Tag Archives: Arizona

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Prescott, AZ – Fire at senior apartment complex contained by sprinklers

Three residents were unable to return to their apartments at Alta Vista Retirement Apartments after fire crews responded Friday afternoon, June 12, in what turned out to be a box left on a stovetop. Prescott Fire Department Battalion Chief Eric Kriwer said the department was dispatched at approximately 2:15 p.m. to the apartments in the 900 block of Canterbury Lane, responding with four engines and a company truck. He credited the sprinkler system at the apartments with preventing a more serious outcome.

Occupants of some 50 residences evacuated the building as crews looked for extensions throughout the building. Two people were treated for lightheadedness and transported by ambulance to the Prescott campus of Yavapai Regional Medical Center. The ensuing investigation revealed a fifth-floor resident had left a box on the stove and apparently turned on a burner, which ignited the cardboard and triggered the sprinkler system in the kitchen area. Kriwer said three residence were displaced and the property loss is still being calculated.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Tempe, AZ – Sprinklers extinguish arson fire in high school bathroom

A juvenile was arrested after an arson investigation at Marcos de Niza High School revealed that he started a fire in the men’s restroom of the 400 building, police reported. The building houses the school’s driver education department and residence of an on-site officer, police reported.

Tempe Police and the fire department responded to the fire alarm that went off at the school and when they arrived the saw that the fire sprinklers and suppression system in the bathroom extinguished the fire, police reported.

The video surveillance of that area was reviewed and a camera outside the bathroom recorded the boy walking out of the restroom prior to smoke being seen, police reported. When he was read his Miranda rights and question he admitted to starting the fire with a lighter he found, saying he didn’t believe it would cause much damage and it would burn itself out, police reported.

Because of the fire classrooms were evacuated and the school was reportedly disrupted, according to the report. Additionally, the security officer was in his residence when the fire started, causing him to be endangered as well, police reported. He was transported to Tempe City Jail, where he was booked and held to see a judge, according to the report.

Apartment Building, Residential

Phoenix, AZ – Sprinkler system helps control fire in three-story apartment building

An apartment fire in North Phoenix left six residents displaced on Saturday morning, according to Captain Aaron Ernsberger with the Phoenix Fire Department.  The fire happened on the third floor of a three-story apartment building near Tatum Boulevard and Union Hills Drive.

Crews from the Phoenix Fire Department quickly got the fire under control, and immediately began trying to stop the water flow to the sprinkler system from damaging the lower units.  The Phoenix Fire Department is assisting the residents on all three floors that were displaced because of the water damage.  The cause of the fire is unknown and is under investigation.

Office Building, Other Business

Yuma, AZ – Arson fire at office building mostly extinguished by sprinkler system

A fire at a building Thursday afternoon that had been mostly extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system was determined to have been intentionally set. According to Yuma Fire Department spokesman Mike Erfert, shortly after 1:00 p.m., smoke was reported coming from an office in the Mission Valley Plaza, located at 3970 West 24th Street. Once on scene, firefighters found light smoke coming from a vacant office space inside the building.

 Erfert said the building’s fire sprinkler system, which had been exposed to the heat, had activated, containing and mostly extinguishing the fire by the time firefighters had arrived. Erfert said firefighters ensured the fire was out and had not spread to adjoining areas of the building.

Sgt. Leanne Worthen, of the Yuma Police Department, said because the fire appeared to have been in intentionally set, detectives were called to scene, and are investigating the fire as an arson. Given this was the fourth fire in as many days, Erfert wanted to stress the importance of fire sprinkler systems, saying they 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 damage to property 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.

Department Store, Retail

Tucson, AZ – Fire at Big Lots store kept in check by sprinkler system

The Tucson Fire Department credits a store’s sprinkler system with keeping a fire in check until crews arrived to put it out.  The department says firefighters responding to a water flow alarm at a BigLots store on South Harrison Road early Thursday morning found smoke coming from the rear of the building.

