Tag Archives: British Columbia

Other Business, Recycling / Waste Facility

Campbell River, BC, Canada – Firefighters connect to sprinkler system to help control fire at recycling center

1 Comment

Wednesday’s fire in a Maple Street building containing cardboard recycling appears to have been deliberately set.

“When crews arrived on the scene, they found a pile of cardboard and paper that measured approximately eight metres wide by three metres tall fully engulfed in flames. The fire was contained inside the metal clad building, and crews decided the most effective method to douse the fire was to use the waterway at the tip of the ladder fire truck,” said deputy fire chief Vrabel says.

Firefighters were called out about 6:25 p.m. After a few mintures, they changed from dousing the fire with handheld hoses to a nozzle attached to the hose at the end of the ladder on the aerial ladder truck. The nozzle was then directed into the interior of the building and brought the fire under control.

“We initiated a defensive attack. We were concerned about the structural stability of the metal beams that were supporting the roof so we weren’t committing any members inside,” Vrabel said. “Police did have some persons of interest in their custody while we were carrying out our fire operations.”

Vrabel said that three youth “of interest” had been located by the RCMP.

“It definitely appears to be intentionally set by one or more persons,” Vrabel said.

The building is privately owned and is leased out to Sun Coast Waste Management.

On scene were 21 firefighters with four pieces of apparatus committed to the incident. The fire department left the scene after 9:30 p.m.

The fire was still smouldering as of this afternoon but firefighters managed to connect to a sprinkler system in the building and that was directed onto the pile to control it.

Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill

Merritt, BC, Canada – Sprinklers help contain sawmill fire; Operations resume same day

Merritt Fire Rescue responded to a fire at the Tolko sawmill around 1:30 Saturday afternoon.  Fire Chief Dave Tompkinson says a hydraulic oil tank was on fire.

“Prior to firefighters arriving, the sprinkler system had activated. The sawmill employees had actioned the fire with extinguishers and a hose line,” says Tompkinson. The fire was inside the the plant, and spread to some machinery above.

Tomkinson says, as the fire department was leaving, the sawmill was already getting back up and running. The cause of the fire is unknown.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Merritt, BC, Canada – Suspicious fire at elementary school extinguished by sprinkler system

A small fire that sparked in an office at Merritt Secondary School was quickly extinguished by the sprinkler system before the fire department arrived. The fire started just before 10 a.m. in a room that is adjacent to the main office on the ground floor. It was contained to that particular room, Merritt Fire Rescue Department Fire Chief Dave Tomkinson told the Herald.

Tomkinson said the fire was deemed suspicious and RCMP are investigating. The fire department cannot release any information pertaining to what burned, or the fire’s area of origin.

“There was a fair amount of water damage [to the room],” Tomkinson said. School District 58 superintendent Steve McNiven said the office where the fire sparked is a meeting room in the counselling area of the school.

McNiven said he’s not sure how the fire was discovered, and doesn’t know if anyone was using it at the time of the fire. The fire triggered the alarm and the school was evacuated. Students were allowed back in the building at about 1 p.m.

About 16 firefighters responded to the fire. Tomkinsoin said firefighters assisted the school board staff in salvaging efforts and cleaning up.

McNiven said he was pleased with how students and staff responded to the fire, noting that everyone evacuated the school appropriately and handled themselves well.

No injuries were reported in this incident.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Burnaby, BC, Canada – Sprinkler system helps minimize fire damage at Serta mattress factory

A long-time Burnaby warehouse suffered extensive smoke and water damage last week after a small fire broke out in the building. It was an automatic fire alarm ringing from inside the Serta mattress factory on Winston Street that alerted firefighters of an incident shortly before 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 2, assistant Fire Chief Bryan Kirk told the NOW.

When firefighters arrived, there were two employees standing outside, but neither could say why the alarm was going off. “(The firefighters) went inside, and they realized there was something going on, the whole place was full of smoke, so they upgraded it to a second alarm,” Kirk said. The origin of the fire appeared to be a gluing table inside the warehouse, he added. “Between the mattress, the glue and this wooden table, (there was) enough combustibles – that started the fire,” Kirk said.

There wasn’t significant fire damage inside the warehouse, thanks to the sprinkler system. Because of the size of the facility, the fire was upgraded to a two-alarm blaze that required about 28 firefighters. Fire crews were on scene until 10 p.m. trying to clear out the smoke. “The whole place was full of smoke, and it makes it that much more difficult to ventilate that much smoke,” he said. “(Firefighters) were there for a good six hours or so, just because it was work intensive getting rid of all the smoke, not so much fighting a fire.” The NOW contacted the manager at the warehouse for more details on the extent of the damage, but calls haven’t been returned yet

Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill

Port Moody, BC – Sprinkler system contains fire at sawmill; No injuries

No one was injured following an explosion and fire at a Port Moody sawmill early Tuesday morning.

Firefighters received a call at 2:30 a.m. that there was a fire at the Flavelle Sawmill. It turns out that a nitrogen tank that was part of a hydraulic system had exploded, due to a nearby fire.

When crews arrived, there was a small fire at the mill, but the sprinkler system had activated and contained the fire.

Investigators are still trying to determine the cause.

The explosion did blow a “significant hole” in the sawmill wall, according to the PMFD.

Workers were on break at the time so there was no one in the area.

