Tag Archives: Afternoon (12pm-6pm)

Apartment Building, Residential

Dale City, VA – Sprinkler system contains apartment fire to one unit

A sprinkler system kept a fire that broke out in a Dale City apartment Thursday from spreading to other units in the complex, according to the Prince William County Department of Fire and Rescue.

At about 2:30 p.m., dispatchers received a call about a fire alarm sounding at the Orchard Mills apartment complex in the 15100 block of Bannon Way in Dale City, the fire department said.

Fire and rescue crews responded and discovered the fire in a closet in one of the apartments; it had been contained by the sprinkler system. Firefighters suppressed and extinguished the fire.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Evansville, IN – Sprinkler system helps to contain fire at industrial building

Firefighters Wednesday responded to a roof fire in part of the former Whirlpool building on U.S. 41 North now used as a warehouse.

Investigator Richard Howard said the alarm came in at 11:30 a.m. and when the first firefighters arrived two minutes later, there was heavy smoke coming from the roof area and some smoke from inside the building. Nobody was hurt in the fire and building sprinklers functioned normally.

The portion of the building where the fire occurred is used by GAF Materials Corporation to store asphalt shingles and other roofing products, Howard said. Nobody was hurt in the incident.

“The reports that we got from the people inside were that they had been smelling smoke for about an hour but they couldn’t locate the source,” Howard said. “They heard a pop and when they looked up it was the sprinkler head kicking off and that’s when they actually saw fire in upper portions of the building in the roof area.”

“They evacuated the building and called us. So, we do know that we have an operating sprinkler system inside. We are assuming right now that it helped suppress the fire, keep it under control until we could mop up,” Howard said. Howard said the cause of the fire was under investigation.

“I know that we had an incident here last week that was electrical in nature. I can tell you that is one thing I will be looking at but we also had a report that there was a crew on the roof up above that was on the roof working. So I have to find out if they were in that area and what they were doing,” Howard said.

Workers were able to go back inside Wednesday afternoon. “The building hasn’t been destroyed or anything,” he said. “There is smoke damage throughout the building and it was even forced into other areas besides their area,” Howard said. However, he said the industrial steel construction of the building made structural damage unlikely.

Whirlpool shut down refrigerator production at the Evansville plant in June 2010. The manufacturer maintained its refrigeration product design center at the site for a few years before announcing it would move that work to its Benton Harbor, Michigan headquarters. The last Whirlpool employees vacated the Evansville site in 2014.

Evansville developer The Kunkel Group acquired the Whirlpool building in 2011, rebranding it as a multi-tenant industrial park known as Park 41.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Meridian, MS – Sprinkler system helps save Outback Steakhouse

An automatic sprinkler system apparently did enough to help save Meridian from losing its Outback Steakhouse.  Meridian Fire Chief Anthony Clayton said Tuesday that the sprinkler system did its job well enough to aid the arrival of the Meridian Fire Department, which extinguished the Monday afternoon fire at the steakhouse located at the Meridian Crossroads.

“Had it not been for the automatic sprinkler system, the building would have burned up,” Clayton said.  Clayton said his investigative team concluded the fire was caused by corrosion in its gas line.

“It had been caused from the cleaning solvents used,” he said. “The solvents had corroded the line and it failed. It ignited. Because the automatic sprinkler system activated, it kept the damage to a minimum. It allowed us time to get there and put it out.”

Clayton said the restaurant suffered smoke damage and could be reopened in a couple of days.

 

Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill

Armstrong, BC, Canada – Sprinklers help control electrical fire at wood mill

The sprinkler system and an employee with a fire extinguisher quickly dealt with an electrical fire at the Tolko Industries mill in Armstrong this afternoon.

Fire crews responded to what they thought was a structure fire at about 1:25 p.m., Monday, March 30, but it turned out to be an electrical motor fire.

“The sprinkler head tripped and they used an extinguisher on it,” Armstrong Fire Chief Ian Cummings says. “It turned out to be very minor.”

Fire crews brought out their fans to get the smoke out of the affected building.  No one was hurt.

Other - Retail, Retail

Galloway Twp, NJ – Sprinkler system activates to help limit damage in fire at nail salon

At 12:21 p.m., police received a 911 call reporting a structure fire at Lucky Nails located on New York Road.  Emergency personnel found determined a camp stove was being used inside the building and set the contents of a room on fire, police said.

