Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Rochester, MN – Cooktop fire in hotel room extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A cooktop fire in a hotel room Wednesday morning caused fire and water damage from the sprinkler system.

At 6:48 a.m., the Rochester Fire Department responded to a structure fire call at the Days Inn Hotel at 3595 Commercial Drive Southwest. Firefighters on scene found smoke coming from a third story window in the back of the building.

The hotel has an automatic fire sprinkler system, which extinguished the fire in the third floor hotel room by the time firefighters arrived, according to the fire department’s press release. No occupants were found in the room or adjacent rooms.

The sprinkler system limited the fire damage to only the room of origin. An investigation determined that the fire started on a cooktop range. The department said the occupant of the room left the hotel and possibly left a burner on the stove.

Guests were evacuated from the hotel when crews arrived. No injuries were reported.

Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service and Rochester Police Department also responded to the fire.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Kingston, WA – Sprinkler system activated outside restaurant for fire caused by oily rags

Damage was limited to the building’s exterior after an automatic sprinkler system knocked down a fire that appears to have started with in a bucket of oily rags outside the Puerto Vallarta restaurant in Kingston early Sept. 12.

A fire alarm and a call from a Kitsap County sheriff’s deputy initiated a large commercial structure fire response to the Highway 104 business.

Crews arrived less than four minutes after the 3:40 a.m. dispatch, and firefighters found a small blaze on the building’s loading dock that had been mostly snuffed by the sprinkler system. Crews finished extinguishing the fire.

An investigator from the Kitsap County Fire Marshal’s Office responded and determined that the fire likely originated in a bucket of oil-soaked rags.

According to research by the National Fire Protection Association, fire sprinklers can lower the risk of property loss by as much as 70%. NFPA recommends that oily rags be placed in a metal container filled with water and detergent, and capped with a tight-fitting lid.

Units responded from North Kitsap Fire & Rescue, Poulsbo Fire Department and Puget Sound Federal Fire Department at Subase Bangor.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Saskatoon, SK, Canada – Sprinkler system activated for fire at commercial building; No injuries reported

The fire Sunday in the 400-block Wellman Crescent was deemed accidental based on the investigation done by the Saskatoon Fire Department.

The fire investigator concluded the cause of the fire was accidental due to the internal heating of oil-soaked rags used for staining which ignited.

Construction materials that were also near the area of the oil-soaked rags also caught fire but the sprinkler system kept the fire small on the second floor of the commercial structure.

No civilians or firefighters were reportedly injured as a result of the fire, which had estimated damage of $10,000.

On Sunday, at 5:14 p.m. on Sept. 11, the SFD received a call from the alarm monitoring company that indicated a structure fire in the 400 block of Wellman Crescent

One fire engine was dispatched to investigate what might have triggered the alarm from the property.

Arriving fire crews indicated the fire alarm was ringing and water was flowing from the automatic sprinkler system on the second floor.

After further investigation, it was identified that there was smoke visible on the second floor and two more fire engines, a ladder truck, a rescue unit and the Battalion Chief were dispatched.

The fire was reported extinguished at 5:41 p.m. as the sprinkler system helped minimize the damage.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Bend, OR – Restaurant fire extinguished by sprinkler system

An early Thursday morning fire at Broken Top Bottle Shop brought Bend Fire and Rescue to the scene.  Fire crews arrived about 4am and Battalion Chief Trish Connolly says there was no fire showing when crews arrived, so they did a walk around of the building. She says alarms were going off and people in upstairs apartments were evacuating. Connolly says crews got inside the restaurant and found a small fire that had been put out by the sprinkler system. She says there is no doubt the sprinklers saved lives and the apartments. Connolly says the fire was caused by spontaneous combustion of rags that had been cleaned but still had residual oil on them.

Other - Residential, Residential

Quebec City, QC, Canada – Sprinkler system activated for vehicle fire in underground parking lot

Hyundai recalled some 77,000 Kona EVs in 2020 due to the risk of them bursting into flames from possibly defective battery packs and even though it supposedly fixed all vehicles that potentially had problems, the fires didn’t completely go away. Now another electric Kona caught fire while it was parked in an underground parking lot in Quebec City, Canada.

Firefighters responded to the call but they say they first had to ventilate the underground part of the building in order to gain access to the vehicle in order to extract it from the garage. They quickly managed to do that and even though they say it was the battery pack that was the source of the fire, this particular Hyundai Kona Electric has much less damage compared to others we’ve seen.

It is also noted that the vehicle was parked under a sprinkler for the emergency fire suppression system and even though the battery pack (the source of the fire) was under the car where water couldn’t quite reach it, it probably played its part in keeping the fire contained and preventing it from spreading to other cars parked nearby.

