Department Store, Retail Bedford, IN – Sprinkler system helps protect Farm and Home store from fire damage August 4, 2015 viking210 Firefighters were able to extinguish a fire at Orscheln Farm and Home on Ind. 37 within minutes of arriving Sunday afternoon. Firefighters from Marion, Shawswick and Oolitic Volunteer Fire Departments were called to the business at 1:31 p.m. According to Marion VFD Chief Jason Zeeks, the fire started outside on the south side of the building after some paper on plastic stock tanks for water caught on fire. The fire then moved inside the business, setting off the sprinkler system. Zeeks says no one was injured and there was little fire damage done to building, but smoke and water did cause minor damage to some contents of the store. Firefighters from Shawswick and Oolitic VFDs assisted Marion VFD firefighters with cleaning up the water and ventilated the building of smoke. Orscheln was able to re-open for business Sunday afternoon.
Residential, Townhouse / Condominium Hagerstown, MD – Single sprinkler extinguishes residential kitchen fire August 3, 2015 viking210 No one was injured during a minor kitchen fire Thursday afternoon on Hagerstown’s North End, according to City Fire Marshal Doug DeHaven. The fire was reported at 1:30 p.m. in the 17600 block of Potter Bell Way in the Hager’s Crossing development, DeHaven said in a news release. He said a single sprinkler head from the home’s quick-response sprinkler system extinguished the fire before firefighters arrived. Firefighters ventilated smoke from the home, and all of the units were cleared by 2:30 p.m., DeHaven said.
Other / Not Specified, Other Business Lexington, KY – Truck fire inside FedEx facility suppressed by sprinkler system August 1, 2015 viking210 FedEx was forced to suspend operations after a panel truck caught on fire inside a building. Lexington Fire officials say it happened around 4 p.m. Wednesday. The panel truck was inside the building when it caught fire to the engine and set the sprinkler system off. When firefighters arrived the sprinklers had contained the flames. The truck is totaled and FedEx was forced to cease operation until the scene is cleared. The truck was empty, except for a couple of boxes that didn’t catch fire. No one was hurt. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Fire officials are ventilating the building to get the smoke out. The truck will be towed.
Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse Salt Lake City, UT – Warehouse fire contained by sprinkler system; Fire jumped to building from semi-trailer in parking lot July 29, 2015 viking210 The fire started about 3:30 p.m. in the parking lot at 879 S. Gladiola St. (3400 West), catching a semitrailer on fire and then jumping to the building, according to Salt Lake Fire Capt. Mark Bednarik. The fire reached one business, a leather and furniture company, while sprinkler systems in the building kept it from reaching other businesses. As many as 70 firefighters were on the scene Sunday afternoon, Bednarik reported, extinguishing the fire in the warehouse by about 5:15 p.m. Had it spread deeper into the warehouse, crews would have faced “a very different fire,” he said. “The potential is very high (for damage),” the captain said. “They use a lot of foams and a lot of synthetic materials, and once that ignites, there are very toxic fumes and very hot fires that are difficult to extinguish.” The fire caused at least $150,000 in damage to the business, Bednarik said, with the total expected to climb as water damage to the furniture business’ inventory is assessed. “One of the business owners made the comment that if the water soaks up into that foam, they could be throwing away $50,000 to $60,000 in product,” Bednarik said. “That’s probably what they’re going to be facing over the next week or so.” With the warehouse fire extinguished, crews turned their focus to the flames that had burned nearly an acre of vegetation and destroyed other items in the yard, including pallets, trash bins and other machinery. Firefighters remained on scene Sunday evening to manage a number of lingering burning and hot spots. “Once you get those plastics burning, they burn hot and they burn deep through that pile,” Bednarik said. “(Firefighters) are using a front loader from the city to break it apart and open it up.” Crews were also forced to deal with explosions coming from propane tanks and other items inside the building as they battled the blaze. The cause of the initial fire is unknown, though Bednarik said the fire does not appear to be suspicious. Crews closed roads for about a half a block around the building as they fought the fire.
