Tag Archives: Afternoon (12pm-6pm)

Apartment Building, Residential

Elkridge, MD – Single sprinkler helps prevent apartment balcony fire from spreading inside

Howard County fire department’s Office of the Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of an apartment fire Aug. 21 at Penniman Park in Elkridge. A top-floor apartment fire last Monday afternoon in Elkridge ended after 65 firefighters and paramedics from Howard, Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties extinguished the blaze within 15 minutes.

First responders were called to the 6200 block of Greenfield Road around noon, Howard fire officials said, where they found flames engulfing a fourth-floor balcony at the Penniman Park apartments. The fire extended from the apartment’s exterior into its interior and roof, but was under control by 12:15 p.m. Other apartments were affected by residual smoke; however, fire officials said residents evacuated the building before they arrived. No resident or firefighter injuries were reported.

Fire officials said the sprinkler head between the balcony and apartment’s living area was activated and limited the damage. Howard County fire department’s Office of the Fire Marshal is investigating the origin and cause of Monday’s fire.

Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

Bowling Green, KY – Fire on 10th floor of university residence hall contained by sprinkler system

Western Kentucky University officials say a kitchen fire broke out on the tenth floor of Pearce Ford Tower early Monday afternoon.  Students say water from the sprinkler system has pooled up on floors nine and ten, with some students reporting damaged belongings, though this hasn’t been confirmed by officials.  The fire was contained to the kitchen, and students are expected to be able to return to the building after cleanup is complete.  No injuries have been reported to us at this time.

Residential, Residential High Rise

Miami, FL – No injuries in high-rise apartment fire contained by sprinkler system

Fire rescue crews were called to a high rise apartment building fire in Northeast Miami-Dade.  The incident happened Saturday afternoon at the 7900 block of Northeast Bayshore Court.  According to officials, the building was evacuated after reports of a fire in the second floor storage room. The fire was contained to a small corner thanks to the buildings’ sprinkler system. The fire was eventually put out by fire rescue.  There wasn’t too much damage, but the sprinkler system damaged electrical wires. There was also significant water damage. No one was injured. Building management is now working to help residents who may have been displaced.

 

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Chilliwack, BC, Canada – Townhouse cooking fire put out by home fire sprinkler system

Chilliwack fire officials are reminding residents of the value of home fire suppression units after a townhouse fire was quickly doused by sprinklers.  The fire broke out on a stove top Thursday afternoon in the 5600 block of Sappers Way in Garrison Crossing.  By the time firefighters arrived, the unit’s home sprinkler system had already extinguished the blaze.

“Early control and suppression of the fire by the sprinkler system significantly limited damage to a small area around the stove and kitchen cabinets,” said Assistant Fire Chief Chris Wilson.

“Without a working sprinkler system in place, this fire had the potential to cause extensive fire, smoke and water damage to the home and adjacent units in the townhouse complex.”

Wilson said the Chilliwack Fire Department strongly promotes the installation of automatic fire sprinkler systems in homes. “The presence of an automatic fire sprinkler system in conjunction with a working smoke alarm greatly reduces the risk of being injured or dying in a fire.”

No one was injured in the fire, and the cause was accidental.

“The Chilliwack Fire Department reminds residents to ensure they are aware of the cooking hazards and not be distracted or leave the kitchen when they are cooking.”

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Evansville, IN – Mid-day fire at paint manufacturer contained by sprinkler system

Evansville firefighters responded to a fire at Red Spot Paint in the 1100 block of E. Louisiana St.  This happened around noon Monday.   

A small fire broke out which caused heavy smoke to come from one of the buildings. Fire officials say the sprinkler system was able to contain the fire before firefighters arrived and put the flames out.

The building was evacuated and two employees were taken to Deaconess Hospital with minor injuries.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Conway, NH – Sprinkler system helps douse broiler fire at Burger King

“Flame broiled” was taken to a whole new level on Friday afternoon after a kitchen fire at the Burger King on 1385 White Mountain Highway in North Conway forced the restaurant to be evacuated. The popular fast-food restaurant is expected to be closed for a few days.

“The fire occurred in the exhaust hood for the broilers that cook the hamburgers,” North Conway Fire Chief Pat Preece said, and when firefighters arrived on the scene, they were greeted by thick black clouds of smoke coming from the roof along with flames in the kitchen. Crews were able to use a hand line (hose) to extinguish the blaze.

Preece said the department was toned out at approximately 1:50 p.m. It was a First Alarm fire, which saw North Conway, Conway and Redstone fire departments respond to the scene while the Bartlett Fire Department covered the North Conway station.

“The crews did a real nice job of knocking it down pretty quickly,” Preece said, and added that a sprinkler head near the broiler went off, which also helped douse the fire.

