Tag Archives: Afternoon (12pm-6pm)

Apartment Building, Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Franklin, OH – Fire at low-income senior apartment building extinguished by sprinkler system

Emergency crews were summoned to Meadow Crossing, 825 Central Ave. for a possible fire about 12:40 p.m. requiring the evacuation of residents from the building’s second floor, according to the Warren County Communications Center. a senior apartment building in Carlisle for a reported fire.

“It sounded a lot worse that it really was,” said Carlisle Fire Chief Krista Wyatt. “The sprinklers did their job.” The fire had been put out and firefighters worked to clear the building of smoke and look for any extensions of the fire.

Wyatt said the side laminate veneer of the bathroom’s vanity created enough heat to set off the fire sprinklers. She said two to three apartments received some smoke or water damage in addition to the bathroom’s vanity.

There are 36 one-bedroom apartments for elderly residents who earn 50 percent or below the regional median income. The building is owned by Warren County Community Services and it received a score of 97 out of 100 on its 2014 inspection by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Branson, MO – Sprinkler system helps contain condominium fire

A Branson-area condominium was evacuated Saturday afternoon after flames broke out in one unit. According to the Southern Stone County Fire Protection District, crews were dispatched to the fire at 21 Stillwaters Trail in Indian Point just before 2:30 p.m. Officials say an Indian Point police officer who first arrived on scene and a maintenance worker extinguished the flames.

Crews say someone left a plastic cooler on an electric stove, which started the blaze. “This could have been bad. This is a large building with numerous tourists. The fire sprinkler activated with audible alarms. The alarm company notified us and everyone is safe,” stated Fire Marshal Jim Harding. Nobody was in the unit when the fire broke out. Both the Indian Point officer and maintenance worker were evaluated on scene by Taney County Ambulance for smoke inhalation.  No other injuries were reported.

Apartment Building, Residential

Harrisburg, PA – Single sprinkler keeps apartment fire from spreading

A single fire sprinkler kept a kitchen blaze from spreading through a Harrisburg apartment complex on Monday night, city fire Chief Brian Enterline said. Crews responded to a building fire call in the 200 block of Mary Street at about 5:08 p.m. and found smoke pouring from a second-floor apartment.

However, firefighters found that a fire sprinkler head, which activates when the temperature reaches 155 degrees, quickly extinguished the blaze and stopped it from spreading to adjoining apartments, Enterline said. No one was injured, and Enterline credited the sprinkler for preventing what he called “catastrophic consequences.”

Firefighters used a ventilation fan and a wet/dry vacuum to help clean up the damage. Two apartments took on water damage and apartment management is assisting residents displaced by the fire. Affected residents should be able to return to their apartments by the end of the week, Enterline said.

“This fire could have had catastrophic consequences to both lives and property had it not been for the fast work of a single operating fire sprinkler head, which quickly contained and extinguished the fire,” Enterline said. “Firefighters were able to literally fight this fire with a fan and mop bucket.”

Apartment Building, Residential

Wilmington, NC – Sprinkler system contains apartment fire to kitchen; No injuries

Wilmington Fire Department crews responded to an apartment fire located at 106 N. Water St around 2:45 p.m. Saturday. Battalion Chief Chris Nelson said a sprinkler system located in the apartment controlled the fire, keeping it contained to the kitchen where the fire started, until firefighters arrived on scene.

The occupant was home at the time, but no one was injured. A total of seven trucks responded as well as units from NHRMC EMS and Wilmington Police Department.  Nelson said there was minimal fire damage to the apartment and some water damage to apartments below where the fire started.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

York, PA – Machine fire at metal component manufacturer controlled by sprinkler system

Smoke puffed out of the Gamlet Incorporated building on Tuesday after a machine caught on fire at the business.  York City Assistant Fire Chief Chad Deardorff said the sprinkler system in the building controlled the fire.  Deardorff said the cause of and damage from the fire has not yet been determined.  No inuries were reported.

Apartment Building, Residential

St. Catharines, ON, Canada – Sprinklers activate during fire at 7-story apartment building

Firefighters evacuated the seven-floor apartment building at 5 Louis Ave. Tuesday after a blaze broke out on the fifth floor.

About 200 residents were forced from their homes for about six hours until the building was considered safe to re-enter.

