Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Louetta, TX – Early morning fire at Comfort Suites motel limited by sprinkler system

The fire broke out about 3:30 a.m. at the Comfort Suites motel on Highway 249 near Louetta, said Ricky Bange of the Klein Fire Department. Bange said when firefighters arrived guests were evacuated and the building was searched to make sure everyone got out safely. He said firefighters found the blaze had erupted in a third-floor room. The motel’s sprinkler system had doused the flames. But smoke lingered in the building. The fire did not spread to any other parts of the motel.

The guest who was staying in the room were the fire began was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation. The person’s condition was not released. Bange said investigators determined the fire started in the room’s air-conditioning unit.

It was a hectic morning for guests. One hotel patron, Carl Wiedenfeld, said he was asleep in his third-floor room when he woke to the blaring fire alarm. Then his friend who was also staying at the motel called him on the telephone and told him about the fire.

Wiedenfeld, of Port Arthur, said he opened his door to leave his room but smoke filled the hallway. He closed the door, soaked a towel in water and pressed to his face like a gas mask. Then he dashed into the smokey hallway, hurried to the fire escape and safely got outside. In town on business, he appeared unfazed and philosophical about the ordeal as he stood outside the building.

“It’s not your normal hotel stay,” Wiedenfeld said.

Government/Military, Other-Government/Military

Muncie, IN – Truck fire in city garage contained by sprinkler system; No injuries

Crews were called to the scene of a Muncie Street Department building Tuesday morning in response to a fire. Crews arrived at a building in the 5700 block of West Kilgore Avenue. The call came is as a “truck on fire inside the city streets garage” around 9:30 a.m. A plow truck was sitting in the garage to keep it out of the weather when employees heard a “whooshing” sound. Fire erupted underneath the hood of the engine compartment. The fire was contained to the truck, and the building’s sprinkler system did its job. There were no injuries. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Charlotte, NC – Warehouse fire “mostly extinguished” by sprinkler system, according to fire officials

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Charlotte fire crews responded to a two-alarm warehouse fire Saturday in north Charlotte. It happened around 1 p.m. on Century Place. The fire was caused by an electrical issue with a light fixture, fire officials said.

The battalion chief said crews initially responded to a water overflow call but saw the smoke when they got on scene. No one was inside the building at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported.  According to the battalion chief, the fire was mostly extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system.

Office Building, Other Business

Pittsburgh, PA – Fire at U.S. Steel Tower extinguished by sprinkler system

Pittsburgh firefighters responded early this morning to a fire in the U.S. Steel Tower in Downtown. According to a release by the city’s department of public safety, firefighters responded to the fire at Pittsburgh’s tallest building at about 4:45 a.m., but found that a small fire in a custodian room in the lower level of the building had already been extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system. There were no injuries and only minor damage, according to the release.

Apartment Building, Residential High Rise

Stamford, CT – Laundry fire in high-rise apartment building held at bay by sprinkler system

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Though tenants had to wait outside for a bit as firefighters did their work, nobody was hurt and nobody displaced after a drier caught fire in a 12-story high rise on Strawberry Hill Avenue late Friday night. The fire department got the call for a fire at the Carlton Plaza apartment building, situated roughly between the Stamford Police Department headquarters and Stamford High School as the crow flies, shortly before 10:30 p.m.

Fire Capt. Michael Terenzio said that the fire started in or near a drier on the third floor. It is as yet unclear whether a malfunction in the drier started the fire, and the fire marshal is still investigating. “The third floor was evacuated, no one lost use of their apartments, everyone did react to the fire alarm system and it looks like the damage was confined to the object that was on fire, except for, obviously, smoke damage,” said Terenzio. “Everyone was probably out for an hour or so.”

After that, the 120 tenants were able to go back to their units. The captain said the building’s sprinkler system worked as it should and helped keep the fire at bay until firefighters were able to bring up a hose.  As a precaution, firefighters recommend regularly cleaning highly flammable drier lint out of traps and ducts.

