Other Business, Place of Worship

Syracuse, UT – Arson fire at church extinguished by sprinkler system

A 16-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of arson after a Syracuse chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was burned, vandalized, and defaced with anti-Christian symbols.

The Syracuse Police Department issued a statement Saturday afternoon on the case, which was first reported by Gephardt Daily.

On Oct. 9, 2021 at approximately 1 a.m., the Syracuse Fire Department responded to an LDS Church at 1112 S. 1525 West in Syracuse on a fire alarm. When fire crews entered the building, they found it filled with smoke and discovered a sprinkler system had extinguished the fire.

Fire crews observed extensive water and property damage throughout the building caused by the fire. Additionally, the fire department observed several intentional acts of vandalism throughout the building. The fire is being investigated as arson.

Syracuse Police Department, Syracuse Fire Department, Davis County Sheriff’s Office Crime Lab and the ATF are working together to investigate the arson and vandalism.

On Oct. 9, 2021 at 2 p.m., an arson arrest was made regarding this case; a 16-year-old male responsible for the damage was booked into a juvenile detention facility. He will not be identified because he is a juvenile.

Response

Emergency crews responded to the scene, a few blocks southeast of Syracuse High School, at about 1:10 a.m. Sprinklers had doused the blaze.

Arson damage to the interior included the burning of padded benches used by the congregation.

Inverted crosses, and what appeared to a pentagram, were spray-painted on the front of the church. Images including the number 666 were sprayed on other doors.

Officers questioned neighbors about anything they might have seen or captured on surveillance video. Syracuse Police Department officers were back at the scene in the morning, questioning any neighbors they might have missed earlier.

Several vehicles from a local cleaning company were on the scene Saturday morning, after the scene had been cleared by investigators.

Gephardt Daily will have additional information if it is released by police.

Other Business, Recycling / Waste Facility

Margate, FL – Sprinkler system keeps fire under control at Public Works Facility

Firefighters worked to put out a fire in Margate.

The fire broke out at a Public Works facility near North Rock Island Road and First Street, Saturday.

Heavy smoke could be seen billowing from the building.

Firefighters knocked down the fire to limit the extent of the damage.

Officials said the sprinkler system was key in keeping the fire under control.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Colorado Springs, CO – Fire at strip mall controlled by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Colorado Springs firefighters responded to a fire in a strip mall near the southeastern side of the city Thursday morning, firefighters tweeted.

Sprinklers controlled the “small” fire inside a storefront at 1720 South Circle Drive shortly before 11:20 a.m., the agency tweeted.

Crews arrived to control the sprinkler flow, firefighters said.

Firefighters reported no injuries. No other stores were damaged, firefighters said.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Spartanburg, SC – Sprinkler system activated for fire at middle school

The Westview Fairforest Fire Department is responding to a fire at Fairforest Middle School in Spartanburg County, according to Spartanburg County dispatch.

Chief Communications Officer of Spartanburg District 6 Cynthia Robinson says the school experienced a small office fire this evening near the school’s planetarium. 

Robinson says the fire alarm and sprinkler system was activated in the area, at around 7:20 this evening with city and county fire officials quickly responding to the scene. 

The fire has been contained to one area of the building, and clean up is currently underway, says Robinson.

She also says no one was in the building at the time of the fire. 

School will be held on a regular schedule tomorrow. 

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Hillsboro, OR – Sprinkler system activated for fire at business; No injuries reported

A building in a Hillsboro business park was evacuated on Thursday after a fire broke out inside one of the businesses, setting off the sprinkler system, fire officials said.

Hillsboro Fire & Rescue and Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue crews were called out at about 11:30 a.m. on reports of a fire alarm at the Sunset West Business Park off Northeast 25th Avenue.

Everyone made it safely out of the building, fire officials said, and there are no initial reports of injuries.

Firefighters found and extinguished the fire which was contained to a small area inside one of the companies, saying it involved “specialty materials commonly found in high-tech manufacturing.”