“There was a lot of smoke that migrated throughout the building — so it had to be ventilated,” Deputy Fire Chief Larry Jones said. “We had to make sure all the units were safe.

“We went floor by floor with our air monitoring equipment and kept the fans going until we had zero readings.”

The Salvation Army and Red Cross provided the residents with sandwiches and coffee. Two buses from the City of St. Catharines were used as shelter. The Humane Society also attended, to assist with the pets of the residents.

Some tenants from the fifth floor will have to wait to re-occupy their units, Jones said. The Red Cross is helping them.

“Once we are finished our investigation, cleanup will commence,” Jones said. “The cleanup will focus on getting the displaced tenants back first. I can’t imagine it will be too long. There was some water damage to the floors. We had to isolate part of the sprinkler system so that will have to be repaired. They will have to deodorize and clean the walls. The units — for the most part — are fine.

Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill

Lincoln, ME – Sprinkler system helps save wood mill from extensive damage

A sprinkler system helped save a Main Street wood mill from extensive damage in a nagging fire that took about three hours to contain on Tuesday.

No injuries were reported, firefighters said.

Passers-by reported the fire at about 4:20 p.m. at LMJ Enterprises, 431 Main St., police said. The mill’s screening equipment and some other machinery at the east end of the main building were destroyed, Lincoln fire Capt. Bob Bean said.

The mill, which makes wood shavings for animal bedding, would have taken heavy damage had the flames been carried by the mill’s conveyer belts from the screening equipment into the mill’s attic area, Bean said.

“The fire did not get into the mill,” Bean said Tuesday. “The sprinkler system kicked in, and that bought us enough time to get a handle on it.”

Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

Riverside, CA – Sprinklers hold flames in check at UC Riverside dormitory

A trash compactor blaze triggered fire sprinklers that held the flames in check at a UC Riverside dormitory.

The sprinkler alarm went off at 3:39 p.m. Saturday, April 25, at Lothian Residence Hall, 500 West Big Springs Road.

When firefighters arrived, smoke was billowing from the basement and first floor, and occupants were evacuating, Battalion Chief Thomas Jay said in a written statement.

Crews found the fire in a basement trash compactor.

Fire sprinklers held the blaze in check, and the crews of two fire engines and two ladder trucks soon put out the flames.

Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill

Spokane, WA – Fire at paper manufacturer put out with help from sprinkler system

What could have turned into a raging inferno was instead a smoldering mess thanks to the sprinkler system installed at Inland Empire Paper.

Fire crews responded to the paper mill on Argonne just after 2:30 p.m. on April 15 for a fire in the recycling building. Employees were unloading giant bundles of recycled materials that were held together with metal bands, said Spokane Valley Fire Department spokeswoman Melanie Rose.

The metal of one of the bands scraped across the floor, got hot and ignited the bundled paper, Rose said. Crews were able to put out the fire quickly with help from the sprinkler system. The quick response was due in part to the department’s pre-incident planning, Rose said. “We already knew what was in there,” she said.

Crews from Spokane County Fire District 8 assisted at the fire and crews from Spokane County Fire District 9 staffed several Valley Fire stations while crews were at the paper mill.  Inland Empire Paper is owned by Cowles Co., which also owns The Spokesman-Review.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Chattanooga, TN – Sprinkler system helps contain fire at non-profit center for disabled individuals

Clean up continues at the Orange Grove Center after a small fire Wednesday afternoon left the facility with smoke and water damage.  The fire happened around 2 p.m. when employees were working to install a new conveyor belt in the Materials Recovery Facility.  Fire officials believe sparks from the torch used to install it started the fire. 

The fire damage was only around the conveyor belt, but fire officials say it will take some time for Orange Grove to clean up after the smoke damage, and water from the sprinkler system. There were no injuries.

The fire happened around 2 p.m. when employees were working to install a new conveyor belt in the Materials Recovery Facility. Fire officials believe sparks from the torch used to install it started the fire.  The Orange Grove Center is a private non-profit organization, serving adults and children with intellectual disabilities. Nearly 225 people were evacuated from the Orange Grove Center, after a conveyor belt caught fire.

“You could see the belt was on fire itself and the material on it was on fire,” said Bruce Garner, Public Information Officer for the Chattanooga Fire Department. “This involved a lot of combustibles with petroleum based products; computers, plastics, things like that. They burn hot and put out a lot of smoke. It’s like burning a tire.”