Other Business, Place of Worship

Anchorage, AK – Sprinklers stop intentionally-set fire in church kitchen

Anchorage police say a Friday morning church fire was started by someone who broke into the building.

The fire occurred at the Lutheran Church of Hope on the 1800 block of W. Northern Lights Boulevard,

Someone broke in through a back window of the church, tore through the office, then used paperwork from inside to start the fire in the kitchen, according to the Anchorage Police Department.

The blaze activated the sprinkler system — which doused the fire before it could spread to other parts of the church, authorities say.

Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill

Lincoln, ME – Sprinklers help contain fire at Lincoln Wood Shavings Mill

A fire broke out at LMJ Enterprises in Lincoln around 6 a.m. The mill, located in the former Haskell Lumber facility on Main Street, makes wood shavings for animal bedding.

There was extensive heat and water damage inside the building, according to fire fighters.

Authorities tell TV-5 the fire was burning for several hours before they arrived. The building’s sprinkler system kept the flames from 15doing more damage.

The fire is not considered suspicious and the Fire Marshal’s office has been called in to determine a cause.

 

Uncategorized

Bensalem, PA – (NO MEDIA COVERAGE) Two sprinklers halt car fire in parking garage

*** NO MEDIA COVERAGE — READER REPORTED ** A Sprinkler Saves reader reported that two sprinklers extinguished a car fire in the lower level parking garage of a 6 story building around 9:00 p.m. on January 20, 2016.

According to the reader, a passerby saw the fire, and called 911.

The fire company arrived on the scene within minutes, and witnessed the sprinkler heads activating and extinguishing the fire before any major damage was done.

Department Store, Retail

Shelby Township, MI – Sprinkler system assists firefighters in containing storage closet fire at Kohl’s store; No injuries

A fire inside a Kohl’s storage room early Wednesday afternoon prompted an evacuation and caused extensive smoke damage to the store and merchandise, according to the fire department. The fire ignited just before 1 p.m. inside a supply room at the back of Kohl’s at 25 Mile and Van Dyke, Fire Chief Jim Swinkowski said. There were no injuries reported.  “When our crews got there, they did encounter some heavy fire,” Swinkowski said.

The store was evacuated as soon as employees and customers saw smoke and the fire alarm sounded, Swinkowski said. The sprinkler system activated and fire personnel were able to extinguish the inferno before it spread beyond the storage room, which contained store supplies like signage and batteries.

“It did not spread to the rest of the store or the adjacent stores,” Swinkowski said of the fire. “But there was extensive smoke damage throughout Kohl’s.” Other stores at the shopping center include Target and Home Depot.

Kohl’s will remain closed Wednesday, Swinkowski said. The level of smoke damage to merchandise may make it difficult to reopen soon. “Anytime you’ve got smoke and you’re dealing with linens and clothing, they’re out there (in the store),” he said. “That is up to the Kohl’s loss prevention division to deal with that. It would be tough to be open (Thursday) but that’s not my area of expertise.”

Kohl’s representatives who answered the phone at the store Wednesday refused to comment.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation but is not considered suspicious, he said.

“We’re just beginning our investigation now so we will not know for some time,” Swinkowski said.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Wauwatosa, WI – Laundry dryer fire at Dave & Buster’s contained by sprinkler system; 2nd save in Wauwatosa in one week

For the second time in a week, a functioning sprinkler system is credited with preventing significant fire damage to a Wauwatosa business.

The Wauwatosa Fire Department responded to an automatic fire alarm at Dave & Buster’s, 2201 N. Mayfair Road, around 2:10 a.m. Jan. 25. Fire crews found smoke in the business’ kitchen and storage area and found a large, commercial dryer with an active fire inside, according to a news release.

The fire was quickly extinguished by fire crews, according to the release. An automatic fire sprinkler system contained the fire and smoke damage to the area using just one sprinkler head.

The exact cause of the fire is unknown but appears to have started with the contents inside the dryer. The Wauwatosa Health Department was contacted and assisted the business owner with cleaning requirements for reopening the kitchen.

Damage estimates were not immediately available. Dave & Buster’s was able to reopen by lunch time Monday

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