Tag Archives: Afternoon (12pm-6pm)

Apartment Building, Residential

East Stroudsburg, PA – Sprinkler system knocks down fire at student housing complex; No injuries

Firefighters responded Monday at 1:06 p.m. to a fire at University Ridge Apartments, a student housing complex at East Stroudsburg University. The apartments are located at 400 East Brown Street.

Flames had traveled up a wall between buildings nine and ten, also known collectively as Delaware Hall.

“Everyone was being evacuated when they called us,” said Marshalls Creek Fire Chief Joseph Luisi. Dispatchers had also called Stroudsburg Borough, Stroud Township and Shawnee fire departments.

No injuries were reported, said Luisi. Pennsylvania State Police were investigating the cause of the fire.

“Building nine sustained most of the damage,” said Luisi. The building’s “water curtain” sprinkler head extinguished much of the fire once flames reached the attic, at which point firefighters had already arrived to the scene.

Firefighters extinguished the fire by around 3 p.m. and were escorting students through the buildings to retrieve personal items. The university issued a statement saying some 112 students were displaced by the fire damage.

“We’re making accommodations for any displaced students,” said Kenneth Long, vice president of administration and finance at ESU. The university reserves a certain amount of on-campus residence space for emergencies and could also place students in a nearby hotel if necessary, he said.

Auto Dealership, Retail

Epping, NH – Sprinkler system helps firefighters tackle blaze at auto dealership

Firefighters battled a two-alarm fire in the service department area of Hurlbert Toyota that forced more than 40 workers to evacuate the building Monday afternoon.

Fire crews from several towns responded to the car dealership at 58 Calef Highway (Route 125) after the fire broke out just before 4 p.m.

The cause of the fire wasn’t immediately known, but it may have been started by an overheated motor in an air compressor, according to Jeff Hurlbert, the company’s vice president.

Epping Fire Chief Don DeAngelis said he saw fire inside the compressor room when he arrived.

The sprinkler system activated and helped contain the fire, he said.

“There was a lot of grease that was stored there and that caught fire and started rolling out on us,” DeAngelis said.

One employee was treated after he appeared to suffer some burns when he attempted to extinguish the fire, DeAngelis said.

The fire quickly went to two alarms to bring more apparatus to the scene.

DeAngelis said Epping fire crews ran out of water shortly after arriving, but water continued to flow as soon as Brentwood firefighters hooked up to a nearby hydrant.

Employees began evacuating the building moments after the fire broke out and the alarms and sprinklers activated. Some waited outside in the cold while others walked over to the McDonald’s restaurant next door to stay warm.

“When the alarm went off I immediately evacuated the upstairs and came down and started evacuating the main floor and saw the smoke,” said company president Roy Hurlbert.

He said more than 40 employees were working at the time and made it out safely.

The extent of the fire, smoke and water damage wasn’t immediately known.

Residential, Single Family Home

Lake Havasu City, AZ – Fire at duplex home contained with help from sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Lake Havasu City firefighters responded to a fire at a duplex in the 2700 block of Bluewater Drive Sunday afternoon. The fire was reported by the neighbor of the duplex. Four engine companies, a battalion chief, and two fire investigators responded to the fire and gained control of the fire in 16 minutes. The occupant of the duplex unit that was on fire was sleeping and woke up due to water flowing from the fire sprinkler system. No injuries were reported. Crews remained on the scene an additional hour conducting an investigation of the incident. Damages were confined to the unit that was on fire.  The cause of the fire is under investigation.

 

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Yuma, AZ – Fire in snake habitat at local business is put out by sprinkler system

The Yuma Fire Department said a business fire may have originated from a large snake habitat where a four-foot long ball python died. Officials said on Sunday just before 1:30 p.m., a passerby reported seeing water coming from a building at 4221 East 30th Place occupied by SunRay Electric. Yuma Fire Department personnel arrived to find that there had been a fire inside that had been extinguished by the building’s fire suppression sprinkler system. Firefighters ensured the fire was out and shut down the water flow to the system.  The fire was found to have originated in a large snake habitat and the cause is under investigation. It was stopped from spreading beyond the habitat and extinguished by the fire sprinkler system. A four-foot long ball python died in the fire. The fire damage was limited to the area of the habitat. There were no employees at the business at the time of the fire.

