Tag Archives: British Columbia

Apartment Building, Residential

Kelowna, BC, Canada – Early morning balcony fire extinguished with help of sprinkler system

An early morning balcony fire was extinguished by Kelowna firefighters today.

The Kelowna Fire Department was called to the fire in the 900 block of Academy Way at about 4 am.

The first officer to arrive activated a sprinkler on the first-floor balcony, which successfully contained the fire.

Furnishings on the balcony were still damaged in the fire, however.

The fire has been deemed accidental.

KFD Platoon Captain John Kelly added: “We would like to remind everyone to fully extinguish smoking material in an appropriate container.”

Firefighters responded with three engines, a ladder truck, rescue unit and command vehicle with 16 crew members.

Office Building, Other Business

Kelowna, BC, Canada – Sprinkler system activated for fire in office building

Kelowna fire crews quickly knocked down a blaze at a business along Harvey Avenue on Saturday evening.

Firefighters responded to a fire in the back of a unit at 1950 Harvey Avenue at 9:45 p.m. on Saturday, activating a sprinkler as they arrived.

The sprinklers were able to contain the fire to the rear office area but did cause some water damage.

Three fire engines, a rescue unit and a command vehicle, as well as the RCMP, responded to the fire.

The Kelowna Fire Department has deemed the fire “accidental in nature,” but did not provide any further details as to what sparked the blaze.

Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill

Prince George, BC, Canada – Fire sprinkler activated for fire at sawmill; No injuries reported

Volunteer fire crews responded to a fire at Carrier Lumber’s sawmill on Willowcale Road last night.

The Regional District of Fraser Fort-George says it broke out just before 10:30 p.m. and say the fire was mostly contained by the sprinkler system that was activated.

The extent of the damage is still being assessed and the cause is unknown.

There were no known injuries. The Buckhorn Volunteer Fire Department responded with mutual aid from Pineview Volunteer Fire Department and the Red Rock/Stoner Volunteer fire department.

Apartment Building, Residential

Chilliwack, BC, Canada – Fire sprinkler system quickly douses kitchen fire; No injuries reported

A small kitchen fire broke out in a third-floor unit of the RainCity Housing on Yale Road.

It was doused quickly by the building’s own automatic sprinklers putting the kibosh on any major damage – before fire crews even arrived.

Chilliwack Fire Department got the call at about 11:30 a.m. on Sunday (Feb. 28) about the fire in the 45000-block of Yale Rd, according to Assistant Chief Chris Wilson. Firefighters responded from Halls 1 and 4, and gained access to a third floor unit where they discovered a small fire in the kitchen area.

“The fire had been extinguished by the building’s automatic fire sprinkler system prior to the arrival of fire crews, which significantly limited fire damage to a small area around the kitchen cabinets,” assistant chief Wilson said.

“Without a working sprinkler system in place, this fire had the potential of causing extensive fire, smoke and water damage to the unit.”

Chilliwack Fire had nothing but praise for preventative measures like alarms and sprinkler systems.

“The presence of an automatic fire sprinkler system in conjunction with a working smoke alarm greatly reduces the chance of being injured or dying in a fire, and also significantly improves public and firefighter health and safety by reducing the chance of injury and exposure to harmful contaminants and carcinogens.”

There were no civilian or firefighter injuries reported.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Chilliwack, BC, Canada – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire inside paint spray booth; No injuries reported

A fire in an industrial building on Tuesday afternoon in Chilliwack could have been a lot worse if not for the interior sprinkler system.

Firefighters from Halls 1, 4 and 6 were called to the scene of a structure fire in the 43000-block of Progress Way on Tuesday, Sept. 22 shortly before 1 p.m.

Crews arrived to find a significant amount of smoke coming from the building. Firefighters entered the building, discovered the fire was located in the paint spray booth, and that it had been extinguished by the building’s fire sprinkler system.

There was minor fire, smoke and water damage and it is expected the business will be back in operation soon. The cause of the fire is accidental and is related to hot work processes in the paint spray booth.

All employees safely evacuated the building and there were no firefighter injuries.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Victoria, BC, Canada – Fire sprinkler stops fire from spreading at hotel that houses the homeless

A fire at the former Comfort Inn and Suites Tuesday morning was confined to one fourth-floor room, but up to 20 units could need some form of water remediation, says Victoria Fire Department Deputy Chief Dan Atkinson.

The site also had a fire May 24 that didn’t spread beyond a single room.

The building at 3020 Blanshard St. offers accommodation to people who were previously living in tents in Topaz Park or along a stretch of Pandora Avenue, a transition made possible after the provincial government bought the facility last month for $18.5 million.

