Tag Archives: arson

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Richmond, CA – Sprinkler system activated for arson fire at Target store; No injuries reported

The automatic sprinkler system at the Richmond Target store helped keep an arson fire in the store “small and nearly extinguished,” according to Richmond Firefighters Local 188.

The firefighters’ union shared video and photos from the fire response that occurred Thursday at the store in the 4500 block of Macdonald Avenue.

Luckily, no one was injured. While the fire damage was limited to a small portion of the aisle, the remainder of the store suffered extensive water damage from the sprinkler system, fire officials said. The store has been closed since the incident.

“Crews arrived at scene to find the occupants and employees already safely out front,” fire officials said.

Fire crews found smoke in the store coming from a fire in one of the aisles. They doused whatever fire remained after the sprinkler system activated.

According to Richmond police, firefighters deemed that the fire was intentionally set. No suspects were located at the scene and the case was referred to fire investigators for followup, police said.

The  El Cerrito and Contra Costa County fire departments also assisted with the incident. 

Office Building, Other Business

Dallas, TX – Sprinkler system activated for fire at office building

Dallas Fire Officials say someone set an uptown Dallas office building on fire early Tuesday morning.

The building located just off the Central Expressway access road between Blackburn and Fitzhugh Ave was surrounded by emergency vehicles around 4:00 a.m.

Officials say the building’s automatic sprinkler system was activated after an unknown suspect threw an explosive device, a so-called molotov cocktail, through an exterior window.

Jason Evans with Dallas Fire says crews were able to have the flames completely extinguished in 20 minutes.

They’re still trying to figure out who the arsonist is, and what their motive was.

Fortunately, nobody was hurt in the fire as the building was empty due to the time of day it happened.

One firefighter was actually injured, but not by flames. Evans says the individual was hurt while mopping up afterwards and had to be taken to the hospital.

Government/Military, Other-Government/Military

Fresno, CA – Sprinkler system activated for possible arson fire

A fire Monday morning at a city-owned building in downtown Fresno that’s more than 120 years old may have been arson, according to a Fresno Fire Department battalion chief.

Crews were called at about 8:30 a.m. to the Greyhound bus station on Tulare Street and Santa Fe Avenue where flames from outside the building set off fire sprinklers, Battalion Chief Devin McGuire said.

Crews found two windows had been broken from the outside where the fire originated, McGuire said, and witnesses pointed out a man in the area who may have started the fire.

Firefighters worked to replace a damaged sprinkler, pushed pooled water out of the building and investigate the potential arson, he said.

Greyhound was not open at the time of the fire, according to fire crews.

The bus company rents the northern most space of the Spanish mission-style structure that also houses the Amtrak station in downtown. The city owns the building, McGuire said.

“It’s definitely a suspicious fire any time you do have a fire that starts on the exterior of the building,” he said.

The damage is not expected to affect daily business for the depot, he said.

The historic Santa Fe Railroad Depot building was completed in 1899.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

El Paso, TX – Sprinkler system activated for arson fire at school; No injuries reported

The Ysleta Independent School District is working with police investigators after footage of Sunday night’s fire was at Pebble Hills Elementary school circulated on social media.

Around 7:15 p.m. Sunday, fire crews responded to the fire.

Smoke was reportedly coming out of the school building and the fire alarms were activated, according to EPFD spokesman Enrique Duenas-Aguilar.

A small fire was found inside a room at the school.

The sprinkler system inside contained the fire from spreading, according to Duenas-Aguilar.

No injuries were reported.

Footage taken of individuals running out of the school surfaced on social media.

Footage of a table inside the school on fire was captured as well.

KFOX14 spoke to Pebble Hills Elementary school parents regarding the incident.

The majority of parents were concerned with how the students were able to get inside and expressed concern over the safety of the campus.

“My big concern is how they got in the building, because I thought the doors were closed and locked so that kind of scares me a little bit about my kids safety,” said Naomi Fierro.

Another parent said students should be held accountable and their discipline should begin at home.

“For one, I think it starts at home, if the kids are acting up this way I think the parents need to maybe tighten the grip on their kids or just their parenting styles need to change, maybe the kids are hanging out with the wrong crowd,” said Emily Ray.