Apartment Building, Residential

Canton, OH – Sprinkler system assists firefighters in extinguishing apartment building laundry fire

Residents of a building in the Mayfield Manor Apartments were displaced by a laundry room fire Saturday afternoon. The fire started inside a clothes dryer in a common laundry area on the fourth floor of 3830 11th St. SW. Cause of the fire remains under investigation.  Firefighters were called to the complex at 1:39 p.m. Firefighters were told that people were trapped in the building and unable to see through smoke to escape.  Crews found smoke had filled the fourth floor. Firefighters helped about 40 residents out of the building – starting with the fourth floor – into one of the adjacent apartment buildings.  The smoke activated the buildings sprinkler system, which helped firefighters as they put out the fire.  One resident was taken by paramedics to a local hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation.  Firefighters had to shut down electrical service to the building because the sprinkler system had been activated. Residents had to remain out of the building until service was restored.  Damage is estimated at $20,000 to the structure and $10,000 to contents because of the fire, smoke and water damage.

Government/Military, Other-Government/Military

Richmond, KY – Sprinkler system stop fire at arts council building, saving artwork from damage

The Richmond Area Arts Council building on West Water Street sustained slight smoke, fire and water damage Tuesday afternoon after a small fire broke out in the building’s basement.

Late Tuesday afternoon as she carefully sloshed through water pooled in the art council’s basement, RAAC Executive Director Deborah Kidd recounted the moment staff knew something had gone wrong.

“We were upstairs and started smelling smoke,” Kidd said. “We came down immediately and the sprinklers came on.”

Kidd said employees evacuated the building and firefighters began showing up a short time later.

“The firefighters have been fantastic and very thorough,” Kidd said. “While the sprinklers managed to put out the fire, they have made sure the smoke was aired out and no additional fires have cropped up.”

Mark Murphy, assistant fire chief for the Richmond Fire Department, praised the RAAC’s sprinkler system Tuesday afternoon.”

The sprinkler system did its job,” he explained. “When we got here, the fire was already contained and out. The sprinkler system stopped the fire from spreading.”

Murphy said, according to preliminary investigations, the fire began around 2:30 p.m. in the RAAC’s mechanical room in the building’s basement. The origin was determined to be a heating and cooling unit housed in the room.

The fire consumed the majority of the building’s heating unit, but the structure of the building sustained zero damage.

An adjacent office sustained only slight smoke and water damage, Kidd said.

Luckily, art currently on display at the RAAC from local artist Pat Banks was spared from the water, fire and smoke.”

The art is just fine. None of Pat’s work was affected,” Kidd confirmed Tuesday. “We were lucky none of the artwork in the building was damaged.”

Other - Storage / Warehouse, Storage / Warehouse

Jupiter, FL – Sprinkler system keeps fire under control after boat catches fire in dry storage facility

A vessel in dry storage caught fire Friday afternoon at the Loggerhead Marina. The first arriving crews found that a boat on the top rack was on fire, said Capt. Albert Borroto, spokesman for Fire Rescue. The sprinklers of the facility activated and helped to keep the fire under control.

The firefighters quickly extinguished the fire and protected two nearby boats for fire exposure. The three affected vessels were brought down from the storage area and investigator was called to the scene.

There were no injuries reported.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Baton Rouge, LA – Fire in mechanical closet of Towne Place Suites hotel put out by sprinkler system

The St. George Fire Department responded to a reported fire at the Towne Place Suites, located at 8735 Summa Ave. around 5 p.m. Monday evening.  Firefighters observed dense smoke coming from a downstairs maintenance closet.  The fire was extinguished by the sprinkler system.  St. George firefighters conducted a thorough inspection to assure the fire had not spread into walls, attic spaces, or voids between floors of the three-story hotel. No additional fire was discovered.  No injuries were reported in this incident as hotel staff evacuated guests and employees from the building.  The cause of the fire is undetermined at this time. 

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Greenville, NC – Afternoon fire at boat manufacturer extinguished by sprinkler system

Multiple fire and rescue units responded to a fire at Grady-White Boats on Martin Luther King Jr. Highway in Pitt County Monday afternoon.  The call came in around 3:45 p.m. for reports of heavy smoke coming from the building, and the staff was forced to evacuate.  Greenville Fire and Rescue, along with the Staton House Fire Department, responded to the scene, but the sprinkler system had already put out the fire.

“We had a small fire in our small parts area,” said Mark Doggett, who works at Grady-White.  “It was contained very quickly by our sprinkler system. We evacuated all of our people because there is some smoke. Everyone is accounted for. Everybody is safe. Now, we just need to get the smoke out of the plant, get things cleaned up tonight, and get back to work tomorrow.”  Minimal damage is expected but the staff has not been able to return inside because of the smoke.  Staff are expected to be allowed back inside Tuesday at 7 a.m.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Auburn, WA – Hallway fire at casino doused by sprinkler system

Between Jan. 9 and 15, the Valley Regional Fire Authority responded to 291 requests for service, among them the following:  Hallway fire: 5:05 p.m., (south Auburn). Having responded to a report of smoke curling out of a room at the Muckleshoot Casino, crews found in a hallway a small fire that had already been drowned by the automatic sprinkler system. Subsequent investigation determined that the fire had been an accident.