A HazMat team was called out to assess the potential impact that the specialty materials may have, which prompted fire crews to order evacuations of the nearby businesses.

Investigators have not confirmed a cause of the fire.

“Hillsboro Fire & Rescue would like to thank Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, Hillsboro Police, Metro West Ambulance, and Portland General Electric for their assistance.”

Apartment Building, Residential

Red Bank, NJ – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire at apartment complex; No injuries reported

The sprinkler system at the River Street Commons senior housing complex in Red Bank prevented possible tragedy Thursday afternoon.

The fire-suppression system doused a fire in the living room of a first-floor apartment, with follow-up effort by volunteer firefighters who answered the 12:15 p.m. alarm, said Chief Bobby Holiday.

No injuries occurred, he said.

As of 12:40 p.m., the cause of the fire was under investigation, and it remained to be determined if the apartment would be immediately habitable, Holiday said.

The three-story River Street Commons, bounded by Shrewsbury and Bridge avenues at Catherine Street, occupies the former River Street School building.

Apartment Building, Residential

Santa Maria, CA – Sprinkler system activated for fire at apartment building

The Santa Maria Fire Department is investigating the cause of a fire at an apartment building Thursday morning.

It was first reported just after 5 a.m. in the apartment complex along the 200 block of North Depot Street.

The fire started inside one of the affordable housing units on the second floor, officials said.

Firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the fire inside the apartment.

There was significant water damage from the building’s fire sprinkler system, the fire department said.

Some of the residents were displaced by the fire. The local Red Cross is working to find them temporary housing.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Evansville, IN – Fire inside building extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Fire officials were called to a building fire on Wednesday morning. Crews arrived to 5401 Highway 41 after 911 dispatchers received a call stating there was a fire inside the building. The first crew arrived at 2:50 a.m. and reported light smoke conditions.

An area of fire was discovered that had been mostly extinguished by the fire sprinkler system. The fire damage was mostly contained to the contents and an interior wall of the business. According to officials, the fire cause is accidental and no injuries were reported.

Residential, Sorority / Fraternity

College Park, MD – Sprinkler system activated for fire at sorority house; No injuries reported

Members of the Tri Delta sorority evacuated their sorority house on Wednesday at about 6 p.m. after a fire broke out in the basement, according to Prince George’s County Fire Department spokesperson Michael Yourishin.

The sorority house’s sprinkler system put out the bulk of the fire, Yourishin said. Nobody in the house was injured.

“It just goes to show you the importance of having a sprinkler system in buildings like that,” Yourishin said.

Members of the sorority were evacuated for about an hour after the fire started in a dryer in the laundry room, said Tri Delta member Ellie Laffargue.

Laffargue, a junior public health science major, was in her room watching “Gilmore Girls” when the house’s fire alarms went off. At first, she thought it was one of many false alarms that occur in the house when sorority members blow dry their hair or accidentally set the alarms off, she said.

Laffargue said she darted down the stairs without shoes on after she heard the house chef scream at residents to evacuate.

Once it was safe to return back into the building, Laffargue says many of the residents noticed smoke in the hallways and in their rooms.

“Even when we were allowed back in, a lot of girls stayed outside because of how bad it smelled,” Laffargue said.

The laundry room is off-limits to residents for the next couple days due to smoke and water damage from the sprinklers, she added.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Concord, NH – Fire at pet store extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Concord firefighters quickly extinguished a fire at Petco in Concord on Monday night with no injuries to people or animals. 

Shortly after 8:30 p.m., the department was alerted to an alarm at the Fort Eddy Road store. Companies arrived on the scene in less than four minutes and found the sprinkler system running.

A fire was burning in the grooming area was extinguished by Concord firefighters by 8:55 p.m. Concord Fire Marshal Paul Sirois determined the cause of the fire to be a malfunctioning air blower fan.

None of the mulititude of animals in the store were injured, firefighters said.

Firefighters remained on the scene for three hours removing smoke and water to prevent further damage and to conduct the investigation.

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