Residential, Single Family Home

Bullhead City, AZ – Garage fire contained by residential sprinkler system

A Katherine Heights garage fire late Monday night was contained by a sprinkler system, the Bullhead City Fire Department said Tuesday. 

The alarm came in at about 10:40 p.m., department spokeswoman Lorrae Viles said. Crews were called to an address on Power Line Road. Viles said they found water flowing out of the garage, but no active fire.

Battalion Chief Craig Stephenson reported that it appeared that the fire had started in a small plastic trash can next to an old sofa.

The residence was equipped with an overhead sprinkler system that was activated and extinguished the fire. If the system had not been in place, Viles said, the blaze could have gotten out of control and caused considerable damage.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Henderson, NV – Golf course clubhouse fire held in check by sprinkler system

Authorities in Henderson say a cigarette discarded near an outside laundry chute is to blame for an accidental fire at a golf course clubhouse.  Fire Department spokeswoman Kathleen Richards says the large two-story building’s fire sprinkler system kept the fire in check until crews arrived in response to an alarm early Saturday morning.  No smoke or fire was visible when the first crew arrived, but firefighters found the fire burning in an exterior wall and attic of the SouthShore Golf Course clubhouse in the Lake Las Vegas area.  An alarm monitoring service reported the incident after a sprinkler system’s water flow alarm was activated. The business was closed at the time and there were no injuries. Damage was estimated $60,000.

 

Other - Retail, Retail

Brookfield, WI – Fire in stuffed animal aisle of Toys R Us store put out with help from sprinkler system

A fire was reported late Friday night inside a Toys “R” Us store in Brookfield. Emergency crews were called to the business along Moorland Road around 10:30 p.m.  Witnesses said the fire started in the store’s stuffed animal aisle. Investigators are trying to figure out exactly what sparked the fire.

The sprinkler system came on right away and helped put out the fire. Employees and customers had to be evacuated during the incident.  No one was hurt.  It’s unclear whether the store will be open for business Saturday.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Bensalem, PA – Kitchen fire at Holiday Inn hotel controlled with help from sprinkler system; No injuries

A kitchen fire forced the evacuation of the Holiday Inn near the Parx Casino in Bensalem Friday night, authorities said.  The fire broke out around 9 p.m. at the hotel at 3327 Street Rd. The sprinkler system was activated and the fire was declared under control about 25 minutes later.  The emergency left some people briefly trapped in elevators. No injuries were reported. The hotel’s website says the building has six floors and 167 rooms. Hotel employees could not be reached by phone.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Washington, D.C. – Early morning laundry fire at Capital Hilton controlled with help from sprinkler system

A small fire at the Capital Hilton in D.C. sent guests out into the streets Tuesday morning. Fire crews were called to the hotel at 1001 16th Street about 5 a.m. after the fire in the laundry room activated the sprinkler system.  No injuries have been reported.  Guests have returned to their rooms.  Investigators will determine the exact cause of the blaze.

Apartment Building, Residential

Miami, OK – Sprinkler system assists firefighters in controlling apartment fire; No injuries

An early Sunday morning fire at the Miami Towers building managed by the Miami Housing Authority at 41 North Main in Miami could have been devastating. However, thanks to quick thinking and fast response, what could have been tragic ended with no injuries and only minor smoke and water damages.  Many residents were evacuated from the 75 unit, seven-story building as a precaution. The apartments in the building are leased to residents meeting HUD income limits with age requirements of 62 years of age and or with a disability.

“It was quickly averted,” Miami Housing Authority Executive Director Mark McDowell said. “It started in a mattress and after they found it the fire department removed it.” Some water damages did occur from efforts to douse the flames, but McDowell said the building maintenance crew would be able to make repairs.

“We have good maintenance men who will be able to repair the building. Water damage was very minimal and we’re still working on that. We had some dry wall damage and of course some ceiling damage below,” he said. “There were no injuries to speak of, really. Some residents may have coughed because of the smoke, but it was pretty much uneventful. It could have been a bad thing. We have all of our evacuation routes posted more than once on each floor. We go through evacuation routes at move in.”

Firefighters received a dispatch call to the Miami Towers at 7:02 a.m. regarding a fire on the seventh floor and arrived on scene at 7:05 a.m. Two units and two engines arrived and the firemen took the stairs and found smoke in the hallway of the sixth floor. According to the Miami Fire Department’s incident report, the fire started on the sixth floor in apartment 601 by an occupant who fell asleep while smoking, starting the fire.

“A sprinkler system was activated and we found a mattress on fire,” Miami Fire Captain James G. Turner wrote in the report.

Miami firefighters removed the mattress and took it downstairs, and opened several windows to ventilate the building. Firefighters placed a sprinkler wedge in the sprinkler discharge to stop the water flow to avoid and mitigate further damages.