The sprinkler system was activated inside the building and the building sustained smoke and water damage, police said.  An investigation by Galloway Township Fire Marshal Ron Garbutt and Officer Bill Schroer determined the fire to be accidental in nature.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Valdosta, GA – Sprinklers put out fire at South Georgia Pecan warehouse

Around 12:30, a fire broke out inside South Georgia Pecan’s warehouse on E. Hill Ave.  Valdosta Fire Marshal Cpt. James Clinkscales said the fire started because someone was using a propane torch carelessly as they were preparing some pallets for shipping. “Upon arrival, fire was out.  Thank God for the sprinkler system that kicked in” Cpt. Clinkscales explained.  The building was evacuated as a precaution, but no one was hurt and employees were able to go back in after the fire.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Mankato, MN – Sprinkler system activates to help control lunch-time restaurant fire

Investigators have determined the cause of Wednesday’s fire at Asiana Buffet in Mankato. Fire officials say the fire originated in a wok in the kitchen. The fire then spread to the restaurants ceiling. The fire started over the noon hour and officials say firefighters were notified of the fire by a sprinkler alarm. When firefighters arrived, lunch-hour diners and staff were still in the restaurant, most unaware that a fire was spreading in the ceiling and rafters. Staff was apparently trying to fight the fire and it eventually triggered a sprinkler system that alerted the fire department. Damages are estimated at $1.75 million.There were no injuries.

Government/Military

Muskegon, MI – Sprinkler system prevents spread of fire at city maintenance garage

A Muskegon Police Department cruiser was destroyed in a fire inside the city’s Department of Public Works garage Wednesday afternoon, March 25. An automatic sprinkler system quickly suppressed the fire, stopping it from spreading and preventing major damage to the building and other vehicles. Muskegon Fire Department firefighters, arriving on the scene, finished the job of extinguishing the blaze.

No one was hurt because no one was in the building at the time – employees were in a staff meeting off site, according to Muskegon Fire Marshal Major Metcalf. The fire was reported shortly after 1 p.m.  Fire and police officials late Wednesday were still investigating, but the cause may have been electrical problems with the cruiser that burned, Metcalf said. The car was at the DPW building for maintenance, and mechanics told fire investigators that one reported problem was with the electrical system, Metcalf said.

Besides the ruined cruiser, there was minor smoke and water damage inside the building and smoke stains on the outside of other vehicles, including two police cruisers and a fire engine, Metcalf said. “We didn’t find any major damage to any work areas,” he said.

“The one thing I was impressed with, the sprinkler system in the DPW was operational, in service, and it did prevent the fire from growing out of control,” the fire marshal said. “I was very pleased about that. Our firefighters arrived on the scene and fully extinguished it.”

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Norfolk, VA – Sprinkler system activates after fire at senior high-rise living center

The Red Cross is helping nearly 150 people after a fire at a high rise senior living center in Norfolk. Investigators say the fire started in a sixth floor kitchen at Braywood Manor,  a high rise senior living center in Norfolk, at around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. Electrical service will remain off in areas of the building where the sprinkler system went off until repairs are made, said Battalion Chief Julian Williamson. 

Firefighters found moderate smoke in the hallway and found one apartment filled with smoke. The fire remains under investigation.  Four residents were evaluated at the scene and two were taken to the hospital with medical conditions unrelated to the fire, added Williamson. In all, the Red Cross says it’s supporting 142 people, 52 of whom needed lodging assistance.

 “Our team provided the displaced residents a safe place to stay, snacks and comfort items,” said Red Cross Communications Officer Jonathan McNamara. “We are currently working with fire officials, apartment management and the families to determine next steps so we can continue to aid the residents in their recovery.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Roanoke, VA – Sprinklers activate to help contain chemical drum fire

(Blog Note – Smoke does not cause sprinklers to activate – Only the heat from a substantial fire)  A smoking chemical drum caused a precautionary evacuation at AkzoNobel in Roanoke on Wednesday. The incident happened around 12:30 p.m. in the 2800 block of Roanoke Avenue. Fire officials say when crews arrived smoke was coming from one of the buildings. Investigators say it was coming from a chemical drum.

The sprinkler system went off. Firefighters were able to remove the drum from the building. They were decontaminated by a Hazardous Materials Team. Investigators say the odor coming from the drum isn’t harmful unless you are in close proximity. According to officials, a contractor will be coming to help mitigate the situation. The Virginia Department of Emergency Management was also on the scene and are working with AkzoNobel.

The City of Roanoke sent out a reverse 911 call to 77 nearby homes and businesses to let them know what was going on. Officials hope more people will sign up for the citizen notification service.

Here’s a statement from AkzoNobel:

A drum of materials began smoking at approximately 12:30 pm today inside an auxiliary building at the AkzoNobel plant in Roanoke, Virginia. The smoke activated the fire alarm and sprinkler systems, and triggered a precautionary evacuation of all production workers. The incident was contained to a small building on the site, and there were no injuries or environmental releases.

The incident appears to have been caused when a single drum of material used to make coatings for kitchen cabinetry exceeded the optimum temperature. Three employees were working in this particular building at the time of the incident. The Roanoke Fire Department arrived on the scene a short time later and removed the drum of material from the building.

Production has been suspended, and is expected to resume tomorrow morning. An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the incident.