation. “It’s being considered suspicious and further investigation is required to determine the cause,” a YRP duty inspector said. Fire crews were called to the scene at 10 Buttermill Ave., near Jane Street and Highway 7, just after 1:30 a.m. Vaughan Fire Services were quickly able to extinguish the flames but police say the bakery likely suffered extensive damage. A sprinkler inside the bakery helped prevent the fire from spreading to adjacent units. No one was inside the bakery at the time the fire broke out. A broken window and objects found on the lawn in front of the bakery are part of the evidence in the case. The objects appear to be caps and nozzles for gas cans though officials have yet to confirm that. Police did say that it appears a canister containing an accelerant had been thrown inside. Investigators with the Fire Marshal’s Office have been called to the scene.