Preece said the fire initially spread from the broiler into the ceiling and onto the roof near the exhaust pipe. The rubber membrane around the pipe also caught fire.

“The Burger King staff did a nice job of not waiting and calling 911 relatively quickly,” Preece said. “The initial call was that there was smoke in the ductwork. They evacuated the building; it was full of thick smoke.”

Preece said based on a preliminary observation, Burger King will be closed “for a couple of days,” in order to clean up and do repairs.

“There is some electrical wiring that needs to be done, and the hood system (for the broiler) needs to be redone,” he said. “It was a good job by everyone from the Burger King staff to the firefighters and Conway police, which handled traffic in a busy, busy parking lot.

You’ve got Burger King and CVS there along with people trying to cut through the lot to get to Eastman Road.”

Government/Military, Other-Government/Military

Portland, OR – Sprinkler system helps stop fire at Metro Transfer Station; No injuries

Portland Fire and Rescue crews quickly put out a fire at Metro Transfer Station in Northwest Portland Monday afternoon.

The fire, which triggered the sprinkler system, was spotted around 12:20 p.m. by employees.

The building was briefly evacuated and no one was injured.

Responding fire crews helped put the fire out and operations were back to normal by 1:10 p.m.

Apartment Building, Residential

Nanaimo, BC, Canada – Arson fire at apartment building knocked down by sprinkler system

A suspicious fire in a Nanaimo apartment building forced about 50 tenants to evacuate on Tuesday (Aug. 8). Firefighters responded to the alarm at Parkside Manor apartments at 645 Townsite Rd. at about 3:30 p.m. Emergency personnel at the scene said the fire started in a storage room on the first floor of the building and was knocked down by the structure’s automatic sprinkler system. Firefighters ensured the fire was fully extinguished and used a large fan to force fresh air through the building.

Alan Millbank, Nanaimo Fire Rescue fire prevention officer, confirmed Wednesday the fire was suspicious and the investigation had been turned over to Nanaimo RCMP. “Somebody deliberately set it alight,” Millbank said.

Const. Gary O’Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman, said police were called in shortly after firefighters arrived on scene. “[Firefighters] found a wad of paper balled up in one of the storage lockers and it had been set on fire,” O’Brien said. “The fire extended up some wooden pallets to the ceiling at which point the sprinklers activated and put the fire out.”

No one was injured, but residents had to remain evacuated from the building for more than an hour while smoke fully cleared from the structure. Nanaimo RCMP are continuing to investigate the fire.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Centralia, CA – Forklift fire in warehouse contained with help from sprinkler system; No damage reported to structure

The Riverside Fire Authority responded last Monday to the north end of Centralia after a forklift caught on fire, threatening the contents of a warehouse. Firefighters responded at 2:50 p.m. to the 2000 block of Industrial Drive to a report of a forklift on fire at the Wayne Dalton warehouse, a manufacturer of wood garage doors. Crews arrived to find black smoke coming from the bay doors of the warehouse. A sprinkler system activated and helped contain the fire to the forklift. Fire crews contained the remainder of the fire, preventing it from spreading to the products in the warehouse. The forklift sustained heavy damage, but no damage to the warehouse structure was reported.

Government/Military, Other-Government/Military

Laconia, NH – Fire in circuit courthouse contained with help from sprinkler system

A fire in a trash can caused the evacuation of the Laconia Circuit Court Monday afternoon.  Meredith’s Vikki Fogg said she opened the door to a ground floor restroom to be met by flames. She told her grandson Nathan, 7, to go tell the bailiff conducting security screenings at the courthouse entrance that there was a fire.

“It was really going,” said bailiff Bill Barnard who grabbed a five-pound dry chemical extinguisher and doused the fire.  Court was in session at the time the fire broke out and security personnel had smelled smoke and were searching all three floors of the building for the source when Fogg opened the door to the first-floor restroom at the end of the hallway between the offices for the probate and family court and the circuit court.

The fire triggered the building’s smoke alarms but not the sprinkler system. Laconia Fire Chief Ken Erickson said his department responded to the fire alarm activation and were advised en route to 26 Academy St. there was smoke in the building, and that security personnel were looking for the source.

“Any time you have a report of a fire in a courthouse it’s of concern. It’s a government building and you have to think whether something else might be going on. Someone trying to create a diversion to get someone out or a disgruntled person trying to lash out,” Erickson said.

Courthouse staff directed people to leave the building after smelling smoke and then joined them gathering in the rear parking lot as firefighters arrived. Fans were set up to help clear the air. Damage was limited to the ruined trash can and to the mess made by the dry powder from the chemical extinguisher.

Security cameras are mounted throughout the building and bailiffs were confident that recorded video images coupled with observations made by people in the courthouse would lead to the source of the fire.