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.”
