Residential, Sorority / Fraternity

Pullman, WA – Sprinkler helps limit damage in fraternity house kitchen fire

Sunday morning at 6:00 a.m., members living in the Delta Tau Delta house [on the Washington State University campus]  were woken up by a fire alarm. Someone had left the stove on after cooking an early morning snack.

“The fire started here and it went to the back of the stove, it lit up,” said Sam Cook, Fraternity President.

Pullman Fire Department officials said the stove had a significant amount of built up grease that hadn’t been cleaned. “That provided a good fuel source for the fire and so once it got hot enough and ignited then away it went,” said Rick Dragoo, Fire Prevention Officer.

The grease flames activated the stove’s hood extinguisher and a nearby sprinkler.  “That kept it from moving into the exhaust system and out and possibly maybe even up the side of the house,” said Dragoo.

Apartment Building, Residential

Rochester, MN – Officials credit sprinkler system with saving apartment building

Officials believe a sprinkler system in an apartment building “definitely saved” the complex from more serious damage after a fire late Saturday.

A general flow alarm — which indicates the sprinkler system has been activated — came in about 10:40 p.m. Firefighters responded to 875 21st Ave. SE, where they found there had been an active fire in one of the apartments on the third floor.

They found a frying pan with oil in it, unattended on the stove, said Larry Mueller, assistant fire marshal. The initial flare-up triggered the overhead sprinkler, which eventually extinguished the flames.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Redmond, OR – Sprinkler system extinguishes overnight fire at race safety gear maker

A southeast Redmond business that makes safety gear for racers and track crews had one key piece of safety gear that saved it from serious fire damage early Thursday – a sprinkler system, officials said.

Redmond Fire & Rescue crews responded shortly before 3 a.m. to reported commercial structure fire at the business at 975 SE First Street, said Fire Marshal Traci Cooper.

Arriving crews found smoke in the structure but that a small fire had been put out by the building’s sprinkler system, Cooper said.

The fire apparently was caused by a light fixture that malfunctioned in the warehouse area, she said.

Cooper said the sprinkler system “did its job,” as the business sustained minimal damage, compared to what it could have been without it.

Apartment Building, Residential

Fargo, ND – Vehicle fire in garage of apartment building controlled by sprinkler system

An early morning fire Thursday woke up a lot of people at the Park East Apartments in downtown Fargo.  Firefighters got a call about smoke coming from the building around 2 a.m. and found a car on fire in the garage unit, which is attached to the residential section of the building.

Fire officials say sprinkler system largely limited the fire damage to one vehicle. Vehicles parked on either side were not damaged because of the sprinkler system. Crews had the fire under control within 15 minutes of the Red River Regional Dispatch Center receiving the first 9-1-1 call.

One person was found on scene with soot stains on his face but he refused medical treatment. The cause of the fire appears to be in the vehicle, but an exact cause has not been identified.

Adult Care/Rehab Center, Hospital/Care Facility

Killeen, TX – Dryer vent fire at substance abuse center extinguished by sprinkler system

The Killeen Fire Department responded to a small structure fire on the corner of Avenue B and Gray Street just after 8 a.m. today. The fire started in the laundry room of the Word of Life building in downtown Killeen, according to Battalion Chief Clay Brooks, most likely caused by lent in the dryer vent.

“Lent accumulates, and it’s very combustible,” Brooks said.  Brooks said the facility’s sprinklers put out most of the flames. “The sprinkler head did its job,” he said.  No one in the building was injured, and there is no permanent damage to the structure.

Apartment Building, Residential

Norcross, GA – Late night apartment fire held in check by sprinkler system

No one was injured in a Tuesday evening apartment fire near Norcross, according to Gwinnett Fire.  The fire was held in check by the sprinkler system and was contained to the bathroom.  The fire happened after 10 p.m. at the Los Colinas Apartments on Lia Hills Drive.  It appears to have been accidental and started by a bathroom exhaust fan, firefighters said.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Brownwood, TX – Sprinklers put out overnight fire at nursing and rehabilitation center

Tuesday, January 27 : 11:43 PM – The Brownwood Fire Department was dispatched to a fire call in the 2500 block of Songbird Circle (The Songbird Lodge Nursing & Rehabilitation Center). Firefighters arrived on scene and were advised the fire was in the rear of building. Firefighters entered the building to find the sprinkler system had activated and the fire was out. EMS on scene assisted with evacuation of patients. A ventilation fan was set up and firefighters started clean up.

Apartment Building, Residential

San Francisco, CA – Arson fire at multi-tenant residential building contained by sprinkler system

An unidentified man set a fire at the Crown Hotel and SRO at 16th and Valencia late Monday morning. According to witnesses, the man broke the glass of a fire extinguisher case inside the building and used it to attempt to break into a resident’s room, and then reportedly spread gasoline on the hotel’s walls and floors. The man was taken into custody by police, witnesses said, and by noon a manager informed residents they would have to wait about another hour for water used to extinguish the fire to be cleaned up from the building.

Samantha Helstrom, a resident of the Crown Hotel for about a year and a half, said she came out of her room after she heard glass breaking. She saw a man banging on a resident’s door, apparently trying to break in and possibly manipulating a gasoline can. Shortly after, she saw smoke coming from the resident’s room and the man running downstairs.

Helstrom said she ran back inside to get water to put out the fire and managed to get a few buckets on the flames before the sprinkler system turned on and the building was evacuated. “The fire was pretty contained at that point between the sprinklers and me being a crazy fool,” Helstrom said, referring to her efforts to extinguish the flames.

Benji Francois, who has been in the building less than a week, said he usually ignores yelling and commotion since they’re so common, but when water started coming into his room from the sprinkler system, he knew something serious had happened. He said he opened his door to see flames, and then ran out of the building. “Not a good way to wake up,” Francois said.

Apartment Building, Residential

Ontario, OH – Kitchen fire in off-campus apartment at Ohio State University controlled by sprinkler system

Springfield Township Fire Department Capt. Steve Krock said grease from a pan of food — possibly bratwurst — caused a fire about 8 p.m. Sunday in Buckeye Village Apartments.  “The sprinkler system went off and did what it was supposed to do,” Krock said. “Without that, we would have rolled up here and there would have been fire coming out of that front window.”

The fire caused smoke damage to neighboring apartments and displaced at least six residents. The fire triggered the smoke detector as well as the sprinkler system, the latter of which, Krock said, played a key role in containing the fire before firefighters responded.

All residents made it out of the apartment complex before firefighters responded.  Krock said four residents had to be moved to a vacant apartment complex for the night. Firefighters used fans to ventilate smoke from the apartment and used brushes to sweep out excess water on the first floor.

The Madison Township and Shelby fire departments assisted the Springfield Township Fire Department in containing the situation.  No one was injured as a result of the fire.

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