Firefighters found heavy smoke inside the store and a fire in the rear of the building, which was full of merchandise.  Cause of the fire is under investigation and there’s no estimate on cost of fire damage.

Apartment Building, Residential

Payson, AZ – Kitchen fire at apartment complex smothered by sprinkler system

A sprinkler system saved a kitchen and likely an entire apartment complex from extensive damages last Thursday night after a pot of oil boiled over, officials say. The resident was heating up the oil to cook some chicken in an upstairs apartment at Northview Apartments, 213 W. Bonita St., around 7 p.m. when he stepped outside.

Within minutes, a grease fire erupted. Flames licked up the backsplash and to the overhead cabinets. Heat triggered a sprinkler in the center of the kitchen ceiling, smothering the flames.

Fire Capt. Rick Winton said when firefighters arrived, the fire was out, but the sprinklers were still going. Crews turned the system off. They then entered the unit below Jones’, grabbed everything on the ground, piled it on the beds and covered it with tarps. Water did seep into the lower unit via the ceiling and walls, but was contained to the kitchen, Winton said.

“The sprinklers definitely served their purpose,” he said. “Everyone was able to get out of the building safely.”  If the building had not had sprinklers, firefighters would have battled a roaring grease fire, he said.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Kingman, AZ – Sprinklers help put out oven fire at Safeway store

A burning rotisserie oven forced the evacuation of the Safeway store in Kingman at 3970 N. Stockton Hill Road early Tuesday afternoon. The oven reportedly caught fire while cooking chicken.

The small fire set off the sprinkler system in the store, said Joe Dorner, assistant fire chief for the Kingman Fire Department, and crews from that department and Northern Arizona Consolidated responded to help extinguish the fire and clear up lingering smoke in the store.

Kingman Police Department officers helped evacuate the store.  Both fire departments were working with Safeway to help reset the sprinkler system. No injuries were reported.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Yuma, AZ – Fire at downtown eatery contained by sprinkler system

For the second time in as many months a sprinkler system had mostly extinguished a fire in a commercial building — this one in historic downtown Yuma — by the time firefighters arrived on scene.

Yuma Fire Department spokesman Mike Erfert said that just before 2 a.m. Monday, a water flow alarm was received, indicating the fire sprinkler system had activated at the Prison Hill Brewing Company, 278 S. Main St.

Erfert explained that once firefighters made their way inside the building they found that the fire had been contained and mostly extinguished by an activated sprinkler head.

Firefighters ensured the fire was completely out and assisted with cleanup. Damage from the fire was limited to a small area around a container of rags where the fire was believed to have originated.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Scottsdale, AZ – Sprinkler system does its job in overnight laundry fire at FireSky Resort

Firefighters from three cities responded to an early morning fire at the FireSky Resort & Spa in Scottsdale shortly after midnight. When they arrived, they saw smoke billowing from a building to the north of the complex. That building houses a laundry facility. Firefighters saw a commercial-size dryer on fire, but the building’s sprinkler system did its job, keeping the flames contained until crews got there. 

“It took over 30 firefighters to bring the situation under control,” Battalion Executive Officer David Folio said. The fire did not extend to any other part of the resort and firefighters did not have to evacuate anybody. No injuries were reported.

Other - Retail, Retail

Yuma, AZ – Sprinklers contain fire at commercial building under renovation

A sprinkler system had mostly extinguished a fire in a commercial building in Yuma Wednesday night by the time firefighters arrived on scene.  Oily rags not disposed of properly are suspected of causing the fire. Yuma Fire Department spokesman Mike Erfert said that shortly after 10 p.m., a water flow alarm was received, indicating a fire sprinkler system had activated in a commercial building located at 475 W. 32nd St.

Erfert said arriving firefighters gained access to the building and found that a fire had been contained and mostly extinguished by an activated sprinkler head. Firefighters immediately began extinguishing some hot spots and ensured the fire was completely out.  A small display case and some wooden dividers sustained damage.  The building is being remodeled to open as a retail store. Lacquer finishing had been applied to wood panels during the work day. Oily rags not disposed of properly are suspected of causing the fire.