Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Danville, VA – Damage from fire at flooring manufacturer minimized thanks to sprinkler system

Smoke poured out of the loading dock doors in one of the plants at Columbia Flooring on Maxine Road as Danville firefighters arrived in response to a reported fire at about 7 p.m.

About an hour later, sweating and parched firefighters gathered near one of the six engines at the scene, to wrap their heads in wet towels and drink water or energy drinks — the fire was considered under control, Fire Marshall Shelby Irving said, though smoke still billowed out of the loading dock doors.

As firefighters began carrying fans toward the building to help clear the smoke, Irving said it was impossible to look for the cause of the fire until the smoke was cleared.

“There’s so much smoke in there you can’t see anything,” Irving said.

But the sprinkler system in the plant had done its job, Irving said.

“The sprinklers did activate and keep the fire in check,” Irving said. “Because of that, the [firefighters] were able to get in there pretty quick and get a line on the fire … the damage will be much less than it could have been.”

The fire was in a production area of the plant and caused extensive damage to machinery and electrical equipment, according to a news release. This section of the plant will be closed for two to three days. 

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Lincolnshire, IL – Trash room fire in residential condominium building extinguished by single sprinkler

*NO MEDIA COVERAGE – FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORTED*
“Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District received a fire alarm for a 5 story residential condo building. Crews found a waterflow activation for the trash room. Once inside they found that a single sprinkler had controlled and extinguished a small fire in the dumpster at the bottom of the trash chute. The chute was equipped with a fusible link activated fire door at the opening to the trash chute and sprinklers in the shaft. Neither activated due to the single sprinkler activation.”

Apartment Building, Residential High Rise

Macon, GA – Arson fire at high-rise apartments contained with help from sprinkler system

Fire alarms and sprinklers went off again Monday morning at St. Paul Apartments, a high-rise at 1330 Forsyth St. plagued by recent arsons.  Macon-Bibb County fire investigator Sgt. Steve Wesson said several fires have been reported at the building in the past three or four weeks. 

“A resident was setting something on fire and throwing it down the trash chute, causing the Dumpster to catch on fire,” Wesson said before leaving the apartments Monday morning.

About 5:30 a.m., Macon-Bibb firefighters responded to a small fire in room 904, a vacant apartment that was being used for storage, Macon-Bibb fire investigator Lt. Ben Gleaton said.

The room had been burglarized, some tools stolen and a fire set, Wesson said.  “I hope you get whoever. This is crazy,” fourth-floor resident Brigitte Gramke told the investigators as she walked her dog outside the brick building near downtown Macon. “It’s really bad.”

A Bibb County deputy arrested Robert Walter Hutchens, 75, who lives in room 901 at St. Paul Apartments.  Hutchens was charged with burglary, according to Bibb County jail records, and stolen tools were recovered.

Additional charges are pending if Hutchens is found responsible for the fire.  The sprinkler system caused water damage in some of the building, Gleaton said.

“It has to cost a fortune and usually it’s arson,” Gramke said of the multiple fires.  The St. Paul Apartments manager declined to comment Monday morning.

Apartment Building, Residential

Wilmington, NC – Apartment kitchen fire extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

The Wilmington Fire Department was called to the 1000 block of Thomas C Jervay Place Sunday afternoon after receiving a water flow alarm. When firefighters got to the scene just after 1 p.m. they realized an unattended pot of oil had started a kitchen fire.

No one was home when the fire started, but the sprinkler head in the kitchen activated and extinguished the fire. 

“This was an example of home sprinklers doing a great job of keeping a fire from destroying the entire property and saving lives, since this was a multifamily apartment building,” said Public Information Officer David Hines in a statement.

He said the fire was contained to the stove top and only caused minor damage to the hood and cabinets. The damage was estimated to have cost around $3,000 for fire, smoke and water damage from the sprinkler activation.  No injuries were reported.

 

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Pensacola, FL – Fire at senior apartment building contained with help from sprinkler system

Nearly 100 residents of a senior living complex in Ensley had to be evacuated because of an apartment fire Thursday morning.

Around 11:26 a.m., Escambia County received a 911 call reporting smoke and flames visible at the Johnson Lakes Apartments in the 1400 Block of East Johnson Avenue. Responding firefighters were able to contain and extinguish the fire quickly, but the blistering heat outside created a whole new set of problems.

The National Weather Service reported heat index values of more than 100 degrees Thursday. Residents of the four-story, 160-unit apartment complex had to be loaded onto air-conditioned Escambia County Area Transit buses while firefighters checked every apartment for damage or stragglers.

All told, two people were transported to West Florida Hospital (for heat exhaustion and breathing difficulties respectively), at least four people were displaced, 88 people were evaluated and temporarily placed on buses, and six people were found sheltering inside the building, according to county officials.

“The fire itself was relatively minor in nature, but the pure size of the building is a bit of a challenge,” said Deputy Fire Chief Paul Williams. “We had to ensure residents were evacuated or sheltered in a safe portion of the building.”

Williams said firefighters also had to assist some residents out of the building because of their limited mobility.

In the parking lot outside, people clustered together in small patches of shade along a low-stone wall. Several sat in wheelchairs, leaned on walkers or pulled oxygen tanks behind them as they waited for ECAT buses to arrive.

A team of Red Cross workers handed out bottles of water to tenants and firefighters, urging apartment residents to hurry into the air-conditioned buses as they became available.

Though most praised the response of the rescue personnel, a few grumbled about the high temperatures outside.

“It’s hotter out here than it was in there,” one person remarked.

