Primary / Secondary School, School / University Bessemer, AL – Fire at high school caused by overloaded electrical cords is put out by sprinkler system December 30, 2016 viking210 Bessemer fire officials say they responded to a small fire at Bessemer City High School Monday night. Fire officials say they believe some electrical cords powering a fridge and a copier caught fire, triggering the sprinklers to go off. Thankfully, the sprinkler system put out the fire. They say the fire isn’t serious but residents may notice some crews on scene as they clean up the water and smoke damage.
Other / Not Specified, Other Business Mansfield, OH – Sprinkler system keeps cardboard fire at business development center from spreading December 30, 2016 viking210 Braintree Business Development Center, 201 E. Fifth St., Mansfield – Firefighters were contacted about an alarm going off early Saturday. They arrived to find heavy white smoke that limited visibility. Cardboard had caught fire in a single room. A sprinkler activated to keep the fire from spreading. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse Oakland, CA – Warehouse fire at leather company stopped by sprinkler system December 30, 2016 viking210 A fire at a leather company warehouse in East Oakland Friday morning was almost extinguished when firefighters arrived on the scene, thanks to the building’s sprinkler system, authorities said. Some wooden pallets and debris were the only items burned in the blaze, the cause of which is under investigation. Battalion Fire Chief Demond Simmons credited the sprinkler system for preventing further damage. “It pretty much stopped the fire and made sure it did not spread,” he said. The fire was reported about 7:52 a.m. Friday at a warehouse in the 800 block of 81st Avenue that is a storage and distribution center for California Leather Creations, officials said. The building is on a large piece of property that used to be the site of Mothers Cookies. When firefighters arrived they had to force entry through a large metal door. The items that had caught fire were mainly smoldering thanks to the building sprinkler system that had activated. Firefighters made sure there were no flareups and called the fire under control at 8:14 a.m. There were no injuries. Simmons said a damage figure has not been determined.
Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant Kingsport, TN – Arson fire in McDonald’s bathroom extinguished by sprinkler system December 29, 2016 viking210 The Kingsport Fire Department is on the scene of a fire at the McDonald’s restaurant on Lynn Garden Drive. According to KFD’s public information officer Barry Brickey, the fire was intentionally set in the bathroom. The fire department reports the fire sprinkler put out the flames before the crews arrived. KFD’s Station 5 is next door to the restaurant. The case is being investigated by the fire marshal. Very few details are known at this time. News Channel 11 is following this story. We’ll post more details as soon as they become available.
Other Business Bend, OR – Fire at kettle corn business knocked down with help from sprinkler system December 29, 2016 viking210 Sprinklers and workers wielding fire extinguishers helped limit the damage when spontaneous combustion of soybean oil sparked a fire at a southwest Bend kettle corn business, fire officials said. Firefighters responded around 3:45 p.m. to the reported structure fire at Suzy Q’s Kettle Corn, located in a small commercial mall on Southwest Division Street, said Battalion Chief Dave Howe. The first crews to arrive found three sprinkler heads had activated and two people deploying fire extinguishers, Howe said. Firefighters made a quick knockdown of the fire and performed extensive overhaul and salvage, he said, noting that the fire sprinkler system helped contain the blaze until firefighters arrived on scene. Losses were estimated at $20,000 to the building and $10,000 worth of contents, both of which were insured, the fire official said. The fire’s cause was determined to be spontaneous combustion of natural soybean oils in fabric, Howe said. The fire official reminded the community that many types of natural oils can combust without a source of ignition, if not handled correctly. “Please follow the directions for disposal on all containers of natural oils,” Howe said.
Other - Retail, Retail Hanford, CA – Arson fire at furniture store contained by sprinklers; Damage limited to few pieces of furniture December 29, 2016 viking210 Police and fire officials are investigating after a Hanford furniture store was vandalized and set on fire early Thursday morning. The damage forced the Oak and Sofa Liquidators store at 295 N. Redington Street to close its doors for repairs. Store owner Brandon Mason the total damage was not immediately clear, but he hopes to reopen the Hanford store as soon as possible. Mason said Oak and Sofa Liquidators has been notifying customers who have purchased furniture to pick up their orders at the store’s Visalia location. “People want their stuff before Christmas, so we’ve got to get it to them,” Mason said. Around 2:55 a.m. Thursday, the Hanford Fire Department was called to a structure fire at the store, located in the 200 block of North Redington Street. The Hanford Police Department responded to a burglar alarm at the store at 2:52 a.m. One of the windows at the northeast end of the building had a large hole through the holiday-themed paint job. Battalion Chief Erik Brotemarkle said it appears that someone threw something flammable through the window. Brotemarkle said it appears the flammable substance started a fire inside, about 15 feet inside from the broken window. Due to thick smoke, firefighters had to use a thermal imaging device to locate the fire. Brotemarkle said the building’s sprinkler system confined the fire to a few pieces of furniture. Other merchandise sustained water damage from the sprinklers. Brotemarkle said the fire was mostly extinguished by the time firefighters arrived. Firefighters used a ventilation fan to clear out the heavy smoke. “The sprinkler system for this building did its job,” Brotemarkle said. Mason said the sprinkler system was only activated in the area around the fire. A commercial cleaning and restoration company began cleaning other areas of the store Thursday morning. Fire investigator Capt. Frank Etulain said the fire appears to be the result of arson. Etulain said he could not disclose the exact cause due to the ongoing investigation, but evidence suggests something was likely thrown through the window from the outside. There were no signs that anyone had entered the store. Etulain said firefighters were able to control the burning by moving items around under the sprinkler. A total of 14 personnel responded to the fire. The Hanford Police Department, Kings County Sheriff’s Office and Kings County Fire Department assisted with the incident. Hanford police Capt. Karl Anderson said police are aware of about a half-dozen incidents involving broken windows in the downtown area over the past few weeks. Those have included the Hanford Antique Emporium, Kings Christian Thrift Store and vacant storefronts in the 100 block of East Seventh Street and the 100 block of North Douty Street. On Dec. 12, police responded to a burglary report at the International Church of God in the 500 block of East Seventh Street. Police said someone smashed a window and stole a computer and printer.
