Apartment Building, Residential

Duluth, MN – Sprinkler system activated for second-floor apartment fire; No injuries reported

All tenants at the Burke Apartments in Duluth are temporarily displaced due to water damage from a sprinkler system responding to the fire. The apartment building provides affordable housing to adults with disabilities.

A fire was reported around 9:30 a.m. Monday in a second-floor unit at Burke Apartments, 720 Maple Grove Road, Duluth. It triggered a sprinkler system to activate, causing water damage to nearly all 21 units in the building. A news release from the Duluth Fire Department said the sprinkler system kept the flames in check and no one was injured.

Of the 21 units in the two-story apartment building, 16 were occupied at the time of the fire. Tenants evacuated the building prior to the firefighters’ arrival. According to the Duluth Fire Marshal’s Office, the cause of the fire was accidental.

All tenants are temporarily displaced due to the water damage. Fire and water damage is estimated at $55,000, according to the Duluth Police Department. Property manager Accessible Space is providing tenants with assistance until they can return to the building. The Burke Apartments provide affordable housing for adults with disabilities.

Fire crews from Duluth Heights, Spirit Valley and Duluth Fire Headquarters used vacuums and other equipment to attempt to remove water from the affected units. A local damage mitigation company will assist in the cleanup.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Chilliwack, BC, Canada – Sprinkler system activated for fire at resource society; No injuries reported

Just after 7: 20 AM Saturday morning, 20 firefighters from Chilliwack firehalls 1 and 4 responded to a fire alarm and sprinkler activation in a 2 storey supportive housing building located in the 45000 block of Hocking Avenue.

This is with PCRS and formally known as the Contact Centre.

Fire crews accessed the vacant first floor unit to find a single sprinkler head had activated, extinguishing the fire that originated on the bedroom night table.

Firefighters confirmed the fire was out, ventilated the smoke and shut off the sprinkler system.

There was minor fire, smoke and water damage in the unit.

There were no civilian or firefighter injuries.

Cause of the fire appears to be accidental and continues to be investigated by the Chilliwack Fire Department.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

North Myrtle Beach, SC – Sprinkler system activated for fire at resort; No injuries reported

Crews were on the scene of a fire at a North Myrtle Beach resort Sunday morning.

City spokesperson Pat Dowling said firefighters were called to the Beach Cove Resort on 4800 South Ocean Boulevard for reports of the blaze.

Dowling also said the fire was confined to the third floor and the sprinkler system was activated.

No injuries were reported.

Adult Care/Rehab Center, Hospital/Care Facility

Bend, OR – Sprinkler system extinguishes laundry room fire at rehabilitation center, No injuries reported

A laundry room fire Sunday afternoon at Pilot Butte Rehabilitation in northeast Bend was stopped by the facility’s fire sprinkler system, an official said.

A fire alarm report was received by Bend Fire & Rescue just after 3:30 p.m. It soon was upgraded to a structure fire response after staff found smoking coming from the laundry room of the facility, in the 1800 block of Northeast Highway 20, Deputy Fire Marshal Jeff Bond said.

Crews arrived to find that the sprinkler system had activated and completed putting it out, Bond said. There were no injuries and minimal heat and water damage. No smoke entered the patient area of the building, the official added.

The exact cause of the fire was under investigation, Bond said. The fire sprinkler and alarm systems were back in operation in about two hours.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Charleston, WV – Sprinkler system activated for fire at bakery, No injuries reported

The Charleston Fire Department is investigating the fire that started late Tuesday night at Rock City Cake Company. Fire Marshal Richard Symns said when they responded to the fire, it was contained to a storage room containing holiday decorations on the second floor of the building.

“We believe something that was around the ornaments was combustible. We haven’t found the heat source that caused those ornaments to catch on fire,” Symns said.

Firefighters say the sprinklers and alarm went off in the building soon after the fire happened. The owners of the bakery were inside, and the fire was put out quickly.

The source of the fire is what they are currently investigating, and said they do not believe the cause was electrical.

“There is not outlets around the stuff that was in there. There may be something battery-powered. We don’t know that is what we are trying to figure out,” Symns said.

The Woolworth building is where Rock City Cake Company is located.

Rock City Cake Company shared some information on social media about their status. The bakery said they will be closed for at least a week.

Firefighters said the damage to the building was minimal but there is water damage from the sprinklers going off. In order for the bakery to reopen, Rock City Cake Company must get the green light following an investigation and inspection.

In the meantime, the bakery owners have shared that they will be filling pre-orders out of a commercial kitchen nearby and they shared that they will continue to participate in upcoming holiday events.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Effingham, IL – Sprinkler system activated for fire at nail salon in mall

Fire broke out at Malibu Nails inside the Village Square Mall just before 5:30 Tuesday evening.