College/University (on campus), School / University Iowa City, IA – Lab fire at University of Iowa contained with help from sprinkler system July 29, 2015 viking210 The Iowa City Fire Department responded to a fire on the University of Iowa campus Friday afternoon. According to a news release, crews were called to the Chemistry Building, 251 N. Capitol St., at 3:47 p.m. Friday for a report of an active fire in one of the labs. Responding crews located a fire in one of the labs, which was partially suppressed by the sprinkler system. The fire was extinguished within eight minutes and crews remained on scene to assist with cleanup and ventilating the building. They were assisted by UI and Iowa City police, the Johnson County Ambulance Service and MidAmerican Energy. While employees were in the lab when the fire began, no injuries were reported. The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the fire department and UI public safety.
Department Store, Retail Capitol Heights, MD – Sprinkler system helps extinguish potential arson fire at Family Dollar store July 29, 2015 viking210 Prince George’s County authorities are seeking the community’s assistance in identifying a man they believed started a fire in a local Family Dollar store. The fire occurred at 1:23 p.m. Saturday in Capitol Heights, Maryland. Onlookers say they saw a man set combustible materials on fire to cover up a theft. The fire was quickly contained by a store sprinkler and an employee dispensing a fire extinguisher. The total loss is estimated at $2,500. No injuries were reported.
Government/Military, Prison / Jail Florence, AZ – No injuries after sprinklers douse fire inside prison laundry room July 28, 2015 viking210 A fire broke out at a private prison in Florence Saturday afternoon, according to a town official. According to an official with the town of Florence, a fire broke out a Corrections Corporation of America facility in Florence. CCA said the fire started in a dryer in a laundry room. The fire went up a vent where it caught plastic, that was on the roof, on fire. CCA said the cause of the heavy black smoke was the plastic burning. The fire inside the building was extinguished by the internal sprinkler system, according to CCA, while firefighters extinguished the outside. The fire was not in a living area of the prison, but according to the town of Florence official the fire did cause “serious damage” to the facility. There were no injuries.
Apartment Building, Residential Rockford, IL – Electrical fire at apartment complex limited by sprinkler system July 26, 2015 viking210 An electrical fire damaged a Northwest Rockford apartment complex. It started shortly after 4pm Thursday afternoon at the Riverside Apartments in the 3700 block of Trilling Avenue. Investigators say that an electrical problem sparked a mattress that set fire in a lower level unit. According to the District Chief the apartment had a working sprinkler system that kept the fire from spreading. No one was hurt but one person has been displaced.
Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing East Liverpool, OH – Sprinkler system puts out fire at century old pottery plant; Business back to usual for 100 employees July 25, 2015 viking210 Damages are still being assessed following a fire at a century old pottery plant in East Liverpool. The fire was concentrated in a large dryer at the Hall China Company on the city east end. An employee first noticed smoke coming out of the dryers doors around 5:30 p.m. Monday. “Then all of a sudden I saw the whole thing caught fire on the side of it,” maintenance worker Jody Eccles said. Another employee, Brian Cronin sounded the alarm. Then he went through the plant and notified people to get out,” company spokesman Chuck Henderson said. It appears the fire was the result of an equipment malfunction. “The mechanism that creates the heat for the dryer, we had a belt bind up and catch fire,” said Henderson. The fire was actually put out rather quickly. A large amount of pottery ware ready to go in the dryer was lost due to water damage. But the owner says the 100-year old structure could have sustained much greater damage if not for quick work by firefighters and the well maintained sprinkler system. “There’s a lot of wood in parts of the building and it could have gone up in a flash, said President and CEO, Liz McLvain. Hall China is now owned by Homer-Laughlin makers of the popular Fiesta ware Clean up work is well underway. McLvain says the plant has several other dryers and they are still in full production. “I know you wouldn’t have believed that last night, but today we are in business as usual,” McLivain said. And that’s good news for the plant’s 100 employees. A damage estimate from the fire is still being determined.
Other - Retail, Retail Benton Twp, MI – Arson fire at thrift store extinguished by sprinkler system July 24, 2015 viking210 A thrift store fire in Benton Township has now been declared an arson. According to our reporting partners at Herald Palladium, the fire broke out just before 5 p.m. Sunday at the Valueland thrift store in the 1800 block of m-139. Police now believe that the fire was set to the store to try and cover up a robbery after money was missing from the store office where the fire started. The fire was quickly put out by the store’s sprinkler system.
