Tag Archives: Afternoon (12pm-6pm)

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Lubbock, TX – Sprinkler system contains fire at retirement community; Fire started on balcony

Lubbock Fire Rescue responded to a 911 call about a fire at Ventura Place retirement community off of 54th St and Gary Avenue at around 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon.  Rose Killebrew, a resident at Ventura Place, recalled the confusion many of the residents felt.  “Of course, I didn’t know what was happening, I just heard the siren go off. So, I went to the door and everybody was leaving…”

Workers at Ventura Place helped gather the residents outside of the building, giving them shade and water while they waited for assistance. One resident was taken to the hospital with minor smoke inhalation. Fortunately, the building’s sprinkler system had contained the fire before it was able to spread. Around 140 residents were evacuated during the fire. One woman was taken to the hospital and treated for slight smoke inhalation.

The Emergency Medical Task Force 1 bus was called to the scene as a precaution and to assist the residents. Officials took residents to the Lubbock Seventh-Day Adventist Church and asked families of the residents to come pick them up. Kevin Ivy with Lubbock Fire Rescue talked about where the fire started.

“Crews found a fire that had been on the third story outside balcony. It appears to have started at that point… we’re not exactly sure yet. But upon arrival, it was out or controlled due to the sprinkler system.” Bobbye Maxey was at the retirement community to pick up her father who lives there.

“Administrators let us know that they were asking all of the residents to call their family if they had some family to come and pick them up. They are going to take them to a church next door, I’m not sure what’s after that but I was told they can’t go back into Ventura simply because of the flooding that went on from the sprinklers.”

After a quick call to management on Wednesday evening, they told KCBD that residents in the first and second floor have been allowed to return.

No timetable has been established yet as to when the third floor residents can return. The Lubbock Fire Marshal’s office is still investigating the cause of the fire.

Apartment Building, Residential

Durham, NC – Sprinkler system extinguishes apartment fire

A child playing with a lighter set a blanket on fire in an apartment in Durham, North Carolina, on Monday, a day after a fire in Johnston County killed a man and his 2-year-old son, who was playing with a lighter, Durham fire officials said.

The Durham fire, which happened shortly after 3 p.m. in the apartment at 111 N. Elizabeth St., was put out by a sprinkler system, but water damaged the whole apartment, Deputy Chief Chris Iannuzzi said.

The child’s age was not immediately available.

Firefighters called the American Red Cross to help a woman and two children find somewhere else to stay, Iannuzzi said.

Firefighters found the two after being called to the blaze at 1592 Beulahtown Road.

Officials said the fire started when Matthew was playing with a lighter on a bed.

Apartment Building, Residential

Yuma, AZ – Sprinkler system extinguishes oven fire in apartment complex

The City of Yuma Fire Department responded to a fire alarm just before 2:30 p.m., indicating a fire sprinkler in an apartment at the Villa Serena Apartments on S. 37th Avenue Tuesday afternoon.

Fire personnel found that an oven fire had been extinguished by a fire sprinkler system.

Further investigation found that the occupant of the apartment stored cooking oil in the oven. The oven was accidentally turned on, which lead to the ignition of the oil. 

Fire officials said that when flames were seen, the oven door was opened and water was thrown on the oil.

That caused the fire to flare up but caused the fire sprinkler system to activate, stopping any spread of the fire and immediately extinguished the flames.

Firefighters then worked to shut down the water flow and assist with clean up.

Fire sprinkler systems can help prevent fires from spreading and can also extinguish them, according to YFD.

Apartment Building, Residential

Altoona, IA – Couch fire at apartment complex controlled with help from sprinkler system

Crews were called to a fire at an Altoona apartment complex on Tuesday afternoon.

Firefighters responded to the Venbury Trail apartments on 8th Street SW after a resident said their couch was on fire. When crews arrived, they found the unit fully engulfed in flames. Luckily, the building’s sprinkler system was activated, which helped firefighters knock down the flames.

“Very fortunate, the sprinkler did its job. Engineered correctly, in this type of building the sprinkler system probably saved a lot of lives today,” said Chief Jared Ogbourne of the Altoona Fire Department.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Fire crews say only those in the unit where the fire started will be displaced, and most residents will be allowed back into their homes on Tuesday.

Apartment Building, Residential

Greenwood, IN – Sprinkler system prevents apartment balcony fire from spreading

The fire began on a third-story balcony of Copper Chase at Stones Crossing Apartments about 5:55 p.m. A mother and child were displaced and the building had about $50,000 in damage, White River Fire Chief Jeremy Pell said.  Pell credited a sprinkler on the balcony with preventing the fire from becoming far worse. Firefighters were able to use fire extinguishers to handle the remainder of the fire when they arrived at the apartment complex, he said.

“Without the sprinkler system this would have been much worse,” Pell said. “It made the difference between displacing one family versus potentially the whole building.” The three-story apartment building has 24 units. While they know where the fire began, investigators are still working to determine how it started, he said.  The displaced family has received assistance from the Red Cross, Pell said.  Bargersville and Greenwood firefighters assisted, he said.

Office Building, Other Business

Montpelier, VT – Fire on fourth floor of downtown office building extinguished by sprinkler system

A small fire broke at the National Life Building in Montpelier Saturday. According to firefighters, the call came in around 2:45 p.m. for smoke on the 4th floor of the Davis Building. that section of the building houses state offices. Multiple departments responded to the scene. A National Life spokesperson say the building’s sprinkler system activated and extinguished the fire. There is considerable water damage on the east side of the second, third and fourth floors of the Davis building. There were no injuries. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Hotel / Motel

Myrtle Beach, SC – Fire in 9th floor maintenance office of high-rise hotel contained with help from sprinkler system

Myrtle Beach Fire Department crews responded to a 2-alarm fire at a hotel in downtown Myrtle Beach shortly before 2 p.m. on Friday. MBFD Deputy Chief Tom Gwyer believes the fire started in a maintenance office on the 9th floor of the Monterey Bay Suites on Ocean Boulevard. The sprinkler system went off and the 9th and 10th floors were evacuated. Crews were able to get the fire under control.  Gwyer also says there were no injuries but initial crews who responded to the fire are recovering from the heat and climbing stairs in their gear. An Horry County ambulance is on scene in case crews need medical attention.

Athletic Club/Sports Facility

New York, NY – Display case fire at Citi Field put out by sprinkler system

The Mets are in Atlanta for their series against the Braves, but back in New York, Citi Field was literally burning.  A fire broke out Wednesday on a display case near a stadium entry gate, and it looked like a significant fire.  Thankfully, the sprinkler system did go off to put out the fire. FDNY officials told NBC 4 that nobody was hurt.  This fire happened to occur amid a tough stretch for the Mets. They’ve lost seven of their past 10 games. The Mets gave up two walk-off home runs in this series with Atlanta alone and signed Jose Bautista due to their injury situation.  With that in mind, the Citi Field fire provided fans with plenty of comedic material.