It was not noted in any of the reports that we found whether or not the vehicle had been plugged in and charging when the fire started.

The fire was reported at around 4 AM and firefighters decided to evacuate the entire eight-story building to make sure everyone was safe. Even though the fire was contained and flames were never visible from the outside, smoke had apparently entered the building’s ventilation ducts, posing health risks and making the evacuation necessary.

Everybody was given the green light to return to their homes two hours later and the fire reportedly caused no damage to the building or any of the other cars parked there at the time.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Rio Rancho, NM – Sprinkler system activated for fire at middle school; No injuries reported

Rio Rancho Middle School students are reportedly safe after a small fire was extinguished Tuesday morning.

School officials say the fire started in a girl’s restroom in the school’s 500 wing. The fire activated the sprinkler system and alarms which prompted students to be evacuated and fire crews to respond.

No one was injured and the school says all protocols were followed before letting students return to class safely.

School administrators have identified the accused perpetrator and are mulling disciplinary action for them. No other details are available at this time.

Department Store, Retail

Yuma, AZ – Sprinkler system activated for fire at J.C. Penney store; No injuries reported

The Yuma Fire Department (YFD) says a J.C. Penney store caught fire, damaging a storage room but was extinguished by its sprinkler system.

After 4 p.m. on September 1, an alarm went off at a J.C. Penny on Yuma Palms Parkway.

Upon arrival, firefighters saw the building being evacuated and smoke coming from a shoe department storage room.

The sprinkler system extinguished the fire and no injuries were reported, according to YFD.

Fire damage was contained within the storage room and water damage was seen in other parts of the building.

YFD says the store was closed but will reopen after clean-up and repairs are done.

The cause of the fire is being investigated.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Colorado Springs, CO – Sprinkler system activated for fire at hotel; No injuries reported

Monday, September 5th, the Colorado Springs Fire Department responded to a fire at Intown Suites located off I-25 at 6210 Corporate Dr.

The fire was called in at approximately 12:00 PM and CSFD responded with a limited amount of units to the scene.

CSFD was able to get the fire under control and quickly put it out due to the building’s sprinkler system keeping the fire in check until firefighters got there.

There were no injuries reported and the reason for the fire is still being investigated at this time.

Apartment Building, Residential

Huntsville, AL – Sprinkler system activated for fire at apartment complex; No injuries reported

Multiple units responded to a structure fire in Huntsville Saturday morning.

Huntsville Fire and Rescue said multiple units responded to 2130 Old Fairway Road NW just before 7:30 a.m. This is located at the Cottages at Watercress, just off Jeff Road north of US-72.

HFR told News 19 that a small fire in one of the third-floor apartments triggered the sprinkler system. The sprinklers did their job, extinguishing the fire. Crews entered the apartment, checking to see if the fire had spread elsewhere, but no further fire was found.

The apartment resident is likely to be displaced temporarily, but nobody was injured.

Apartment Building, Residential

St. George, UT – Sprinkler system activated for kitchen fire at apartment complex

A fire at an apartment complex that firefighters say could have displaced dozens of Cedar City residents was extinguished by an activated sprinkler system.

At approximately 12:56 p.m. on Aug. 20, the Cedar City Fire Department received a call involving a kitchen fire at an apartment complex located at 163 N. 300 W. in Cedar City, according to a press release issued by the city.

Upon arrival, no flames or smoke were visible from the exterior; however, water was spraying out of the unit due to an activated sprinkler system.

Cedar City Fire Department responded with on battalion chief, one engine and one squad unit with a total of seven firefighters. When investigating, firefighters found a cooking fire had started on the stove but was extinguished by an activated sprinkler system that suppressed the flames. Firefighters credit the sprinkler system for saving dozens of lives and preserving multiple apartment units, the release states.

“This type of fire could have easily spread to nearby units, displacing tenants and damaging not only this apartment unit but neighboring ones as well,” firefighter Chad Barnes said in the news release. “We are thankful this building had a working sprinkler system that meets code requirements because it ultimately saved lives and property.”

Firefighters returned to the property a few days later and the water salvage was nearly complete with tenants moving back in and resuming normal operations.

The fire department encourages all business and property owners to explore installing sprinkler systems, especially if the building is older and initially was not required to do so according to older code. Cost is usually the main factor that causes hesitation in property owners, but the long-term benefit outweighs the up-front cost should a property ever experience a fire.

“Recovering from an unexpected fire or disaster is always the hardest part of resuming normal operations,” Fire Chief Mike Phillips said. “As seen with this apartment fire, do what you can now to prepare for an unfortunate event and your business or property will be able to recover quicker.”

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