Tag Archives: Afternoon (12pm-6pm)

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.

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.

Apartment Building, Residential

Gainesville, FL – Sprinkler system contains apartment fire; No injuries reported

Gainesville and Alachua County Fire Rescue responded to an apartment fire on Sunday.

A resident reported smoke inside of their apartment on the third floor around 5 p.m.

When rescuers arrived, heavy smoke was visible inside, but the sprinkler system inside contained the fire to the closet.

Crews were quickly able to extinguish the small fire.

No people were injured.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Easton, PA – Fire at mall extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A “suspicious” fire on Sunday afternoon in a lavatory behind a store near an entrance to the Palmer Park Mall was quickly put out by sprinklers but left water damage in three stores, a Palmer Township fire official reports.

The Palmer Township Municipal Fire Department responded at 4:50 p.m. to an alarm at the mall but as firefighters were on their way, people inside the mall called 911 to report an explosion and smoke inside the main entrance, Deputy Chief Jim Alercia said in a news release.

The mall was being evacuated as firefighters arrived. Shoppers and workers indicated the fire was in the IFIX and More store, which sells cell phone accessories and does minor repairs, Alercia said. The fire was contained to a lavatory in a rear stock room, Alercia said. It was put out by the mall’s sprinkler system, he added.

There was “moderate” water damage to the Claire’s and Verizon Wireless stores as well as fire damage to the lavatory and water damage to the stock room and sales floor at IFIX and More, Alercia said.

Fire personnel remained on scene to help mall staff ventilate the smoke from the stores and get the alarm system active again so the mall could open for its regular 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. hours on Monday, Alercia said.

Township fire investigators are probing what they have labeled a “suspicious fire”, Alercia said. Investigators were removing evidence in search of the cause and manner of the fire, Alercia said.

A drop ceiling, which was soaked by the sprinkler system, collapsed, making the sound that people thought was an explosion, Alercia said.

No one was hurt and Bethlehem Township firefighters and Suburban EMS assisted at the scene, Alercia said.

Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic

Ann Arbor, MI – Fire at hospital extinguished with help from sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Multiple fire crews from across Washtenaw County responded to a three-alarm fire inside Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor Tuesday afternoon.

Fire crews were called at 3:28 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 12, to a fire at Michigan Medicine’s University Hospital facility for a report of a fire on the third floor, according to the Ann Arbor Fire Department.

Crews arrived and went to the third floor, a mechanical floor with no hospital patients, and found heavy smoke and an active fire in a very large air handling unit the building’s sprinkler system was unable to extinguish on its own, officials said.

Using the AAFD’s tower truck, firefighters stretched 250 feet of high-rise hose line from a standpipe to extinguish the fire as additional fire crew were called to the hospital, officials said.

The fire was able to be contained while additional crew searched the upper floors to check for any additional smoke or fire spread, officials said.

There were no reported injuries or significant damage to the hospital, but there was smoke in a few patient care units, according to an alert from Michigan Medicine.

Patients and staff in impacted areas have been relocated, the alert said.

Hospital officials stated it is temporarily reducing the capacity of operating rooms for Oct. 13 and are rescheduling a portion of procedures as a safety precaution.

“Firefighters did outstanding work with this very challenging fire,” said Ann Arbor Fire Chief Mike Kennedy. “We have planned and trained for high-rise fires for the last 18 months and today all of that effort paid off. Our firefighters performed flawlessly.”

Multiple fire crews from the surrounding area assisted at the scene including the Ann Arbor Township Fire Department, Scio Township Fire Department, Pittsfield Township Fire Department, Superior Township Fire Department, Saline Area Fire Department and the Northfield Township Fire Department.

The University of Michigan Division of Safety and Security, Michigan Medicine security and staff, the Ann Arbor Police Department, HART Huron Valley, assisted at the scene as well.

Office Building, Other Business

Madison, WI – Sprinkler system activated for fire in trash compactor at office building; No injuries reported

Fire investigators have determined that a trash compactor fire at a local office building was started by accident.

Firefighters were dispatched to the Goodwill of South Central Wisconsin Home Office on Friday around 12:45 for a report of a fire. Occupants were evacuating as firefighters arrived.

