Tag Archives: Afternoon (12pm-6pm)

Fire / Police Station, Government/Military

North Bend, WA – Fire at volunteer fire station contained by sprinkler system

Eastside Fire & Rescue crews responded Tuesday to a report of a fire in North Bend – and when they arrived on scene they found smoke and flames pouring from one of their own fire stations.

The incident unfolded just before 3 p.m. Tuesday when firefighters responded to a fire alarm at a building at 42804 SE 172nd St. in North Bend. Turns out that’s the address of Eastside Fire’s Station 88 in the Wilderness Rim area – a volunteer station that is not staffed full time.

Smoke was billowing from the building when crews arrived on scene. The flames were extinguished, and firefighters discovered that the flames had erupted from an ambulance parked inside the building’s apparatus bay.

The station’s sprinkler system prevented the blaze from spreading.

Fire officials say no one was in the building when the fire started, and it’s unclear why the ambulance burst into flames.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Wayne, NJ – Sprinkler system helps contain fire caused by pallet full of rubber pellets; No injuries reported

All five Wayne volunteer fire companies responded to a structure fire at the Royal Adhesive plant on Burgess Place in Wayne on Friday afternoon.  

Royal Adhesive is a commercial plant that manufactures specialty adhesive products that are used in all industries.  “This site houses numerous hazardous products and always put the Fire Department and EMS on guard when we are called to the site,” said Bob Minnarick the Wayne Fire Commissioner. 

Initially, Wayne Fire Companies 1 and 2 were summoned by the first alarm, but as more calls came, reporting smoke coming from the building, a second alarm was raised and Fire Companies 3 and 5 came to the scene.  Once it was confirmed that there was a sprinkler activation in the plant and two pull stations were activated, Wayne went to a third alarm activating Company 4. 

At the same time the Wayne Special Response Team (SRT) the Hazmat team was activated. 

The Royal Adhesive management team informed the Fire Department that the substances in the area of the fire were not hazardous materials which made the job easier for the volunteers. 

With the help of the in-house sprinkler system, the fire was extinguished in thirty minutes.  The burning pallets of rubber pellets was extinguished and subsequently removed from the production area. 

The sprinkler company responded to the scene and replaced the activated heads and recharge the system.  The alarm system was able to be reset and placed back into operation.  The fire was declared under control at 2:11pm.  The last fire unit cleared the scene at 3:43pm. 

Ten pieces of apparatus responded to the scene and Company 4 stood by  for coverage.  There were no injuries and approximately forty firefighters responded to the scene.   

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Mineral Wells, TX – Sprinkler system helps contain fire after chemical explosions at industrial park; No injuries reported

Several chemical explosions rocked the Industrial Park area near Mineral Wells High School early Monday afternoon.

No injuries were reported to workers or firefighters as a result of three explosions at Buckley Oil Company on S.E. Industrial Parkway, off U.S. Highway 180 East adjacent to Southwire, Reeder Distributors and Mineral Wells Fire Department Station No. 2.

Three explosions were reported around 1:15 p.m., and heavy, black toxic smoke billowed from the property – which became a concern though conditions were such that the smoke rose largely straight into the air and dissipated. Mineral Wells ISD was not in session Monday so there were no health or safety concerns about high school students or faculty.

Mineral Wells Fire Chief Mike Pool said five workers were inside a large covered, but not totally enclosed, area preparing what he described as two 600-gallon totes containing volatile chemicals heptane and toluene. Heptane is a main component of gasoline, while toluene is a gasoline additive and is used as a solvent.

“They are very volatile,” Pool said of the chemicals. “They have a very low flashpoint.”

With low humidity, Pool said the working theory is a static electrical charge sparked a flash fire. He said that is not an official cause and an investigation into what ignited the chemicals and caused the fire remains under investigation.

“It definitely was an accident,” said Pool. “It wasn’t intentional.”

A high-density sprinkler system inside the covered area dumped large amounts of water quickly on the fire, Pool said. He said firefighters were able to quickly respond and spray the area down with a smothering foam. The fire was brought under control within about 30 minutes and within an hour was out, leaving a large clean up operation.

The chief said weather conditions and the quick response helped prevent the fire from becoming worse. He said it is also likely the chemicals burned up quickly.

“It was probably a best case scenario,” Pools said. “Our people and equipment were available.”

He said it was also fortunate the five employees were able to escape uninjured.

“The smoke and wind was something I was concerned about,” Pool said of the scene’s initial assessment. “I thought we might have to evacuate Southwire and Reeder.”

Pool said he believes chemical runoff was contained thanks to the parking lot’s design and a containment tank. He said he was unsure about the eastside of the property where there was no access. Pool said the company would bring in an environmental team to assess and clean up.

“I don’t think we had an issue,” he said.

Because it was a chemical fire firefighters and equipment involved were put through portable decontamination showers at the scene and personnel were instructed to completely shower immediately so as not to possibly spread chemicals elsewhere.

“If we are exposed we have to decontaminate people and gear,” Pool said.

Adult Care/Rehab Center, Hospital/Care Facility

Slinger, WI – Fire sprinkler system puts out fire caused by malfunctioning heating unit at rehabilitation center; No injuries reported

There was a bit of smoke and a minor fire at The Pavilion at Glacier Valley, 1900 American Eagle Drive, on Monday afternoon.

Slinger Police Captain Joshua Gullickson said the initial call came in at 4:20 p.m.

The call was for a sprinkler system activation. “When officers arrived smoke was visible but no flames,” said Gullickson. “Slinger Fire Department was dispatched to the scene and the cause of the sprinkler activation was an overheat malfunction of a heating unit in one wing of the facility.”

