Apartment Building, Residential Rockland, ME – Sprinkler extinguishes fire in 44-unit downtown apartment building; No injuries January 21, 2015 viking210 A fire damaged one apartment and a business Monday evening in a historic downtown apartment complex. The fire chief said a sprinkler head extinguished the fire in the one apartment where the fire broke out. There were no injuries but the fire at the Thorndike Building kept Rockland firefighters at the scene for more than two hours. Residents of the 44-unit apartment complex were evacuated. The fire was reported at 5:25 p.m. by a resident of a second-floor apartment at the Thorndike, a four-story brick complex that has businesses on the Main Street level and apartments on the upper two floors. The fire is not believed to be of suspicious origin, said Rockland Fire Chief Adam Miceli. The state fire marshal’s office has been called in to assist in the investigation but Miceli said there was work being done outside the building near the second floor rear apartment and which may be connected to the fire. While there was smoke in the hallways, there was no real smoke damage in those areas.
Other - Retail, Retail San Luis Obispo, CA – Fire at auto repair shop contained with help from sprinkler system January 19, 2015 viking210 At 3:15 on Sunday, San Luis Obispo Fire Department responded to a fire that broke out at Villa Automotive in San Luis Obispo. The automatic sprinkler system and firefighters confined the fire to the attic area before it could further damage the automotive repair shop, putting it out within 15 minutes of their arrival. Fire officials say the fire was caused by an employee sweating copper pipe, where slag fell into the wall area and pushed the fire into the attic. Structural damage is estimated to be around $2,000. There were no injuries.
Other - Retail, Retail Beaumont, TX – Fire at Petco store put out with help from sprinkler system; Animals evacuated safetly January 17, 2015 viking210 Beaumont Fire Fighters were called out for a fire at Petco on Dowlen this afternoon. According to Captain Brad Penisson, the fire started in a trash can at the back of the store. The store’s sprinkler system put out most of the flames before the fire department arrived, he said. Petco employees evacuated as many animals as they could while the fire department put out the remaining flames.
Residential, Townhouse / Condominium Toms River, NJ – Fire sprinklers praised for effectiveness in condominium fire January 16, 2015 viking210 A fire at the North Point Hollow condominium complex Thursday night caused only minor heat, smoke and water damage, after the condominium’s sprinkler system was activated by the fire, said James Mercready, director of the Toms River Bureau of Fire Prevention. Smoke alarms alerted a neighbor, who called the fire in at 5:25 p.m., he said. The Pleasant Plains and Silverton fire companies responded and upon arrival, Pleasant Plains Fire Chief David George forced entry into the first-floor unit and found a heavy smoke condition, Mercready said. Upon further investigation, George found a single fire sprinkler activated and spraying water in a bedroom where it appears the fire originated, he said. “The effectiveness of fire sprinklers has once again been proven as there was only minor heat, smoke and water damage in the affected unit, with no structural damage occurring to the building,” Mercready said.
Other / Not Specified, Other Business Seattle, WA – Sprinklers control fire in underground parking garage, according to West Seattle Blog January 12, 2015 viking210 Update: Car fire inside Admiral underground garage; no one hurt. 5:09 PM: Sizable Seattle Fire response right now for a car fire reported in the underground garage by the Admiral Bartell Drugs. Per scanner, the sprinkler system has it under control and ventilation is the big concern now. 5:36 PM UPDATE: Our crew at the scene says one car was involved and the fire didn’t spread to others. Lots of water on the floor inside the garage because of the sprinklers. Nobody hurt.
