Tag Archives: California

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.

Department Store, Retail

Riverside, CA – Fire at Target contained by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

The Target store on Arlington Avenue in Riverside was evacuated Sunday afternoon after a small fire broke out and set off sprinklers inside the outlet, firefighters said.

There were no injuries from the incident, reported just before 4 p.m., Riverside City Fire Department Battalion Chief Jeff DeLaurie said. All employees and customers had left the store, at 3333 Arlington Ave., before firefighters arrived, he said.

The fire was a small one, confined to the ceiling area above the electronics section of the store, a release from the department said later Sunday evening.  Firefighters shut down the sprinklers and helped salvage merchandise and remove water from the store, the release said.

Shortly after 4 p.m. customers and employees were outside the Target, and the only customer cars in the parking lot were occupied by those who had lingered to watch the action, or had just pulled up after the evacuation was ordered.

No smoke was visible from the outside.

Firefighters said they had handed the remainder of the incident over to Target store management. There was no word available Sunday evening when the store might re-open.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Ramona, CA – Sprinkler system quickly extinguishes fire at Boys & Girls Club; No injuries reported

A small fire that broke out in the kitchen of the Conrad Prebys Ramona Branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego on Friday, Oct. 25, was quickly extinguished by the facility’s sprinkler system.

Ramona Fire Capt. John Sena said the fire started at about 5 p.m. when a small box was set on top of the kitchen’s stovetop. The box may have hit the stove’s knob and inadvertently turned on the burner, igniting the box, Sena said.

“Upon arrival at the scene we determined the fire was extinguished by the sprinkler system, but our dispatch was not delayed,” he said.

He said several firefighting units, including firefighters from Ramona, Deer Springs and Cal Fire, were able to respond quickly because they were nearby fighting the Sawday fire. That fire started at 9:20 near Sawday Truck Trail and Littlepage Road, but was 100 percent contained by 7 p.m. on Oct. 25. Sena said crews had just been released from the Sawday fire and were returning to their stations when they were dispatched to the Ramona Boys & Girls Club at 622 E St. in Collier Park.

Sena said there was an undetermined number of occupants inside the Boys & Girls Club but all of them were safely outside the building when firefighters arrived and there were no injuries reported. He said the children were placed away from the building and accounted for. As the parents arrived to pick them up, club Manager Simone McCune released them to their parents, he added.

The crews spent 45 minutes removing one inch of water left over from the sprinkler system.

Through a thermal imaging device, Sena said firefighters determined there was no heat in the walls and that the fire was contained to the stovetop and box, which was removed.

“The fire marshal had the building officially closed until the manager contacted the sprinkler company to replace the sprinkler head,” Sena said. “The Boys & Girls Club was closed on the weekend. By Monday, they had a company out to mitigate the water issue and replace the sprinkler head and then they were allowed to open back up.”

He said the Boys & Girls Club opened by mid-afternoon Monday. Club activities had resumed after the Monday opening, with some of the activities taking place outdoors as weather permitted.

However, flooding of the facility, along with high winds and power outages, contributed to the cancellation of the club’s Haunted House scheduled for Halloween evening, Oct. 31.

“We had flooding in our facility and are unable to operate inside or set anything up for the event,” said McCune on Facebook the day before Halloween. “We considered a last-minute outdoor event, but with the high winds and power outages we were unable to secure vendors and inflatables. We apologize for the late notice. We were putting in our best effort to try and salvage the event (and the money spent), but couldn’t prolong the possibility of cancellation any longer. Please spread the word, and again, we sincerely apologize.”

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Lompoc, CA – Fire held in check thanks to sprinkler system after break in at dentist office

Lompoc Fire crews responded to a fire at a local business Monday morning.

At around 6:11 a.m., Lompoc Fire crews responded to a report of smoke coming from a commercial strip mall at 1133 North H Street. 

Fire units arrived on scene to find smoke coming from within the building along with the fire sprinkler system active. 

Fire officials located the fire in the office area of a dental office. 

The fire was held in check by the sprinkler system. 

