Residential, Single Family Home Owings Mills, MD – Sprinkler system extinguishes arson fire after domestic dispute July 22, 2015 viking210 A teacher’s aide from Washington, D.C., has been charged with throwing gasoline on her boyfriend and setting his home on fire, Baltimore County Police said Tuesday. Officers were called to the home in the 10800 block of Sherwood Road in Owings Mills just before 5 p.m. Sunday for a report of a domestic situation. While en route, they learned that the home was on fire. The victim told police that his girlfriend, 29-year-old Lisa Lashell Finley had assaulted him that morning while she was intoxicated, according to court documents. When she went back to his home, he told her he wanted to end their relationship of about two years and told her she could gather her things while he waited in the basement. He smelled gas and went upstairs to find the stove on but no fire. Finley then threw gasoline on him, according to court documents. Holding a lighter and a can of hairspray, she allegedly threatened to kill him. Police say the man left the home. But when he returned, he found a fire burning inside. A sprinkler system extinguished the fire. Finley later turned herself in at the Franklin Precinct Monday afternoon. She has been charged with attempted first degree murder, first degree arson and first degree assault. Finley is an educational aide at Anacostia High School, an official with D.C. Public Schools confirmed. She was hired in Oct. 2013. Her current employment status is not known at this time.
Other / Not Specified, Other Business Eden Prairie, MN – Sprinkler system contains fire at business with hydrofluoric acid July 20, 2015 viking210 Six firefighters were taken to a hospital after they were exposed to hydrofluoric acid on Wednesday, July 15, during a business fire call in Eden Prairie. Eden Prairie Fire Chief George Esbensen said the call of a commercial building fire at SVT Associates, 7620 Executive Drive, came in around 4:37 p.m. and the first arriving engine and chiefs got there in less than five minutes. The fire was in one room of an office space occupied by the company. “The fire sprinkler system was holding the fire in check and fire crews were able to make short work of the remaining fire. After the fire was knocked down and as overhaul was beginning several firefighters began to experience symptoms consistent with a chemical exposure,” he said. “Five firefighters from EP and one from Bloomington were transported to Methodist Hospital where it was determined they had been exposed through their skin with hydrofluoric acid.” Esbensen said the acid is commonly used in metal etching and stripping. All six firefighters were treated and released by 11:30 p.m. the same day. They have since returned to duty. There was some loss of equipment as a result of the chemical exposure. Turnout gear that was exposed to the chemical will not be able to be cleaned and there are 13 sets that need to be replaced. Additionally the department is waiting to hear what parts of the self contained breathing apparatus can be cleaned as well as other tools. The department doesn’t have exact replacement costs yet on the gear, but the estimate is around $50,000, Esbensen said. “There are other items that were impacted but we haven’t determined the best course of action on those yet,” he said.
Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant Oxford, ME – Sprinklers suppress fire at factory that builds manufactured homes July 19, 2015 viking210 Oxford’s fire chief said a sprinkler system and quick reaction by firefighters kept a blaze at a manufactured homes factory from spreading significantly Friday night. Chief Wayne Jones said the fire started in a stack of plywood in a corner of the Keiser Homes plant at 56 Mechanic Falls Road. He said the cause is unknown and the State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the fire. Jones said the fire spread about 20 feet or so into the building. The sprinkler system kept the flames in check initially, he said, and firefighters were able to get water hoses set up quickly and started to spray down the building within minutes of arriving. The fire was reported about 4:45 p.m., when most of the workers had finished for the day and only one employee was in the plant, he said. One firefighter was taken to a local hospital to be treated for heat exhaustion, Jones said, and another was treated at the scene for what he said was a minor injury. No one else was hurt, the chief said. Jones said even though firefighters were able to keep the flames from spreading, it still took about five hours to get the fire fully under control. He said an Oxford fire crew was expected to spend most of the night at the site to make sure there weren’t any hot spots remaining that could cause the fire to flare up. More than a half-dozen nearby towns sent crews to help with the fire or to cover Oxford fire stations during the evening, Jones said. Route 121, which is Mechanic Falls Road in Oxford, was shut down part of Friday evening but had reopened by about 10 p.m.