Apartment Building, Residential

Victoria, BC, Canada – Apartment cooking fire doused by sprinkler system

A Victoria apartment suite is heavily water damaged after a sprinkler system doused a stove-top oil fire and then drowned the rest of the room.  Alarm bells sounded at 9:30 Sunday evening at 710 Queens Avenue when an oil fire ignited, according to Victoria Fire Battalion Chief Dave Bicknell.   The lone occupant of the suite had been cooking french fries in oil on the stovetop at the time of the fire.  

“The fire was likely caused by overheating of the oil,” Bicknell said, in his report.  The sprinkler system extinguished the kitchen fire but continued to flow until fire crews were able to shut it down.  “There was some damage to the suite caused by smoke and heat, however the fire itself had been contained to the pot,” Bicknell said. The building on the corner of Douglas Street is run by the Victoria Cool Aid Society

Apartment Building, Residential

Victoria, BC, Canada – Late night apartment fire extinguished by single sprinkler

The fire, believed to have been caused by oil in a pan on a stove, broke out at 10:45 p.m. in a suite at Quadra Street and Caledonia Avenue. The fire was extinguished by a single sprinkler near the stove. However, four floors directly below were flooded, causing damage, said acting Battalion Chief Lance Mitchell of Victoria Fire. The resident of the suite received second-degree burns to one of his hands while trying to extinguish the blaze. He was taken to hospital by B.C. Ambulance. Several displaced residents will be given assistance with housing through the Victoria Emergency Management Agency, the fire department said. The department’s fire inspector reminds people cooking with oil not to leave the pot or pan unattended and to have a lid nearby in case of fire.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Cranbrook, BC, Canada – Suspicious fire at middle school limited by activated sprinkler system

The investigation into a fire at Laurie Middle School is ongoing, as school district staff have shut down the building for repairs stemming from a rooftop fire.  Cranbrook RCMP along with Fire and Emergency Services responded to the blaze early Wednesday morning, as fire fighters extinguished the blaze and police assisted with an investigation into the cause.

While authorities haven’t determined what started the fire, it is considered suspicious by the RCMP.  Anyone who has information about the fire is encouraged to call the Cranbrook RCMP at 250-489-3471 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

The Southeast Kootenay school district has closed Laurie Middle School for Thursday and Friday, however, class will be back in session on Monday, Nov. 16.

“The fire damage was limited to the exterior of the building, but it did trigger our sprinkler system, so we didn’t get any fire inside the school because our sprinkler systems worked like they’re supposed to work,” Rob Norum, treasurer with School District 5, said.

While staff and contractors are cleaning that area up to reopen on Monday, the gym was much harder hit.

“The gym is a different story. We’ve got water inside some of the walls and in some of the insulation in the ceiling and some water underneath the floor,” said Norum. “We don’t know the extent of the damage there, but we’re getting that assessed to see if we have to do any major renos.

“We’ve already had an engineer in; he’s going to continue to look at the building to make sure we don’t have any structural issues. We’ve had an air quality expert in and he’s cleared the building.”

Apartment Building, Residential

Vancouver, BC, Canada – No injuries in early morning apartment blaze after sprinklers successfully activate

More than 40 residents of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside were displaced from their homes Saturday after an early morning apartment fire.

Capt. Jonathan Gormick, a spokesman for Vancouver Fire and Rescue, said staff with emergency social services were working with the residents to find them accommodation until they can return to their apartments, likely next week.

The fire broke out in the attic of the apartment complex on East Cordova Street at around 5 a.m. Firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke and flames on the roof. Gormick said the building’s sprinkler system was activated and all the residents escaped unharmed.

Firefighters put out the fire before it damaged any of the suites, however he said many of them sustained water damage from the sprinklers. The cause of the blaze is unknown and firefighters continue to investigate.

 

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Vancouver, BC, Canada – Sprinklers hold fire in check at packaging manufacturer

City firefighters responded to the fire at around 11:30 a.m. on Thursday at CKF Inc. on Production Way, said City Fire Chief Rory Thompson.  In total, eight engines, several other vehicles, and 52 firefighters were deployed to deal with the fire. The actual fire didn’t do too much damage to the building. “We were fortunate because the sprinkler system really held the fire in check for us,” said Thompson.

“There was a considerable amount of smoke,” he said of the fire near Fraser Highway. The fire was in the back of the large industrial building, and the complexity and size of the fire quickly led the City to go to three alarms. That brought in some Township crews to lend a hand. 

However, the building was full of pallets of thousands of cardboard egg cartons. The fire had gotten into the cartons and the pallets. Between the fire and the water, the cartons were destroyed, and the pallets collapsed, leaving piles of debris five to six feet high.

Firefighters had to fight their way through the mess to lay hose lines and get at the last remnants of the fire. Two firefighters were hospitalized, with a City firefighter falling and injuring his shoulder, and a Township firefighter who hurt his knee.

Firefighters brought a lot of bottled water for crews and had to work in shifts, taking breaks to hydrate after fighting the fire on a day when temperatures hit the high 20s. “Pretty tired, that’s for sure,” Thompson said of how the crews felt after the fire was out.

Fire crews didn’t leave the scene until 4 a.m. on Friday. Investigators were looking through the scene Friday to try to determine the cause. City firefighters have had training with what are called “large box” fires, and they recently did a command and control training exercise in concert with the Langley Township firefighters. Township and City firefighters frequently work together on larger fires or cover for one another when crews are very busy.