Other / Not Specified, Other Business Cleveland, OH – Sprinkler system suppresses fire at expo center during busy RV show January 8, 2015 viking210 Hundreds of people were attending an RV show when a fire broke out in a basement storage room at the International Exposition Center, officials said. An extension cord sparked the fire, which was suppressed by the building’s sprinkler system, according to Jeremy Levine, spokesman for the I-X Center. Cleveland fire officials decided there was no reason to evacuate the building, according to Levine. The blaze was contained to one room and no major damage was reported. The I-X Center released this statement: “As we understand according to the Cleveland Fire Department, a small fire started from an extension cord in an unoccupied storage room in the I-X Center basement. There was never a threat to person or property. Fire was immediately suppressed by the sprinkler system. Other than a little smoke, there is no damage of note. There was no interruption to the Ohio RV Super Show running now through this weekend.”
Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant Vail, CO – Single sprinkler contains kitchen fire at condominium hotel January 7, 2015 viking210 A New Year’s Eve kitchen fire in a condominium at Lion Square Lodge, 660 W. Lionshead Place, was quickly contained by the activation of the automatic fire sprinkler system in the unit. According to Vail Fire Marshal Mike Vaughan, the fire in the recently renovated east building was controlled by a single sprinkler in the kitchen near the stove. Firefighters responded to the property at around 5:30 p.m. on report of a waterflow alarm. Investigators determined that the cause of the fire was related to a pan being left unattended on the stove. Building maintenance crews had turned off the sprinkler valve by the time fire crews arrived. Damage is estimated to be less than $5,000 and was contained to the microwave above the stove as well as the underside of adjacent cabinetry. Water damage was minimal as each unit is equipped with its own sprinkler shut off. Building maintenance was able to use a shop vac for clean up. The occupants of the residence did not need to be relocated and there were no injuries, according to Vaughan. The sprinkler system was restored to a working condition that evening.
Apartment Building, Residential Las Vegas, NV – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire at senior apartment complex January 4, 2015 viking210 A fire sprinkler system alarm alerted firefighters to an incident at the Decatur Pines Senior Apartments at 5:22 p.m. Friday. It appeared there had been a fire in the bathroom of the apartment, but it was extinguished by the fire sprinklers. Firefighters went to the third floor of the building, they found a fire sprinkler flowing water in one of the apartments. A woman was transported to University Medical Center for a first degree burn to one of her arms. A first-degree burn is similar to a sunburn, but a first-degree burn to a senior citizen is considered a serious matter and requires medical attention. Fire investigators determined the fire was accidental. The woman was trying to use a can of aerosol deodorant, but the push button was not operating properly. The woman used a tool to pry it open, and the can started to spew out product into the air near a small candle burning on a bathroom sink. When the aerosol product reached the flame of the candle, it ignited and caused a flash fire, which lasted for only a second. The flash fire activated the fire sprinkler, which quickly doused the flames and also sprayed water onto the woman, which probably limited her exposure to the heat of the fire which minimized her burn. Damage was estimated at $1,000 and was confined to the bathroom. There were no other reported injuries during the incident. Seniors that evacuated the three-story apartment building were allowed to return a short time later after firefighters were sure that fire was out.
Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential Manchester, TN – Fire in apartment building for seniors and disabled contained by sprinkler system, quick action of resident December 30, 2014 viking210 A fire in the fifth floor common room of Kingwood Arms Apartments in Manchester Thursday prompted a Christmas evacuation, according to the Manchester Fire Department. Though the fire did activate the building’s sprinkler system, containing the fire, fifth floor residents say that the sprinkler system got a little help early on from resident Tiffany Woodson. Kingwood Arms is a government subsidized apartment building that provides affordable housing for low-income seniors and the disabled. In the end, only two residents – including Berry — were displaced by the fire, and both were able to return to their apartments the following day.
Residential, Residential High Rise Silver Spring, MD – Residential high-rise fire contained by sprinkler system December 30, 2014 viking210 A residential apartment fire at 1220 East West Highway was contained by a sprinkler system on Dec. 29 in Silver Spring. That’s the word from Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services Spokesperson Pete Piringer who said the fire in a 7th floor apartment of the 16-story building caused an estimated $5,000 in damage. No one was home at the time of the fire, Piringer said. According to Piringer, the cause of the fire was a computer overheating or electrical in nature.