Apartment Building, Residential Tualatin, OR – Sprinkler system contains apartment fire to one unit July 17, 2015 viking210 Seven people had to find a temporary place to stay Thursday after a fire broke out in a Sherwood apartment complex, Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue reported. Crews were sent to the 20000 block of S.W Roy Rogers Road just before 6 p.m. after receiving multiple calls about a fire in a third-floor unit. The building’s commercial sprinkler system was activated and stopped the fire from spreading. Although the fire was contained to one unit, four units were considered uninhabitable because power had to be cut off, firefighters said. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Other / Not Specified, Other Business Virginia Beach, VA – Sprinkler system contains HazMat fire at business July 17, 2015 viking210 The Virginia Beach Fire Department HazMat teams responded to three separate HazMat incidents Thursday. Around 2 p.m., fire crews were dispatched to a reported commercial fire at a business in the 2700 Block of Sonic Drive. Crews found smoke showing from the warehouse area of the business that contained cleaning chemicals. The fire progressed to the ceiling, and sprinkler heads in the building activated to contain the fire. The fire involved cleaning solvents (mineral spirit) and floor wax. HazMat crews monitored the business and surrounding area to ensure the water run-off and atmosphere was not hazardous. Fire officials said the building suffered minor to moderate fire damage. There are no hazards to area businesses and no one was injured. The fire was ruled accidental and unintentional.
Apartment Building, Residential Rapid City, SD – Apartment deck fire extinguished by sprinkler system July 14, 2015 viking210 The Rapid City Fire Department is crediting an apartment complex’s sprinkler system with rapidly extinguishing a noon Sunday fire that could have spread to other parts of the building. According to a release from the department, firefighters went to a fire on an apartment unit’s deck at 2871 Belgrade Blvd., Rapid City. A single heat-activated sprinkler head put out the fire. There were no injuries, and the cause of the fire is under investigation. In the release, Oliver White, the department’s spokesman, wrote: “Here we see a fire that easily could have spread into the building, but it didn’t.”
Apartment Building, Residential Falmouth, MA – Sprinkler system douses apartment fire; No injuries reported July 14, 2015 viking210 A sprinkler system doused a small in Falmouth late Sunday afternoon. Firefighters were called to 704 Main Street, a Falmouth Housing Authority building about 5:35 p.m. The fire was confined to a second-floor apartment. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant LaVerkin, UT – Sprinklers assist firefighters in weekend fire at manufacturing plant July 13, 2015 viking210 Agencies from around Southern Utah responded to a structure fire at SKF Manufacturing on Center Street in LaVerkin Saturday. Firefighters were paged out to the fire at about 1:30 p.m., Hurricane Valley Fire Chief Tom Kuhlmann said. The building has a sprinkler system in place, which came on during the fire, and firefighters backed up the sprinklers with hoses to control the blaze. Dawn McDowell, SKF Manufacturing’s operations manager, had been alerted about the fire by an alarm company and arrived at the scene about the same time the firefighters did. She was able to unlock the building, which had been closed down for the weekend, so the firefighters didn’t have to force entry. When responders got to the building, there was smoke pouring out of the windows, and they had to send a team in to track down the location of the actual fire. The team ended up finding the fire had originated in the area of one of the processing machines in the back corner of the building, Kuhlmann said. The responders had the fire controlled by 2:30 p.m. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, Kuhlmann said, and the extent of the damage is not yet known as this report is published. There were no people in the building at the time the fire started, so no injuries resulted from the incident. The fire was contained to the inside of the building. McDowell said that in the 24 years she has worked at SKF, there have been no other fires there. SKF’s factory in LaVerkin manufactures hydraulic seals, she said.
Apartment Building, Residential Hilton Head, SC – Port Royal apartment fire extinguished by sprinkler system July 13, 2015 viking210 Interior sprinklers extinguished a fire in a unit at Laurel Hill Apartments in Port Royal Saturday, likely preventing the fire from spreading, Beaufort Fire Chief Sammy Negron said. However, damage from the fire, smoke and water forced the four apartment residents out of the unit. The local Red Cross is providing assistance. At about 2:30 Saturday afternoon, firefighters from the Beaufort-Port Royal Fire Department responded to a fire call at 1640 Ribaut Road, the Laurel Hill Apartments. Upon arrival, firefighters found the fire limited to one apartment unit. “The building’s sprinkler system worked as it is supposed to and extinguished this fire before it had a chance go grow and spread,” Negron said. “Properly installed and maintained, these types of automated fire suppression systems save lives and property, and we saw that at this apartment fire.” Also responding to the blaze were the Port Royal Police and Burton Fire District.
College/University (on campus), School / University Los Angeles, CA – Fire at UCLA engineering building contained by single sprinkler July 13, 2015 viking210 A small electrical fire broke out at the Henry Samueli School of Engineering on the UCLA campus in Westwood on Saturday, but it was held in check by a sprinkler and was out when firefighters arrived, authorities said. No injuries were reported and no one was evacuated as a result of the fire, which was reported just after 4 p.m.
