Tag Archives: Afternoon (12pm-6pm)
Memphis, TN – Sprinkler system contains arson fire at Walmart
An intentional fire set inside a Memphis Walmart caused nearly $2 million in content loss, the Memphis Fire Department said.
On Sunday, the MFD responded to a fire at the Walmart on Austin Peay Highway at 3:11 p.m.
Qwanesha Ward of the MFD said that the fire was intentionally set on Aisle 18 near the electronics department and was contained by the store’s sprinkler system.
However, the fire still led to $1.8 million in content loss and $10,000 in building loss. The store has smoke and water damage.
MFD said that the store will likely be closed until the end of the week.
Glen Allen, VA – Sprinkler system activated for fire at hotel; No injuries reported
According to a spokesperson for Henrico Fire & EMS, crews responded to the Candlewood Suites at 4120 Tom Leonard Drive just before 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 10, for report of a fire.
The spokesperson said the occupants of a hotel room had noticed smoke coming out of the air conditioning and heating unit and reported it to the front desk.
When the smoke worsened, they left the room — which caught fire shortly after. The flames soon spread to the curtains above the unit.
The sprinkler system was triggered by the smoke, which automatically notified first responders. Additionally, these sprinklers kept the fire from spreading beyond the window area, which is “exactly what you want [the sprinklers] to do,” according to the spokesperson.
Fire crews reportedly arrived within three minutes of receiving the call. There was still some visible fire on the outside of the building, so firefighters worked to put that out before entering the building.
No injuries were reported, according to the spokesperson.
The hotel was damaged by the flames themselves, as well as the smoke, heat and soot that came along with it. Fire crews deactivated the sprinkler system when possible, but there was still some water damage, according to the spokesperson.
Due to this damage, occupants are being relocated by hotel staff. According to the spokesperson, they are being moved to either other available rooms or to another hotel.
The spokesperson said this fire is considered accidental. No other information is available at tis time.
Kennewick, WA – Sprinkler system activated for fire at apartment complex; No injuries reported
UPDATE April 1
According to the Kennewick Fire Department, the fire from Friday displaced as many as 24 people.
The Red Cross reportedly started the process of helping a family of nine, which lived in one of the damaged apartment units and had nowhere else to go over Easter weekend.
Disaster Response Team supervisor Terry Liikala said they were able to help the predominantly non-English speaking family thanks to the help of their bilingual eldest son.
ORIGINAL COVERAGE March 29
An apartment in Kennewick caught fire Friday afternoon and was kept from spreading by fire sprinklers, according to Kennewick Fire Department Chief Chad Michael.
Michael says the fire, located on the 1000 block of West Fifth Avenue, was contained with fire sprinklers to a fourth floor apartment unit before crews arrived.
All residents of the apartment building are allowed to reenter the building except the apartment which caught fire, according to Michael.
The cause is currently unknown and is under investigation by KFD. No injuries were reported from the fire, which is now out.
More information will be revealed later in a press release.
Bowie, MD – Sprinkler system activated for fire at condo building; No injuries reported
Prince George’s County Fire and EMS first tweeted about the fire around 1:40 p.m. The fire burned through a condo building in the 15600 block of Everglade Lane in Bowie.
The fire department responded just after 1 p.m. Heavy flames were showing through a second and third floor balcony and spread to the roof.
Percy Jacobs was working on a friends apartment across the street when it happened.
“I heard a loud sound, it sounded like a gunshot,” Jacobs said. “I looked out the window and saw a man leaving. Then I saw the flames on the first floor porch, then spread to second floor, then to the third floor.”
Jacobs said he called 911, then noticed people still inside the building.
“I asked 911, ‘Should I go over there? Should I knock on doors and get people out?’ They said, ‘No, stay where you are,'” he said.
“But that is hard. It’s hard to not help when lives are in danger.”
Fire crews got to the scene within minutes.
Four residents and multiple dogs had to be rescued from two different balconies, but no injuries have been reported.
The American Red Cross is on scene to help the affected residents. As many as 12 families were seeking assistance from the Red Cross. It’s not clear if there were more people displaced who didn’t need their help.
The building was equipped with a sprinkler system.
Eighty firefighters were involved in putting out the blaze.
No other details have been released.
Harlan, IA – Sprinkler system activated for fire at lodge; No injuries reported
The call went out at 12:50 p.m. Chief Bissen says upon arrival, smoke could be seen coming from the room door. Mutual aid was requested from the Westphalia and Avoca Fire Departments. When firemen made entry, they found contents left near the furnace, which caught fire and ignited the curtains. The lodge was evacuated.
Chief Bissen says the room sustained smoke and water damage from the sprinkler system, and the ground floor had some smoke damage.
No one was injured in the fire.
Bismarck, ND – Sprinkler system extinguishes stovetop fire at multi-story apartment building; No injuries reported
According to a press release from the BFD, at approximately 5:28 p.m. on Saturday, March 23, the group received a call after a report of sprinkler activation at the Heritage Apartments on the 100 block of North 6th Street. Upon arriving on the scene, fire crews noted that the smoke alarm and sprinkler activation came from the fourth floor — and would later detect light smoke in the hallway and water flowing under the door of an apartment.
As they entered, firefighters found that a stovetop fire had been extinguished by the building’s fire sprinkler system, and that the unit’s occupant evacuated to the ground floor. Following this realization, the water flow from the sprinkler was shut down, and the four floor was ventilated to clear smoke.
No injuries were reported to occupants or firefighters, but three occupants were temporarily displaced due to water damage.
The cause of the fire was determined to be unattended cooking.
Bend, OR – Sprinkler system activated for fire at clubhouse; No injuries reported
Firefighters battle a fire at Juniper Preserve Friday evening.
Redmond Fire & Rescue responded to a structure fire around 5:30 p.m.
Juniper Preserve staff quickly evacuated the building of guests.
As fire crews arrived there was visible smoke coming from the roof of the building and made a quick attack on the fire, but had to quickly evacuate the building due to the collapse of a chimney onto the roof.
The buildings fire sprinkler system was able to help keep the fire in check and crews were able to access the void areas in the roof.
We learned no one was hurt during the fire.
Officials think it possibly started when fireplace fire burned into the walls and then up into the roof.
Redmond Fire says the vaulted ceilings made it more challenging to figure out exactly the best attack.
Redmond Fire & Rescue was assisted by Bend Fire & Rescue, Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and Sunriver Fire & Rescue.
South Burlington, VT – Sprinkler system activated for fire at apartment garage; No injuries reported
The call came around 1 p.m. after fire officials were notified the sprinkler and alarm system were activated in the lower level garage at the O’Dell Apartments off Farrell Street.
It’s not clear what started the fire but smoke rose into the upper levels of the building, which forced people out for several hours.
“Obviously, since it’s chilly out, people don’t necessarily want to leave, so it took a little bit of work with help from our police officers to get everyone out of the building,” South Burlington Deputy Fire Chief Chris Corbin said.
Officials say no one was injured and the road has since reopened.
North Platte, NE – Sprinkler system activated for fire at linen company; No injuries reported
According to battalion chief Jeff Hankla, the fire was caused by dirty and oily linens that caused a spontaneous combustion. No one was injured.
Hankla also said that the sprinkler system knocked the fire down and the department put it out. The sprinkler system also saved the frame and structure of the building as well. The fire was extinguished about 10 minutes after the dispatch received the call.
Employees who work at Ideal Linen and Uniform were allowed back into the building just after 6:30 p.m.
