Tag Archives: Afternoon (12pm-6pm)

College/University (on campus), School / University

Champaign, IL – Sprinkler system activates to help control parking garage fire at University of Illinois

At around 3 p.m. on Friday, firefighters were called to Presby Hall after an automatic fire alarm went off. With smoke exiting the parking garage, firefighters sprayed water on the building in conjunction with the sprinkler system going off.

The fire appeared to be caused by a malfunction with a cooking unit, said Roger Cruz, captain of the Champaign Fire department.
Several students claim that brisket grilled in the garage sparked the malfunction. Because of the enclosed space, subsequent smoke led to the fire. That speculation, however, has not been confirmed by the authorities.

Other students speculate a gas leak as the source. They claimed to see gas when entering the parking garage, where they too saw the cooking unit on fire.

Fire-related emergencies are not new to Presby Hall. Hannah Thompson, freshman in Engineering, said the fire alarm has gone off almost weekly at Presby. She claims this is the eleventh time that has happened this year.

“It’s gotten really inconvenient but it’s okay,” said Thompson. “It’s something exciting every week.”  The quick response time to these types of emergencies reassures her.
“I suppose it’s good that the fire alarms are so sensitive and the fire trucks are always here relatively quickly,” said Thompson.

“Thankfully no one’s hurt,” said Luke Peterson, freshman in DGS.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Portage, MI – Sprinkler system helps contain attic fire at business

Portage firefighters put out an attic fire at a West Michigan business on Sunday.  Firefighters were sent to J. Rettenmaier, 1615 Vanderbilt Ave., just before 2:30 p.m. after a fire alarm was set off at the business.  According to firefighters there was light smoke coming from the building when they arrived and found an activated sprinkler. The firefighters said there was a small fire in the attic and they had to cut two holes in the roof to get to the area. No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is under investigation by the Fire Marshal.

Apartment Building, Residential

Hagerstown, MD – Kitchen fire at new apartment complex extinguished by sprinkler system

A fire that broke out at the Reserve at Collegiate Acres apartment complex in Hagerstown Thursday afternoon could have been much worse if not for the building’s second-floor sprinkler system.

Firefighters from the city and Maugansville responded to the apartment complex on Buckeye Circle at 4:45 p.m. to find the fire-alarm system activated and occupants evacuating the building, according to a Hagerstown Fire Department news release.

Residents reported a fire in the second-floor kitchen apartment, which had been extinguished by the sprinklers. Firefighters verified that the fire was out, shut off the sprinklers and worked to contain the remaining water, the release said.

“This new 28-unit apartment building would most likely have suffered significant damage, displacing much or all of the occupants without the fire sprinkler system,” city Fire Marshal Doug DeHaven said in the release.

“We have had too many large fires recently in the area. Today, we saw the importance of working smoke alarms, which activated alerting the apartment occupants of the fire; the fire sprinkler system, which extinguished a growing fire in the apartment; and the buildings fire alarm that alerted others within the building and notified the fire department,” he said.

The fire marshal’s investigation determined that a pot of grease on the stove caught fire, spreading into the exhaust fan and the above cabinets, the release said.

The occupants of the apartment found the burning pot and attempted to remove it, which activated the sprinklers, the release said.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

San Diego, CA – Sprinklers help contain kitchen fire at Chinese restaurant; No injuries

A kitchen fire damaged a Chinese restaurant in Rancho Bernardo Tuesday afternoon and prompted evacuations of the eatery and several adjacent businesses.

The non-injury blaze erupted about 3:45 p.m. at Chef Chin, 11828 Rancho Bernardo Road, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

Aided by built-in sprinklers, firefighters were able to contain the flames to the kitchen, attic and roof of the restaurant and had them under control within 35 minutes, SDFRD spokesman Lee Swanson said.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Salina, KS – Sprinkler system helps put out fire at Advance Auto Parts distribution center

Advance Auto Parts Distribution Center, 3633 S. Ninth, was temporarily shut down Tuesday afternoon after a fire that started when a 5-pound bucket of solvent on a pallet dropped from a forklift.

The fire was reported shortly before 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Saline County Undersheriff Roger Soldan said there was no damage estimate, but the north side of the building sustained fire, smoke and water damage.

Firefighters from Saline County Rural Fire District No. 2 responded to the fire. Soldan said the building’s fire suppression sprinkler system also activated.