Glen Cove Elementary School was also vandalized on Sunday.

El Paso police are also looking into that crime.

Heavy vandalism in some classrooms and hallways, and windows were damaged, according to Ysleta ISD.

The school was able to open Monday for instruction.

It’s unknown at this time if the vandalism and fire are related.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

San Antonio, TX – Sprinkler system activated for arson fire at former restaurant

San Antonio fire officials say they believe someone deliberately set fire to a former restaurant on the northwest side of the city early Friday morning.

The fire broke out around 1 am at Joe’s Crab Shack in the 4700 block of Northwest Loop 410 near Babcock Road.

According to fire authorities, a San Antonio police officer happened to be driving a car, saw the smoke and called. Upon arrival, firefighters found a fire inside the building.

Officials say someone seems to have thrown a Molotov cocktail through the window and triggered the sprinkler system. The sprinkler system has put out most of the fire.

The restaurant was closed and boarded, so no one was inside and no other nearby building was threatened by fire.

Firefighters said this was the second time a suspicious fire had broke out in a building within the last few months.

Currently, investigators have not been arrested.

Other Business, Place of Worship

Syracuse, UT – Arson fire at church extinguished by sprinkler system

A 16-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of arson after a Syracuse chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was burned, vandalized, and defaced with anti-Christian symbols.

The Syracuse Police Department issued a statement Saturday afternoon on the case, which was first reported by Gephardt Daily.

On Oct. 9, 2021 at approximately 1 a.m., the Syracuse Fire Department responded to an LDS Church at 1112 S. 1525 West in Syracuse on a fire alarm. When fire crews entered the building, they found it filled with smoke and discovered a sprinkler system had extinguished the fire.

Fire crews observed extensive water and property damage throughout the building caused by the fire. Additionally, the fire department observed several intentional acts of vandalism throughout the building. The fire is being investigated as arson.

Syracuse Police Department, Syracuse Fire Department, Davis County Sheriff’s Office Crime Lab and the ATF are working together to investigate the arson and vandalism.

On Oct. 9, 2021 at 2 p.m., an arson arrest was made regarding this case; a 16-year-old male responsible for the damage was booked into a juvenile detention facility. He will not be identified because he is a juvenile.

Response

Emergency crews responded to the scene, a few blocks southeast of Syracuse High School, at about 1:10 a.m. Sprinklers had doused the blaze.

Arson damage to the interior included the burning of padded benches used by the congregation.

Inverted crosses, and what appeared to a pentagram, were spray-painted on the front of the church. Images including the number 666 were sprayed on other doors.

Officers questioned neighbors about anything they might have seen or captured on surveillance video. Syracuse Police Department officers were back at the scene in the morning, questioning any neighbors they might have missed earlier.

Several vehicles from a local cleaning company were on the scene Saturday morning, after the scene had been cleared by investigators.

Gephardt Daily will have additional information if it is released by police.

Apartment Building, Residential

Leavenworth, VA – Arson fire in apartment building extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A fire that resulted in the displacement of about a dozen people at a privately operated apartment building on the Leavenworth VA campus is being called a case of arson.

The fire was reported at 12:20 p.m. Wednesday in the 3900 block of Franklin Avenue. No injuries were reported.

Leavenworth Fire Marshal Andy Brooks said someone apparently broke into a vacant second-floor apartment and placed miscellaneous items including mail and a DVD player on top of an electric stove. The person then turned on the burners.

The resulting fire activated the sprinkler system in the apartment, which put out the fire.

“The sprinkler basically ran until we shut it off,” Brooks said.

He said water from the sprinkler system flooded the apartment and a foyer area located on a lower level.

Brooks said electricity had to be shut off at the building.

“Water was flowing where we couldn’t see it,” he said. “We didn’t want to have any electrical hazards.”

He said the sprinkler system also was shut down to stop it from running and allow it to be drained out.

Brooks said about 12 tenants were displaced. He said the American Red Cross offered assistance to the people who were affected.

Angie Springs, regional communications manager for the American Red Cross, said in an email that the response team assisted the people who were impacted to address their immediate needs.