Assistant Fire Chief Matt Kulesza told us the fire started from a mini-fridge inside the store. The store had just closed for the evening, and the owner had gone home. People walking in the mall spotted the fire and called 911.

The sprinkler system in the store did activate, but the fire was limited by a water line located in a wall just behind the refrigerator. The line melted from the heat and burst, giving the sprinkler an assist. When firefighters arrived, they broke a window to gain access and used a pump can to put the fire out.

Kulesza said it could have been much worse, had the fire burned through the wall into the store to the south, which is packed full of boxes and other items that would have fueled it.

Angus, owner of Malibu Nails, told us he’s been in the mall since 1995 and does intend to repair his space and reopen. For the time being, Malibu Nails will be using a portion of the store across the hall from his, while mall management prepares a temporary space for them in the coming days.

The mall was closed for the rest of the evening Tuesday. RMC Cinemas remained open. Mall manager Steve Linton and other mall employees were cleaning up glass from the window the fire department had to break to gain access to the store, and putting fans in place to air out the mall. He told us the mall will be open as normal Wednesday morning, and that he’s thankful the damage was limited.

Residential, Residential High Rise

Houston, TX – Sprinkler system activated for high-rise apartment building fire; No injuries reported

WHAT: High-rise apartment building fire

WHEN: November 9, 2021 at 11:27 a.m.

WHERE: 7575 Bellaire, 77036

INJURIES: No reported injuries.

PROPERTY SAVED: $45 thousand in estimated property saved.

DAMAGE: $5 thousand in estimated damage.

CAUSE: Unintentional – heat source too close to combustible.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Firefighters arrived on scene within six minutes to find a fire near a trash chute in the maintenance area on the sixth floor of a high-rise apartment building. Paper goods were placed near an electrical plug which appeared to have started the fire. The fire was kept in-check by a fire sprinkler head until HFD arrived on scene. Firefighters from Stations 21, 28, 68, 83, 10, 60, 73, 51, 37 and 57 responded to this incident.

Apartment Building, Residential

Jackson, WY – Sprinkler system activated for fire at apartment complex

At 10:40 a.m. this morning, Jackson Hole Fire/EMS responded to a structure fire at the Blair Place Apartment Complex.

Upon arrival, first responders observed flames coming from the third floor of apartment building 245. 

After arriving on the scene, firefighters were able to successfully control the fire which was contained to the third floor and roof, causing fire damage to two apartments according to Battalion Chief Mike Moyer. Other units on the first and second floors experienced water damage. 

The fire alarm and sprinkler systems were activated and responsible for effectively alerting residents of the  14-unit building and for helping to control the fire.  

“This is a good reminder to make sure your fire alarms and sprinkler systems are in working condition because they do make a difference,” Moyer said.  

While all residents were able to evacuate without injury and several pets were able to be evacuated. Residents will not be able to return to their apartments at least through tonight as the fire department will conduct its investigation and property managers will assess the damage to fire alarm and suppression systems.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Mechanicsburg, PA – Sprinkler system activated for fire at sushi restaurant

Sakura Japanese restaurant in Silver Spring Township is temporarily closed following a small fire.

A sign posted on the restaurant’s front door at 6499 Carlisle Pike notifies diners of the closure. The owners could not be reached for comment.

Silver Spring Community Fire Company Chief Benjamin McDonald said the fire broke out early in the morning of Nov. 5. Crews didn’t have to rush to the scene, though, because the sprinkler system had extinguished the fire, he said.

The problem was that the alarm system was not set up to notify the 911 center, and the sprinklers kept going over night, causing a lot of water damage to the business. An employee noticed it when they came in the next morning.

McDonald said the fire was likely caused by a hot pan being placed on a shelf.

While there is a lot of water damage, it is repairable, he said. He estimated it’s $50,000 worth of damage, but said that was just a rough figure.

The chief said sprinkler systems definitely work and prevented this fire from spreading through the restaurant and into neighboring businesses in the plaza. But there is a lesson to be learned.

“Make sure your alarm system calls the proper authorities,” he said. “In this case, it sounded like it tried to call the contact numbers for business, but never called the 911 center to alert the fire department of issue.”

Sakura opened in 2011 and specializes in sushi, hibachi and teriyaki.

Apartment Building, Residential

College Station, TX – Sprinkler system activated for fire at apartment complex; NO injuries reported

Residents in three units of a College Station apartment complex were relocated following a fire Monday afternoon.

College Station fire investigators found an electric skateboard battery that blew up while it was being charged.

CSFD responding to a smoke detector alert at The Zone complex found sprinklers had turned on and kept the fire from going full blown.

Firefighters found on the third floor heavy smoke and arcing electrical equipment that was shut down.

No one was injured, and the damage came from water from the sprinkler system.

Simple Share Buttons