The Tucson Fire Department confirmed crews were called to the Gila Residence Hall, located at 1009 East James E. Rogers Way, for a small fire around 7 p.m.
The TFD said the dorm’s sprinkler system put out the flames before crews arrived. There were no reported injuries, according to the TFD and the University of Arizona Police Department.
Some of the students had to find a new place to sleep on Thursday, and 13 News reached out to the university to see what is being done for those affected.
The first call happened Saturday, October 4 at around 2:20 p.m. at a business in the area of S. Florence Lane, near E. 33rd Place, according to YFD.
Upon arrival, YFD says crews saw smoke and “initiated a fire attack,” where firefighter entered the building and found a linen bin actively burning, but said a sprinkler system suppressed the fire, which extended to an additional bin.
YFD says crews contained the fire and no injuries were reported.
The second call happened early Tuesday morning, at around 4:00 a.m., at an apartment complex located in the area of W. 22nd Place and 35th Avenue.
Upon arrival, YFD says crews found a “single sprinkler head wetting down charred debris on a rear patio,” and says there wasn’t an fire nor damage inside the apartment.
In addition, no injuries were reported.
The Yuma Fire Department (YFD) is investigating two fires that happened over the weekend.
One of the fires started late Saturday afternoon at La Mirada Apartments near Cibola High School close to Avenue C and 20th Street.
The fire started on the patio of the first floor of the apartment complex.
“Yuma Engine 4 arrived on scene and found a first-story patio apartment that was fully involved. They quickly deployed a bumper line and started an aggressive transitional attack limiting damage to the fire just to the exterior,” said Fire Captain Francisco Leon, Public Information Officer for YFD.
While the patio was damaged, YFD says the interior only suffered water damage.
The sprinkler system inside the building was able to help prevent further damage.
“Sprinkler saves happen a couple of times a year. They do limit the damage of the fire to the confined area, [and] they confine it to the room that the fire started in. It’s very important to keep those sprinkler systems maintained by a professional company,” says Capt. Leon.
The TFD arrived to HighWire at around 1 p.m. after they said a small lithium battery exploded and set fire to an area behind one of the bars.
HighWire district manager, Justin Olson, said that he was not at the bar at the time of the incident, but was alerted to the fire through the company’s alarm system, where he saw video of the fire start.
“[The video] cut out right as the flame was getting really big. The last image I saw was a big burst of flames,” said Olson.
The building’s sprinkler system was immediately triggered, putting out most of the fire before TFD arrived on the scene.
“We were all kind of freaking out wondering how much damage there was actually gonna be back there,” said Olson. “Come to find out it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been.”
As required by the Pima County Health Department, HighWire will have to disinfect everything in the building and get rid of any open bottles that were out before re-opening that building. That’s something Olson said will happen quickly.
“We are going to be expediting this as fast as we possibly can,” said Olson. “Nothing’s gonna change here at Highwire. Everything will still be running as normal. We’ll still have all the fun for everybody to come on in here and party it up.”
HighWire did open parts of their bar back up on Saturday night, just hours after the incident, as the fire only affected one structure and little damage was done. Olson said he plans on HighWire being fully open and running as normal by Friday July 25, for their “Friday Nights at HighWire.”
Cpt. Shaun DuBois, a spokesperson for Phoenix fire, said firefighters were dispatched to the six-story building at around 9:30 a.m. after a fire alarm went off on the building’s third floor. DuBois said firefighters who first arrived at the scene did not see any smoke or flames from the outside but quickly accessed the third floor where they saw smoke in the hallway.
DuBois added that the building’s fire sprinklers had activated and successfully kept the fire in check as firefighters fully extinguished the fire.
“The combination of fire sprinkler activation and quick actions by firefighters prevented further damage and fire extension into the structure,” DuBois said in a statement. “Occupants were alerted by fire alarms and had evacuated the building prior to fire department arrival.”
DuBois said there were no reported injuries related to the fire. Staff with the department’s community assistance program are working with GCU staff to support the students who would be temporarily displaced, although it was not immediately known how many students would be impacted or for how long.
According to the Yuma Fire Department, at 5:30 a.m., crews were dispatched to a report of a “water flow alarm” in the 300 block of West 32nd Street. Upon arrival, crews found a large furniture store with heavy smoke and water exiting from the front door. Firefighters were able to enter the structure and extinguish the fire quickly.