Brooks said a suspect has not been identified in the arson investigation.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Riverside, CA – Sprinkler system activated for arson fire at hotel; No injuries reported

A man was taken into custody for allegedly setting fire to his room at a hotel in Riverside.

Firefighters were sent to the Hyatt Place hotel at 3500 Market St. at 10:09 p.m. Monday regarding “reports of (an) occupant in a hotel room trying to burn down his room he was occupying,” the City of Riverside Fire Department said in a statement.

“Firefighters arrived to find the hotel being evacuated, light smoke on the second floor and the hotel room door locked with a fire sprinkler activation,” the statement said.

“The environment was safe for RPD officers to assist firefighters with opening the door and securing the hotel room. Firefighters discovered a small fire in the hotel room extinguished by the fire sprinkler system.”

The suspect was not in the room but was found in the building and detained by Riverside police officers. His name was not immediately released.

Firefighters assisted hotel staff with water removal from several hotel rooms and a hallway. Four hotel rooms were affected by the water from the fire sprinkler system. Damage was estimated at $100,000, the fire department reported.

About 50 occupants were evacuated from the structure but were allowed to re-occupy their rooms by about 11 p.m., the fire department reported. Hotel management accommodated occupants who were displaced by the water damage to other unoccupied hotel rooms.

City of Riverside Fire Department Arson Investigators responded to the scene and working with RPD conducted an investigation that is still ongoing.

There were no injuries.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Fulton, MO – Sprinkler system activated for arson fire at business

A Fulton woman was arrested for arson in the first degree after a fire was allegedly intentionally set in the basement of the Moser’s off of North Business 54.  

Pamela Cordrey, 48, is an employee of the Moser’s and was working at the time of the fire. She was arrested and taken to the Callaway County Jail on no bond, the Fulton Police Department said. 

The Fulton Police Department alongside the Fulton Fire Department, Central Fire Department and Callaway EMS responded to the fire around 2:07 p.m.

In a press release, the Fulton Fire Department said upon arrival of the first engine company smoke was showing from the grocery store. Fire crews made entry into the structure and reported moderate smoke inside the structure.

When the fire crews entered the basement, there was an active fire with the fire sprinkler system activated. Fire was extinguished within minutes.

With the help of the Missouri State Fire Marshal’s office, Fulton Police said it was determined that the fire was set intentionally and caused significant damage to the area.

The Fulton Fire Department said the structure received smoke and minor water damages and that the Estimated loss is unavailable at this time.

Fulton Police posted on Facebook around 2:55 p.m. Wednesday, announcing Moser’s would be closed until further notice. 

Anyone with any information should call the Fulton Police Department at 573-592-3100, Crime Stoppers at 573-592-2474 or your local law enforcement agency.

Apartment Building, Residential

San Pablo, CA – Sprinkler system activated for fireworks fire at apartment complex

A balcony fire at an apartment complex in San Pablo on Tuesday is suspected to have been caused by a teenager using illegal fireworks, fire officials said Thursday.

Arson investigators arrested the 16-year-old boy on Tuesday on suspicion of setting fire to an inhabited structure and possession of dangerous fireworks, spokesman Steve Hill of the Contra Costa Fire Protection District said.

Fire investigators determined that a 5-inch mortar firework caused the blaze, Hill said.

Authorities did not identify the 16-year-old because he’s a minor. They released him into the custody of his parents.

The fire happened on the balcony of a unit in the 15000 block of Crestwood Drive. Hill said people who reported the blaze on the deck also reported hearing an explosion. Crews kept the blaze from spreading to the inside and were helped by a fire sprinkler at the apartment.

The unit suffered extensive smoke and water damage, Hill said.

Investigators said the mortar was set off on the second-story balcony and they identified the suspect as the resident of the apartment unit, Hill said. They also found more of the same kind of fireworks in the unit. Crews removed those, he said.

The case will be prosecuted through the juvenile courts, and Hill said the the district will refer him to the Youth Fire Setter Program.

All fireworks are illegal in Contra Costa County, including safe-and-sane ones such as sparklers.