Escambia County Fire Rescue personnel from all over the area responded, and they were backed up by crews from Pensacola, the U.S. Navy, Pace and Avalon. Once the fire was under control, they set about the arduous business checking the status of every apartment.

The fire originated in an apartment on the second floor, activating a sprinkler in the apartment, officials said. Williams said the State Fire Marshal’s Office is working to determine the cause.

Jessie Brown, who lives on the second floor, said he never saw flames, but was alerted to the fire by the hubbub out in the hallway. Waiting outside, he said he was worried about what the water had done to his belongings.

I dread going back in there now and looking at my apartment,” Brown said.

Williams said Thursday evening that officials believed most residents would be able to return to their homes that night. He also said approximately four units were temporarily uninhabitable, but that occupants could potentially be housed elsewhere in the complex until repairs were complete.

Jerry Kindle, CEO of the American Red Cross of Northwest Florida, said Thursday evening the organization assisted 30 people from 29 units with clothing, lodging, food or other needs. He credited the organization’s volunteers for coming together so quickly in a time of need.

“The Gulf Coast is a giving community,” Kindle said. “The total number of staff that showed up was two people, the rest were all volunteers.”

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Windsor Locks, CT – Laundromat fire contained by sprinkler system

A fire that started in a dryer at Cozy Corner Laundromat injured one patron Tuesday evening before firefighters could douse the blaze.

At 6:35 p.m. firefighters responded to an emergency call from the laundromat, located at 255 Main St., and found heavy smoke when they arrived, Assistant Fire Chief Francis DeBella said.

“The sprinkler system held the fire in check, while we were able to get in there and extinguish it in about an hour,” he said.

The fire originated in a dryer, DeBella said, and burned a female customer who had tried to douse the flames.

The woman’s burns were minor ones, he said, and she was evaluated by the Lions Club ambulance crew.

Firefighters from Bradley International Airport responded to the scene with their ladder truck, and police assisted with traffic control.

The fire marshal is investigating the cause of the blaze.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Spring Hill, TN – Sprinkler system helps contain blaze at GM plant; welding sparks likely cause of fire

About 240 workers were evacuated from the General Motors Spring Hill Manufacturing Facility on Wednesday after a fire broke out on the third floor of one of its production buildings.

Six Columbia and four Spring Hill fire trucks responded to the scene, Columbia Assistant Fire Chief Tim Holt said.

Firefighters received the call at 3:03 p.m. and rushed to GM’s body shop off Nashville Highway and Saturn Parkway.

Crews found an air-handling machine on fire, spreading smoke in the building, Holt said.

“We got it knocked down quickly, within 15 minutes,” Holt said. “The sprinkler system helped keep the fire in place.”

One GM security guard on the scene was treated for smoke inhalation, he said.

The incident likely was caused by welding sparks, which caught cardboard on fire, Holt said.

Columbia’s fire department had 16 firefighters on scene.

GM spokesman Tom W. Wickham said the body shop was closed for the rest of Wednesday evening and will reopen Thursday morning.

“We had to clean up a lot of water and debris,” Wickham said.

A similar incident brought fire crews to the GM plant just after midnight May 20. No one was hurt then, but the building was evacuated.

Apartment Building, Residential

Des Moines, IA – Sprinklers help knock down flames when fire breaks out in apartments above pizza parlor

No injuries were reported after a fire forced the evacuation Wednesday night of the Elliott Apartments above Fong’s Pizza on Fourth Street downtown.

Captain Mark Dooley of the Des Moines Fire Department said crews arrived around 10:30 p.m. to smoke and flames on the second floor of the six-story building and launched an “aggressive interior attack.”

“The flames were knocked down some with the activated sprinkler system,” Dooley said, adding that it made the firefighters’ job a lot easier.

Almost all of the residents were home at the time fire crews responded and all were evacuated by 11 p.m.

At 12:15 a.m. Thursday, Dooley said crews were no longer actively working to put the fire out but were instead checking the building to make sure the fire didn’t spread.

The heat was what was causing the most concern, Dooley said. When the fire started around 10:30 p.m., it was approximately 84 degrees in downtown Des Moines, according to the National Weather Service.

“There are medic units here just for the care of the firefighters,” Dooley said. They brought in extra medical crews and supplies solely to assist the roughly 100 firefighters working inside the complex, making sure to check their temperatures and heart rates.

No cause for the fire has been identified and the investigation continues.

Dooley said Polk County’s emergency response teams helped residents find a place to stay for the night.

Fourth Street, Walnut Street and parts of Court Avenue were reopened in time for Thursday morning traffic.

Joe Swift, a resident on the fourth floor, said he was out of the building minutes after the fire alarm went off. He said the smoke got very thick in the stairwell when he reached the second floor, making it difficult to see. He commended the men and women of the Des Moines Fire Department, who were knocking on doors and assisting residents out of the building.

“These guys do a great job, and the ladies too,” Swift said. “In old buildings like this, underneath all that carpeting is all wood. There’s lots to catch on to.”

On Twitter, Fong’s promised to repay swift work by the fire department with free pizza.

Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

Rock Hill, SC – Dorm room fire held in check by sprinkler system at Winthrop University

Firefighters extinguished a small fire in a dorm room on the Winthrop University campus that forced the evacuation of 300 students Thursday morning, an official said.

The fire was called in around 7 a.m. in Richardson Hall, Deputy Chief Mark Simmons of the Rock Hill Fire Department said. The building’s sprinkler held the fire, which was isolated to one dorm room, in check until firefighters arrived.

No injuries were reported. Simmons said about 300 students were staying in the dorm for orientation and were evacuated.

There was minor fire damage to the one dorm room, and water damage caused by the sprinkler system, Simmons said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

 

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