Crews found smoke at the back of the building where the dumpster and trash compactor were located inside. Officials said an automatic fire sprinkler inside the compactor room helped control the fire until firefighters were able to put it out.

According to a news release, firefighters had to remove the dumpster and its contents from the building before they could fully extinguish the blaze. Pellitteri Waste Sytsems responded to pull the dumpster from the building so firefighters could douse the remaining flames.

Damages are estimated to be $500.

No one was injured and the building was not impacted.

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

Rochester, MN – fire at apartment building extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

The Rochester Fire Department is crediting an automatic sprinkler system for preventing a fire at a Rochester apartment building from spreading.

The fire was reported at 3731 Technology Drive Northwest. A Fire Department news release says the initial call was made by the building’s alarm system and was followed by multiple 911 calls that confirmed flames and smoke were present. When firefighters arrived at the scene just before 2 PM they found smoke, fire, and water spray from the sprinkler system coming from a window on the fourth floor of the building.

The responding firefighters rushed to the fourth floor while a firefighter on an aerial ladder inspected the roof for signs of a fire extension. They discovered the sprinkler system had done its job and extinguished the fire after confining it to a single apartment unit. Fans were then deployed to remove the smoke and other equipment was brought in to remove the water from the sprinkler system.

No injuries were reported and a dollar estimate of the damage is not yet available. The fire department also did not list a cause for the fire but it appears it started on the stovetop.

Apartment Building, Residential

Medicine Hat, AB, Canada – Sprinkler system activated for fire at apartment complex; No injuries reported

Update: The Medicine Hat Fire Service says residents residing at the Toronto Street Apartments have been taken to a local hotel, after their building sustained extensive water damage following a structure fire Saturday afternoon.

Crews were called to the area just after 4p.m. Saturday.

“On arrival there was smoke coming from a set of patio doors on the fourth floor. The first arriving crew, gained access quickly, and with the assistance of the sprinkler system in the building, the fire was extinguished quickly,” said Kevin Heinrich with the Medicine Hat Fire Service.

No one was hurt in the blaze.

Members of the Medicine Hat Fire Service were called out to the Toronto street apartments Saturday afternoon to battle a structure fire.

Photos submitted to CHAT News, and videos on social media appear to show smoke coming out of a top-floor apartment unit.

The cause of the fire is unknown at this point. A fire investigator remains on scene.

Portions of 3rd street were blocked off from traffic as fire crews worked to put out the blaze.

EMS and the Medicine Hat Police Service were also on scene.

CHAT News has reached out to the Medicine Hat Fire Service for more details.

As of 5p.m. the Medicine Hat Fire Service remains on scene.

More to come.

College/University (on campus), School / University

Madison, WI – Fire at university kept under control by sprinkler system until fire crews arrived; No injuries reported

A sprinkler kept an oven fire under control at the UW-Madison Wisconsin Energy Institute on Tuesday until fire crews arrived to put it out, authorities reported.

Fire crews were sent to the building in the 1500 block of University Avenue at 1:20 p.m. and arrived at 1:24 p.m. to find no smoke or fire showing from the five-story building, though people were evacuating, Madison Fire Department spokesperson Cynthia Schuster said in a statement.

A building manager told firefighters there was a fire in an autoclave room, prompting Engine 4 to upgrade the call to a full structure fire response, and additional fire crews were sent, Schuster said.

As the other crews responded, Engine 4 went to the autoclave room, where a fire sprinkler above an oven kept a fire at bay. The oven was open, and a small amount of fire continued to burn inside. Firefighters extinguished that fire with a water can extinguisher, Medic 4 shut down the sprinkler system, and Ladder 1 assisted with ventilation, Schuster said.

The investigation determined that some plastic items that normally are cleaned in an autoclave, but are not oven-safe, were accidentally placed in the oven. Someone working in the lab noticed smoke coming from the room, and when they opened the oven to check on it, incoming oxygen fueled the fire and caused it to flare up. Attempts to put out the fire with a dry chemical extinguisher failed, and the fire alarm was pulled to prompt a building evacuation, Schuster said.

No one was injured, but there was significant damage to the oven and autoclave room, Schuster said.