It was discovered that a properly working fire sprinkler was able to prevent any further damage to the building and its contents, YFD said. No injuries were reported, and business operations were not disrupted.
“Fire sprinkler systems can keep fires from spreading and can also extinguish them. Fire spreads quickly and can double in size every minute. Even small fires can cause significant property damage and endanger those nearby. Contrary to many Hollywood portrayals, only sprinkler heads directly exposed to the heat activate, not those in the rest of the room, building, or complex,” YFD noted.
A YFD investigator discovered the fire’s area of origin was a shelf with lithium-ion batteries and a battery charging station, YFD said, noting “This is yet another call for service in which lithium-ion batteries have been involved.”
YFD offered the following battery charging tips:
Use the provided or approved charger for the battery
Do not use extension cords or overload surge protectors
Do not use damaged or deformed batteries
Keep batteries away from high temperatures, do not charge them if they are hot
Remove the battery from the unit when done charging and do not cover the battery
Do not keep batteries on a charger once the charging cycle is completed
Keep the battery away from other combustibles
Fire sprinkler systems save lives and property.
On Sunday morning, there was a fire at the Holiday Inn Presidential in downtown Little Rock.
Officials with the hotel confirmed that a fire did occur, but were unable to confirm the extent of the damage.
The Little Rock Fire Department confirmed that the fire was reported around 6 a.m. and occurred on the hotel’s 7th floor.
Fire crews were on scene for three hours, and spent most of their time cleaning smoke and water from the sprinkler system out of the building.
The Fire Department said that there were no injuries as a result of the incident.
Tucson Fire crews were dispatched to the facility in the 1500 block of East River Road at 9:35 a.m. for reports of smoke coming from an attic space, according to a social media post from TFD.
The fire was under control by 9:53 a.m. No residents were injured. A maintenance worker was transported from the scene with a medical issue unrelated to the fire, the post said.
Several residents were carried from the facility. The sprinkler system prevented the fire from spreading, but the water caused significant damage to more than a dozen units, the post said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Crews were sent to Kingswood Place, a senior living facility near Bell Road and Parkview Place, where a small fire had broken out in a bedroom. Sprinkler systems were able to keep the majority of the fire at bay as firefighters arrived, according to Surprise Battalion Chief Larry Subervi, a spokesperson for the department.
About 25 residents were displaced during the fire, but after an hour all were able to return to the building. Four residents were not able to return to their rooms due to damages from the fire or the sprinkler system. They were relocated to different rooms at the facility.
A medical treatment center was set up for residents during the fire for heat-related complaints, but no residents were significantly injured, according to the department.
The cause of the fire was still under investigation.
Kingswood Place could not be reached for comment.
Around 6 p.m., crews were called about fire and smoke that was reported from a third-story apartment at the Prescott Lakes Senior Living Apartments near Prescott Lakes Parkway and Highway 89. The fire was upgraded to a second alarm due to the building’s size and number of residents inside.
The Prescott Police Department was the first on the scene and saved the resident in the apartment and those in nearby units. Fire crews soon arrived and quickly accessed the apartment on fire. With help from the fire sprinkler system, firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the flames and prevent the fire from spreading to the rest of the complex.
Some residents evacuated; however, others could not leave their apartments and were told to shelter in place by the fire personnel after it was determined they were not in danger. A Prescott police officer was treated on the scene for smoke inhalation. One resident fainted after being evacuated and was taken to the hospital for further evaluation. No other injuries were reported.
Prescott Fire says there was extensive water damage from the sprinklers and fire personnel on all three floors, including an electrical room that powers half of the complex. Therefore, fire officials, the City of Prescott Building Department and utility companies determined it was unsafe for residents to return to their apartments, leaving 90 people and several pets displaced.
The Yavapai County Office of Emergency Management and the Red Cross has arranged a temporary shelter at the Humboldt Unified School District Offices in Prescott Valley. Around 11 residents have chosen to stay at the shelter, while many others are staying with family, friends, and at hotels. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.
Prescott Fire says the outcome would’ve been different if the sprinkler system were not in place. According to a report from the National Fire Protection Agency, buildings with fire sprinkler systems successfully confine fire spread to the room of origin 95% of the time, compared to 71% of properties without.