“They put a wooden wedge to stop the water flow. Those things do put out a lot of water,” Miami Fire Chief Robert Wright said. “They were able to get there quick and able to stop it quick. It was a quick response from our guys at the station, and with the building being sprinkled, they did a great job. Also, Larry, the maintenance man up there, pulled the pull station to set off the alarm which rings straight to a monitoring company to 911 dispatch”

Patrons of Alene’s Restaurant just sitting down to eat also had to forego breakfast while the firefighters worked.

The building currently allows smoking inside residents’ apartments but new policies at state, federal and local levels may soon change to ban smoking to outside or designated areas for safety and health concerns.

“The resident wasn’t breaking any rules other than she probably shouldn’t have been smoking in bed,” McDowell said. “That’s just not something you should be doing.”

McDowell received several calls from the monitoring service notifying him of the fire alarm. The alarm system also sounded throughout the building and firefighters went apartment to apartment to offer assistance with evacuation, and residents warned each other, according to McDowell.

“Some slept through it,” he said. “There’s a loud alarm that goes off, so I’m hoping that maybe that will make a few of them aware if they need an additional type of alarm. I can’t go ask under ADA regulation. Some of the residents have buddies and will check on each other and go door to door.” Firefighters train specifically for such events, according to Wright.

“We lay out hose and practice in training. For a multi-story residential building with assisted living, those are one of the hardest responses to determine where it’s at and what it is, and they did a great job,” Wright said. “And it’s good that those types of buildings have to have sprinkler systems because that catches it in the incipient phase and it helps everybody.”

McDowell is very appreciative of the Miami firefighters and very grateful no one was injured.

“These firefighters are top notch,” he said. “The residents were out of their apartment for just as short as time as possible. Overall it was handled very well and I’m just glad no one was seriously hurt because it could have been disastrous.”

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Kalamazoo, MI – Fire at aluminum alloy plant contained with help from sprinkler system

Firefighters rushed to put out a fire in the basement of a Kalamazoo county business over the weekend. The Comstock fire chief says a hydraulic press caught fire at Kaiser Aluminum Sunday morning.  That is part of the Mid-Link complex on Cork Street.  The fire caused a leak in the hydraulic line, which lead to fluid leaking on hot aluminum and catching fire.  A sprinkler system went off, which helped to keep the fire under control.  One piece of equipment was affected but no one was hurt.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Miami, FL – Sprinkler system helps prevent shopping mall fire from spreading

A sprinkler system played a role in containing a fire that took place Monday night at Ultra Mall in downtown Miami. The fire started at about 10 p.m. in the 1100 block of Southwest First Avenue.   Smoke was  coming from the storefront of Flossie’s — a store that sells items such as incense, oils, candles and books — when firefighters arrived.

Miami Department of Fire-Rescue Capt. Ignatius Carroll said a sprinkler system contained the fire to a small area and prevented it from spreading to neighboring businesses.  “A small fire was located inside of the store and was quickly extinguished,” he said.   No injuries were reported.  The cause of the fire remains under investigation. 

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Salisbury, NC – Fire at carpet padding manufacturer controlled with help from sprinkler system

Fire officials say a sprinkler system helped squelch an overnight fire at a local carpet padding manufacturer.  Multiple fire agencies responded to the fire after receiving a call around 9:20 p.m. Sunday at Walk-On Products Inc., 1170 Chuck Taylor Lane, located off Peeler Road. The fire was dispatched as a fire alarm.

City Fire Marshal Terry Smith said the reason for the three-alarm fire was because the building is so big they needed more resources.  He added that the sprinkler kept the fire in check, but it also created so much smoke that it made it a little difficult for fire personnel who were inside the structure.

The sprinkler also helped contain the fire to one area of the building. The building is large, Smith said, but the fire was only in a small portion of it.  Smith said he and another fire investigator would likely spend much of the day at the business as company personnel use forklifts to remove a lot of carpet foam before fire investigators can go inside.  The last time employees were inside the building was Friday, Smith said.  The fire was under control around 1 a.m. No injuries were reported. Fire officials say there was minor damage to the structure. The cause has not been determined.

The company rebonds carpet padding, supplies carpet padding for homes, commercial properties and the automotive industry, according to its website.   The company also manufactures cow mats, archery targets, foam buns and other foam products. It was founded in 2002.

Other-Government/Military, Power / Energy Facility

Hibbing, MN – Sprinkler system assists crews in extinguishing conveyor fire at power plant

A fire at the Hibbing Public Utilities Power Plant caused $70,000 in damage on Sunday.  According to Hibbing Fire Marshal Bryan Fagerstrom, the blaze broke out at the top of a 5-story conveyer belt on the bio-mass side of the power plant just after 2:30 p.m. “The conveyor carried wood chips to a loading area to be burned for steam generation,” the press release said. It was equipped with a sprinkler system which assisted in controlling the fire. Crews from Hibbing, Chisholm and Keewatin remained on the scene for several hours to ensure all the hot spots were extinguished. No one was injured. The fire appeared to have been caused by a bearing failure on the conveyor belt.

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