Tag Archives: Alabama

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Pelham, AL – Equipment fire at manufacturing plant contained by sprinkler system

A Wednesday morning fire at a Pelham plant sent one employee to the hospital for smoke inhalation. Fire crews responded to a call at Coosa Composites LLC at 105 Pardue Road at 7 a.m. Plastic material and a piece of machinery caught fire, but it was mostly contained by the plant’s sprinkler system, according to the Pelham Fire Department.

Other - Retail, Retail

Center Point, AL – Sprinkler system credited with saving business, shopping center

A sprinkler system is being credited with saving a Center Point business from burning to the ground early Wednesday morning. Someone driving past the Center Point Shopping center noticed smoke coming from the Cleaners and called 911.

Firefighters arrived on scene at 1:30 a.m., but the sprinklers had already extinguished the fire. Center Point Fire Chief Donnie West tells ABC 33/40, the situation could have been much worse had the sprinklers not put the fire out.

The buildings in the shopping center are all connected and West says flammable chemicals inside the business would have quickly caused the fire to spread. The cause of what started the fire remains under investigation.

 

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Oxford, AL – Sprinkler system holds fire in check at National Gypsum Company facility

Oxford Fire Department responded to a minor fire Tuesday at the National Gypsum Company on U.S. 78. A call first came in about a fire in the plant’s paper bale room around 11:15 a.m. from an employee at the plant, Oxford fire Chief Gary Sparks said in a phone interview Tuesday. Firefighters were on scene within three minutes of the call, extinguished the fire and left the scene by 12:40, Sparks said. It is unclear how the fire started but the sprinkler system held the flames in check until responders arrived on the scene, Sparks said.

“There was minimal damage,” Sparks said. “The majority of it was to the paper bales, but there was some smoke damage in the office area.” There were no injuries reported during the incident and the plant was expected to be up and running before the day ended, Sparks said. Efforts to reach a spokesperson for the plant Tuesday were unsuccessful.

Other-Government/Military

Huntsville, AL – Fire at U.S. Space & Rocket Center put out with help from sprinkler system

Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of a small fire that broke out at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center last Wednesday night. The fire broke out around 8:30 p.m. in a workroom inside the main museum building. Pat Ammons, media and public relations manager for the center, said that the building’s sprinkler system got a jump start on extinguishing the blaze and that Huntsville firefighters finished the job within minutes of the alarm.

“Everybody was just so responsive,” Ammons said.  Fire damage is seen inside a workroom at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, where a small blaze ignited Wednesday night. No one was injured in the fire, and the cause is still under investigation. (Contributed by U.S. Space & Rocket Center)

Though smoke filled the building and there was some electrical damage, which knocked out the center’s phone lines through the day Thursday, the damage was minimal, Ammons said.

There were people inside the building at the time of the fire, including a group of about three dozen Space Camp trainees, but no one was near the area of the fire. The Space & Rocket Center was also hosting Wing Ding 37, an annual gathering of Gold Wing owners, but Wednesday night’s reception was being held in the Davidson Center for Space Exploration.

The center opened as usual at 9 a.m. Thursday morning

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Huntsville, AL – Sprinklers quickly extinguish fire at extended-stay hotel

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Huntsville fire officials evacuated an extended-stay hotel Sunday afternoon.  Crews were called to the InTown Suites on The Boardwalk around 2:30 p.m. after a report of a small fire.

The sprinkler system had deployed by the time firefighters arrived.  Hotel guests were evacuated and no injuries were reported.

Guests were allowed back inside around 7 p.m. to collect belongings; the hotel’s owners have arranged for alternate accommodations.

InTown Suites issued this statement Sunday night:

“A small fire occurred in a room this evening at our Huntsville, Alabama location. Thankfully, there were no injuries. The fire was quickly extinguished by sprinklers, but water from these systems entered the main electrical room of the hotel. Therefore, electrical power has been disconnected until we can inspect and repair any issues. We are working hard to restore service as quickly as possible, and are relocating guests to nearby hotels. We sincerely appreciate the assistance provided by the Huntsville Fire Department and the American Red Cross. The safety and security of our guests and employees is our primary concern and we are thankful the systems in place worked as intended.”

A cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Sprinkler system limits damage at country club fire (Hoover, AL)

A little after 9:30 p.m., firefighters responded to a fire at a country club. The flames, which started on the loading dock of the club, traveled into the building’s attic, where the fire sprinklers activated and contained the fire .

“The fire was under control within 15 minutes,” Hoover Fire Department Executive Director Rusty Lowe said.

The cause of the fire appears to be accidental. This is not the first fire that the clubhouse has suffered, however; in 2007, the same country club was destroyed in a fire.

“When the clubhouse was rebuilt, it was built to current code that required the modernized fire suppression system,” Lowe said. “Had it not been for the sprinklers the fire might have spread extensively throughout the attic.”

No injuries were reported.

Apartment Building, Residential

Sprinklers control fire at apartment building (Alabaster, AL)

A second floor apartment building caught fire the afternoon of August 22, and two fire crews arrived to the scene. The fire sprinkler activated and contained the fire, which is now believed to have started due to unattended cooking materials on the stove. No one was injured in the fire, and no structural damage occurred thanks to the fire sprinkler activation. 

***Blog Editor’s Note – Please let us know what you think of the coverage by AL.com and journalist Martin Reed, who focused on water damage rather than the lives and property saved by the automatic fire sprinkler system.***

Other - Retail, Retail

Fire sprinklers eliminate automotive repair shop fire (Hoover, AL)

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Fire crews arrived to an early afternoon fire that began in a paint booth of an automotive repair shop. The shop’s fire sprinkler system doused the flames, and no injuries were reported. 

“This is a good example of what sprinklers do,” Hoover fire Executive Officer Rusty Lowe said. “These prevented a fire from becoming a lot larger and causing more damage and perhaps even injuries.”