The fire sprinkler system was shut down and the fire overhauled. 

The business sustained extensive damage from the fire along with water damage from the sprinkler system. 

Upon arrival, fire personnel noticed that the property had been broken into. 

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Officials say they are currently classifying this incident as arson. 

Other - Retail, Retail

San Luis Obispo, CA – Fire sprinklers contain fire at PetSmart to one room; No injuries reported

Firefighters responded to a fire at PetSmart off Froom Ranch Way in San Luis Obispo just after 5:10 a.m. Sunday.

Fire officials say an employee of PetSmart called the department after getting to work and seeing flames. No other occupants were inside the building at the time of the fire.

The blaze was contained to one room, but the building was filled with smoke, and water from the sprinkler system.

Firefighters were able to knock down the fire within 10 minutes without injuries.

Officials with San Luis Obispo City Fire say they were no pet casualties. However, some of the store’s product was damaged.

Firefighters were able to ventilate the building, but there will be significant clean up.

PetSmart employees say they’re hoping to have the store open by 5 p.m. Sunday.

Officials say this could have been an electrical fire, but the fire marshal is still investigating.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

San Pablo, CA – Sprinkler system puts out fire at nursing home; No injuries reported

A fire at a San Pablo nursing home spurred the evacuation of three dozen patients Friday afternoon, authorities said.

Firefighters were called to Vale Healthcare Center at 13484 San Pablo Ave. about 2:10 p.m. for a report of a fire, according to Contra Costa County Fire Protection District spokesman Steve Hill.

Hill said the fire ignited inside a room on one of the facility’s four wings, and while the flames were quickly snuffed out by a sprinkler system, 36 patients still had to be evacuated. The evacuated patients were ultimately re-accommodated elsewhere in the facility.

No injuries were reported, but there was smoke and water damage to a handful of rooms, according to Hill.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The fire snarled traffic in the surrounding area, but authorities said things were starting to return to normal by about 4 p.m.

Apartment Building, Residential

Healdsburg, CA – Single fire sprinkler contains apartment fire caused by toaster

An apparently faulty toaster sparked a Healdsburg kitchen fire late Monday afternoon and displaced three people, Healdsburg fire officials said.

The Grove Street apartment fire at the north end of town was reported about 5:30 p.m. and led to the evacuation of the nine‑unit building at the Oak Grove Apartment complex.

Arriving firefighters went into a ground‑floor apartment and found it full of smoke, but thermal imaging equipment helped them spot two small dogs, which were carried to safety, Chief Jason Boaz said.

When the apartment residents arrived, after getting word of a fire at their home, they found the dogs out and safe but told firefighters there still were two parakeets inside. Firefighters retrieved the birds and all of the animals were unharmed, said Linda Collister, city fire marshal.

Firefighters doused the flames, ventilated the apartment and moved personal property out to reduce smoke damage.

Damage was kept to the kitchen and estimated at $50,000, said Boaz, who credited the room’s single overhead sprinkler with making the initial difference between a small fire and what could have been a serious apartment building fire. Residents in the building’s other apartments were allowed home once firefighters were done.

A preliminary investigation pointed to the toaster, which was not in use at the time of the fire, as the likely cause.

Aiding Healdsburg firefighters were Cal Fire, Sonoma County, Geyserville and Cloverdale fire agencies.

Residential, Single Family Home

Livermore, CA – Fire sprinkler system helps contain residential fire to bedroom; No injuries reported

 Firefighters quickly extinguished a residential fire in Livermore early Wednesday morning. The blaze was reported in the 100 block of E. Stanley Boulevard at 2:13 a.m.

Smoke was visible from the back of the residence, according to Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department officials.

“With the help of the sprinkler system, LPFD personnel were able to quickly contain the fire to the second story bedroom and exterior siding,” Deputy Chief Aaron Lacey told Patch.

Lacey said the home sustained “major water damage.”

“Large fencing, a narrow driveway, and a distant local fire hydrant made initial operations and access into the property difficult,” Lacey said.

No one was injured during the blaze. The cause of the fire is under investigation.