Residents are supported by Our Place Society and the Victoria Cool Aid Society.

Atkinson said the first 911 call was received about 8:20 a.m. and crews were able to put the fire out quickly. One occupant had been in the unit but got out safely.

“It was a room-and-contents fire and it did activate the sprinkler system,” he said. “The sprinkler system did a really good job of not allowing it to spread too radically.”

Remediation in the other rooms could range from pulling up the carpet and bringing in fans to working on drywall and paint.

He said there is bound to be a fair bit of damage, “being that it was on the fourth floor and water runs downhill.”

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

North Okanagan, BC, Canada – Sprinkler system douses fire at pellet plant; No injuries reported

Firefighters in Lavington were called out to an early morning fire at the Pinnacle Pellet plant.

Lavington fire chief Marty Wright told iNFOnews.ca crews got the call 2:45 a.m. today, May 11, and were on site before 3 a.m.

Wright said the fire started in a fan chamber and was quickly doused by the automatic sprinkling system at the pellet plant.

“Pinnacle Pellet’s automated suppression system took care of most the fire for us,” Wright said. “We just got there and took care of the big fire that was in the chamber and then just dealt with hotspots throughout.”

Wright said there were no injuries and everybody is accounted for.

The fire chief said the main fan chamber was completely lost in the fire and the damage is now being accessed by the company.

In a post to Facebook, one eyewitness reported hearing a loud explosion.

Wright said 13 Lavington firefighters and nine from Coldstream responded to the fire. Crews left the scene at around 7 a.m..

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

West Kelowna, BC, Canada – Sprinkler system helps contain fire in Resort Spa after improper disposal of oil soaked rags

West Kelowna Fire Rescue were called into action around 12:30 at the Cove Lakeside Resort on Thursday.

According to officials, reports of smoke in the resort’s spa area prompted the call to emergency crews who found a waste paper basket fire upon arrival.

The building’s fire protection sprinkler/early detection system helped contain the fire before it could be extinguished by WKFR firefighters.

An investigation determined the small fire was started by spontaneous combustion due to the improper disposal of oil soaked rags and concluded.

It’s not being considered as suspicious.

Apartment Building, Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant, Residential

Kamloops, BC, Canada – Fire sprinklers keep fire under control at hotel; No injuries reported

A fire last night at the Sandman Inn and Suites left 65 people without a place to sleep.

Around 8:20 p.m., Kamloops Fire Rescue (KFR) was called to the hotel (which also has apartments), says Platoon Capt. Troy Grant.

“Arriving a couple of blocks away, we could see flames on the roof of the building,” he tells KamloopsMatters. “The fire was in the attic and going through the roof in a couple of spots.”

KFR was able to quickly knock the fire down, using hoses from the outside and a ladder truck. They did have to remove a six-foot-by-12-foot section of the roof to get to it.

No injuries were reported, but the building remained empty overnight.

“65 residents were displaced,” Grant says. “Those have been taken care of by emergency support services.”

He adds that some will likely be able to return to their homes tonight, but others won’t be so lucky. The fourth floor, where the fire took place, has apartments, he adds. Along with some smoke damage and the removed section of the roof, he says there’s extensive water damage in some units, and likely more below.

“The cause of fire was in the attic itself; it appears electrical in nature,” Grant says. “The fire was kept small by the sprinkler system — the sprinklers were on for some time.”

Because of that, the roof collapsed in one unit and is sagging in others.

While the fire was knocked down relatively quickly, Grant says KFR stayed on the scene for a couple of hours to help guests and residents move out of the building.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Brentwood Bay, BC, Canada – Space heater fire contained to single room thanks to fire sprinkler system at senior housing center

A long-term care home in Brentwood Bay was damaged by a fire Monday night.

The Central Sannich Fire Department received the call at 9:30 p.m. for a structure fire. Additional crews from North Saanich and Sidney were called in to assist.

The fire was contained to one room thanks to the sprinkler system but the water did cause damage to the rest of the care home.

“The immediate challenges with this fire were it’s a multi-unit building and with the occupants that are in there are not very mobile. So our priority was to make sure they were safe and out of harm’s way and to also stop the flow of water and clear the building of smoke,” said Chris Vrabel, Central Saanich Fire chief.

Brentwood House provides care for dementia patients and is temporarily closed while the damage is dealt with, displacing 17 patients.

Residents were taken to a nearby facility and family members were contacted. Island Health found temporary homes for those in need. 

The cause of the fire was determined to be a space heater.

There is no word to when the care home will re-open.