Tag Archives: California

Other Business, Place of Worship

Sacramento, CA – Fire sprinklers keep arson church fire from spreading

Two Sacramento-area churches were damaged late Tuesday and early Wednesday morning in fires believed to be started by an arsonist.

The first fire was reported at 11:56 p.m. at St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church at 14th Avenue.

Several windows were kicked in at the church and fire was set to an administrative office and library.

“It’s wasteful, that’s what it is. Somebody that don’t got nothing to do and the devil is busy nowadays. We was fortunate it’s just this amount of damage,” said church trustee and head of maintenance Richard Heidelberg.

A fire sprinkler system kept the blaze from spreading but caused major water damage in several offices.

“We have a lot of water damage and just two places with smoke damage, but all of our offices in our administration wing, all those are flooded out and the carpet and everything and down the hallway into finance and then it started into the church but it stopped,” said Heidelberg.

One firefighter suffered moderate burns during the initial fire attack and was taken to the hospital for treatment.

As firefighters were battling the blaze, an arson investigator en route to the call spotted a suspicious person and ultimately made an arrest.

They believe that suspect is responsible for both church fires.

While it will take major restoration and construction to get the Central International Church open, Heidelberg is confident his Baptist church will be back in service on Sunday.

“A lot of work to do, a lot of work to do. We’ll be back running for Sunday, that’s a guarantee,” he said.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Oceanside, CA – Fire sprinklers put out cooking fire at senior living center

A cooking fire at an Oceanside senior community displaced eight to 10 residents, Saturday night.

The residents were displaced because of water damage from the sprinklers that put the fire out, officials said.

The fire broke out at the three-story Lil’ Jackson Senior Community on Lake Boulevard around 7:20 p.m.

A cooking fire in a unit on the second floor triggered the sprinkler system and put out the flames before they spread.

Crews shut off the sprinklers when they arrived, but it was too late. Water pooling in the unit began seeping through the ceiling into the units on the ground-floor.

The Red Cross was called in to help the eight to 10 residents who were displaced by the fire and water damage.

One resident was evaluated by paramedics, but didn’t need to go to the hospital, officials said.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business, Uncategorized

Los Angeles, CA – Fire at large commercial building contained by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

A fire that burned for 49 minutes Saturday morning damaged a large commercial building in downtown Los Angeles before being extinguished by firefighters.

Crews responded to the one-story building with smoke showing in the 300 block of East 18th Street near Maple Avenue, just south of the eastbound Santa Monica (10) Freeway at 2:44 a.m., according to Nicholas Prange of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The building contained clothing and boxes in packrat-like conditions, Prange said.

“Fire attack searched for the seat of the fire in heavy smoke conditions in the large building, eventually finding it and extinguishing it, with help from the ventilation group on the roof to help with smoke conditions,” Prange said.

Fire sprinklers inside the building kept the flames from spreading, he said.

A total of 55 firefighters worked to extinguish the fire and knock down was declared at 3:33 a.m., Prange said.

No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire was under investigation.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Sacramento, CA – Fire at strip mall contained by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

Firefighters say no one was hurt in a two-alarm fire at a south Sacramento strip mall on Friday morning.

The scene was along the 5800 block of Stockton Boulevard.

According to the Sacramento Fire Department, the fire was first reported a little after 7 a.m. A second-alarm was called.

Firefighters extinguished the flames within the hour. They credit the building’s sprinkler system with helping contain the flames to one unit.

Traffic in the area was blocked due to the fire response.

Exactly what caused the fire is still under investigation.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Rocklin, CA – Warehouse fire kept in check by sprinkler system

A Rocklin warehouse was damaged in a fire early Thursday morning, authorities say.

According to the Rocklin Fire Department, firefighters responded to the Citrus Avenue building around 3 a.m. to investigate a water flow alarm. They then spotted smoke coming from the top of a roll-up door.

Firefighters had to force their way inside. Smoke was found down to the floor.

A sprinkler system managed to hold the fire until crews arrived, but firefighters say the building did suffer moderate damage – including a partial floor collapse.

Aside from that, it appears most of the damage is smoke related.

Exactly what caused the fire is unclear at this point.

Uncategorized

Brentwood, CA – Residential fire contained to garage by fire sprinklers

A residential fire Saturday afternoon in Brentwood was contained to a garage and had largely been extinguished by a sprinkler system by the time firefighters gained access, East Contra Costa Fire Protection District officials said.

The fire, reported about 3:30 p.m. at 2719 Reddington Way, activated two sprinkler heads in the garage.

The fire caused minor damage to the contents, while the sprinklers caused moderate water damage to the garage, officials said.

The cause of the fire is undetermined.

Other Business, Recycling / Waste Facility

Fontana, CA – Sprinkler system helps contain large trash fire; No injuries reported

Large piles of trash inside a Burrtec trash facility in Fontana caught fire Wednesday, Jan. 1, and damaged the sprinkler system inside the building before firefighters extinguished it, fire officials say.

The sprinkler system helped contain the fire when it started, then San Bernardino County Fire Department firefighters arrived and began using heavy equipment to spread out the trash so the fire would stop, said fire Capt. Jeremy Kerns.

The fire started just after 6 p.m. in the West Valley Transfer Station on the 13000 block of Napa Street and was out within 45 minutes, Kerns said.

The only damage was to the sprinkler system, and no one was injured, he said.

Investigators are still determining the cause of the fire, he said.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Fresno, CA – Sprinkler system douses fire at senior apartment complex; No injuries reported

A stovetop fire in a senior apartment building in downtown Fresno displaced multiple people Thursday night, according to the Fresno Fire Department.

The fire began around 7 p.m. on the fourth floor of the Masten Towers on Broadway Plaza and Fresno Street, across from the Crest Theatre. The 11-story building houses low-income seniors and adults with mobility impairments.

No one was hurt in the fire.

The sprinkler system turned on and doused the flames, and firefighters were primarily working on salvaging the other apartments around it from water damage, according to Battalion Chief Thomas Cope.

Six to eight units were not in livable condition, and Cope believes only one person lived in each unit. Those people are being moved by management to other units in the building.

Several people self-evacuated after firefighters were called. The person who lived in the apartment where the fire started was not home at the time, Cope said.

Hospital/Care Facility, Other - Hospital/Medical

Emeryville, CA – Sprinkler system contains fire at commercial laboratory; No injuries reported

Employees of a lab were mixing chemicals Monday afternoon in Emeryville when things got too hot, Alameda County Fire Department officials said.

Firefighters responded at 2:55 p.m. to a commercial laboratory located on the 5800 block of Hollis Street in Emeryville where a fire was contained to a fume hood, fire spokesperson Brian Centoni said.

A hazardous materials team was also called. Centoni said no one was injured and no one had to shelter in place.

A building was evacuated and sprinklers went off.

The hazmat team was evaluating some runoff as of late Monday afternoon.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Long Beach, CA – Sprinkler system helps take down fire at senior housing complex

A small fire inside a second floor unit of a senior affordable housing complex sent one person to a local hospital for smoke inhalation, Tuesday night.

Long Beach firefighters are working to mop up the mess and minimize water damage after the sprinkler system went off and doused the fire, fire department spokesman Brian Fisk said.

The fire was out by the time firefighters arrived, but there was a lot of smoke, Fisk said. The structure was not on fire, only contents inside one unit were, but Fisk did not have details on where exactly the fire was inside the unit.

The complex, on Long Beach Boulevard and 21st Street, has 49 affordable apartments for seniors, according to its website.