Other / Not Specified, Other Business Fair Lawn, NJ – Arson fire at commercial building extinguished by sprinkler system December 29, 2016 viking210 A man was charged with burglary and arson after he broke into a River Road building and set a trash can on fire, police said. Police responded to 13-09 River Road on a report of a fire. Police found that a fire had occurred in the building’s trash room and that the sprinkler system extinguished it. Detective Paul Donohue investigated and, after reviewing video evidence, arrested Edward Ostrowicz, 26, of Saddle River, Metzler said. Ostrowicz is homeless, but found him at his parents’ home, police said.
Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential, Residential High Rise Evanston, IL – Fire at senior residential high rise controlled by sprinkler system; No injuries reported December 28, 2016 viking210 Evanston fire crews responded to a report of a fire on the 9th floor of The Mather at 425 Davis St. shortly before noon. Fire Division Chief Paul Polep says a resident of the retirement community had left a stove top burner on which ignited a basket of goods on the counter top. Polep says the the sprinkler system in the apartment had brought the fire under control by the time fire fighters arrived. Residents of the floor evacuated safely, Polep says, and there were no injuries reported.
Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential Florence, WI – Boiler room fire at nursing home suppressed by sprinkler system December 28, 2016 viking210 Emergency responders evacuated 45 residents of the Golden Living Center nursing home in Florence on Tuesday morning after a fire broke out in the boiler room, Florence County Chief Deputy David Gribble said. No one was hurt, but the boiler room had smoke and water damage, Gribble said. Midwest Alarm reported the fire to the Florence County Sheriff’s Office about 9:37 a.m. Florence firefighters found the sprinkler system suppressed the fire, which was contained to the boiler room. Residents were moved to the Florence Elementary School until a determination could be made on the damage to the boiler system and what repairs are needed, Gribble said. The Florence Rescue Squad, Golden Living Center employees and volunteers, Florence County Health Office, Florence County Aging and Disability Resource Center, Florence County School District, Town of Florence, Pride Sports and Red Cross assisted deputies.
Apartment Building, Residential Brick, NJ – Apartment fire kept from spreading by sprinkler system December 28, 2016 viking210 A fire at the Forge Pond Apartments Monday night sparked by a woman burning loose threads off a sweater with a lighter was brought under control by the building’s sprinkler system before it got out of control, Brick Township’s fire chief said Tuesday. Brick Fire Chief Kevin C. Batzel said the sprinkler system’s response doused the fire and prevented firefighters from having to evacuate the 101 tenants of the Chambersbridge Road building into the frigid outdoors. Police, firefighters and Brick EMS responded to the fire about 6 p.m. and found a rack of clothing in a common area kitchen off the first floor of the B wing that had caught on fire, but was doused by the sprinkler, Batzel said. The preliminary investigation showed the woman had been trying to burn loose threads from a sweater after leaving the laundry room and accidentally ignited the sweater. When the fire became too big, she tried to put the clothing in a sink to put out the smoldering clothing, catching more clothing on fire, Batzel said. She suffered minor burns to her arm, but there were no other injuries, he said. The tenants were moved to a safe location in the building while firefighters cleared the hallways and kitchen of smoke, Batzel said. Water damage was minimal and the sprinkler system was repaired and back in service later Monday evening, he said. Responding were the Pioneer Hose, Breton Woods, and Laurelton fire companies, Brick Township police, Brick EMS, the Brick Office of Emergency Management and the Brick Bureau of Fire Safety. An investigator from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office also responded, Batzel said. “Residents are reminded to be extremely careful with any open flame around combustible material including clothing, particularly synthetic items which tend to combust at a rapid rate,” he said. “The rapid action of a single sprinkler head held the fire damage to a minimum. That, with the quick work of the fire department and emergency services, prevented the potential of extensive damage and full building evacuation from happening,” Batzel said. The fire cause remains under investigation by the Bureau of Fire Safety.