Gullickson said residents were moved to a different part of the building.

No injuries were reported to residents, staff or emergency responders.

The Pavilion is described as “short-term rehabilitation, respite and long-term care.”

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Wasilla, AK – Fire that started in cinemas tool room put out by fire sprinklers

The Valley Cinema in Wasilla was evacuated and closed Saturday after a fire started in the building’s tool room, according to the Mat-Su Borough.

The fire started sometime around 12 p.m. Saturday according to Malinda Beiler, a customer who says she was there when the theater was evacuated. Beiler says she saw at least 75 people evacuated by emergency responders.

The theater reopened on Sunday. MSB Emergency Services Director Ken Barkley says they have cut off power to the tool room and as far as he knows there is no other safety threat at this time.

“The sprinkler system did as designed,” Barkley said. “The only damage is water damage. The fire department got there and secured the sprinkler system, shut it off, and really that was all they had to do.”

A Valley Cinemas recorded message said the theater would honor the movie tickets of anyone evacuated Saturday.

“If you have purchased a ticket for Saturday, or if you were here earlier in the day when the fire alarm went off, we will still honor that,” the recorded message said, “as long as you have the booking collection code or the ticket stub.”

Valley Cinemas opened in 2011, and is owned and operated by the Coming Attractions Theaters chain. KTUU reached out to the chain for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.

MSB says the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Uncategorized

Brentwood, CA – Residential fire contained to garage by fire sprinklers

A residential fire Saturday afternoon in Brentwood was contained to a garage and had largely been extinguished by a sprinkler system by the time firefighters gained access, East Contra Costa Fire Protection District officials said.

The fire, reported about 3:30 p.m. at 2719 Reddington Way, activated two sprinkler heads in the garage.

The fire caused minor damage to the contents, while the sprinklers caused moderate water damage to the garage, officials said.

The cause of the fire is undetermined.

Department Store, Retail

Springfield, IL – Sprinkler system helps knock down fire at department store; No injuries reported

Springfield Fire crews responded to an electrical fire at Gordmans in Southwest Plaza, 3231 S. Veterans Parkway, at 12:15 p.m. Sunday.

There was a light on fire near the dressing rooms in the middle of the department store, which is part of a Midwestern chain. A spokesperson for the SFD said investigators indicated that the fire was accidentally set.

The call came into the SFD from a store employee.

A sprinkler system in the store was activated, helping crews to knock down the fire quickly.

There was residual smoke damage as well as water damage to the store.

City Water, Light & Power was dispatched to the scene, but fire crews were able to isolate an issue with an electrical breaker.

The store was evacuated and didn’t re-open to the public.

No injuries were reported.

Food Processing, Manufacturing

Watertown, WI – Fire sprinklers put out fire at chocolate manufacturer before fire department arrived

Clasen Quality Chocolate, 420 E. Horseshoe Road, started off the new year in a unique way Wednesday.

At 1:22 p.m., the Watertown Fire Department responded to a call for a structure fire at the factory. According to Watertown Fire Chief Kraig Biefeld, the blaze started when a box full of products caught on fire, but the fire was limited to just the box. Sprinklers put it out before units arrived.

“The sprinkler system did its job. That’s why we advocate the use of sprinklers in buildings,” Biefeld said.

The fire department sent the on-duty crew and Biefeld, who went to the call, said with the fire out, the crew went to make sure the fire was out and to ventilate the building.

Mutual aid was initially called, but was quickly called off, according to Biefeld.

Clasen Quality Chocolate produces a variety of chocolate coatings of different colors, flavors and sizes as well as 20 different varieties of chocolate and numerous fillings and spreads.

According to the company website, Clasen Quality Chocolate, “has transitioned from a small, regional compound coating manufacturer to a major supplier of both standard and customized formulations and value-added, confectionery ingredients across North America” and has facilities in Watertown, Middleton with corporate offices and the company innovation center in Madison.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Springdale, AR – Sprinkler system helps contain warehouse fire after Styrofoam containers burn

A fire burned Styrofoam containers inside an industrial warehouse Friday afternoon.

The fire burned the southwest portion of the 70,000-square-foot building at 659 E. Randall Wobbe Lane.

Styrofoam containers for the Cargill poultry processing plant across the street were stored in the building, said Phil Phillips Jr., owner of the warehouse.

A firefighter was transported to the hospital afterward with injuries. Springdale Fire Capt. Matt Bagley said the firefighter’s injuries were not life-threatening.

Any toxic fumes from the burning Styrofoam were contained to the property and an empty lot to the west, said Bagley. Firefighters had the fire under control about 15 minutes after arriving, he said.

Fire department officials will not know the cause of the fire until inspectors can enter the building.

The Arkansas & Missouri Railroad closed its tracks immediately to the west of the building for about two hours. Andrew Preston, a track foreman, said the fire delayed the arrival of three trains from the north into the railroad’s switching yard, but the delay was not a problem. “We just told them to slow down,” he said.

All five employees on the property quickly evacuated when the building’s fire alarms sounded, said Mindy Peck, manager of the warehouse.

The alarm system notified the fire department about 2:34 p.m., Bagley said. The building’s sprinkler system was flowing when the first crews arrived, he said.

The fire department responded with four engines, two ladder trucks and two ambulances — all the equipment from all city stations but one, Bagley said. Neighboring fire departments covered three calls during the fire, he said.

Phillips said he has owned the building since the late 1990s and plans to rebuild it.

The amount of damage to the building is not yet known.