The distribution center was in operation Wednesday.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Westerly, RI – Closet fire at high school extinguished with help from sprinkler system

A small fire that started in the closet of a technology room at Westerly High School Tuesday was caused by an electrical malfunction in a piece of audio-visual equipment being stored in the closet.

Westerly Fire Chief John Mackay said Wednesday that there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the fire, adding that the school’s sprinkler system worked effectively and aided firefighters in quickly containing and extinguishing the small closet fire. The fire never spread outside the closet, officials said, and no injuries were reported.

Westerly firefighters and police were dispatched to the high school just after 3:15 p.m. Tuesday with reports of a box alarm sounding. They arrived to find black smoke coming from a closet in the tech room closest to the gymnasium foyer. Mackay said the sprinkler system had already doused most of the flames by the time firefighters arrived.

Classes were back in session on Wednesday.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Severna Park, MD – Fire at assisted living center suppressed by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Nearly 60 residents have been displaced from a Severna Park senior living complex after a two-alarm fire broke out late Monday afternoon, an Anne Arundel County Fire Department spokesman said. Firefighters were called to the Kris-Leigh assisted living facility in the 800 block of Ritchie Highway around 4:45 p.m., Lt. Erik Kornmeyer said.

When they arrived, crews found the four-story building full of smoke. A small fire was found in a common area of the building. It had been mostly extinguished by the sprinkler system, and the fire was contained within minutes, Kornmeyer said.

No injuries were reported. Sixty-eight firefighters from the county, Annapolis and the Naval Academy helped with evacuation and smoke removal, Kornmeyer said.  The facility is expected to be closed for several days, Kornmeyer said.

Kris-Leigh staff was working with the families of the complex’s 56 residents to make arrangements for Monday evening and plans to transfer residents whose families cannot assist with arrangements to Kris-Leigh’s locations in Davidsonville and Gambrills, Kornmeyer said.  The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Other-Government/Military

Wilmette, IL – Storage room fire at public works garage controlled by sprinkler system; Damage minimized

Wimette’s fire chief is crediting sprinklers for keeping a Tuesday storage room fire at the Wilmette public works garage from potentially engulfing the entire building.  The garage at 711 Laramie Ave. in west Wilmette sustained an estimated $15,000 damage in the incident, which was called in as an alarm shortly after 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to Fire Chief Mike McGreal, but the cost could have gone much higher, he said Sept. 7.

He praised village administrators and fire prevention bureau officials who decided a little over eight years ago, at the time the village added an addition to the public works building, to retrofit the garage with a sprinkler system.

“They didn’t have to, but they had the forethought to do it,” McGreal said. “That is a multimillion dollar facility, plus the vehicles in the garage that are very expensive, and very difficult to replace. In minutes, this could have been a total loss if there hadn’t been a sprinkler system.”

Had flames from the storeroom not been dampened by sprinklers, they could have spread to the building’s wooden roof, he said.  The 15,400-square-foot public works garage houses most of the village’s public works vehicles and equipment, including front end loaders, back hoes, dump trucks and sewer vac trucks, he said. Wilmette’s daily public works services would have suffered significant problems if that equipment had been lost in a fire, he said.

McGreal said fire crews that responded to the alarm found the sprinklers in use and smoke coming out the garage’s main bay. They upgraded the alarm, which called in help from the Winnetka, Northfield, Evanston, Glenview, Skokie, Morton Grove and Highland Park fire departments. However, fire crews found most of the fire under control in a storage room used by the village’s sewer department, where it appeared to have started, he said. Crews put out the remaining flames, and the incident was cleared by 4:15 p.m.

There were no injuries, Engineering and Public Works Director Brigitte Berger said Tuesday.  Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the fire, McGreal said.  “All’s well that ends well,” McGreal said. “They’re back in business and they’re cleaning it up now.”

Residential, Residential High Rise

Nashville, TN – Elevator motor fire in high-rise condominium building extinguished by sprinkler system

Firefighters responded to a downtown Nashville condo building after an elevator motor caught fire.  The fire broke out at Virdian Condos on the 400 block of Church Street around 3:15 Tuesday afternoon.  Crews on scene said that an elevator motor caught fire. It was put out by the sprinkler system before firefighters got on scene.  No one was injured during the incident.