Tag Archives: California

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Petaluma, CA – Sprinkler system keeps dryer fire from spreading at adult memory care home

Nearly 60 residents of an adult care home in Petaluma were evacuated Sunday after a fire ignited in a laundry room.

Petaluma Fire responded to the call at 3:54 p.m. and found smoke pouring out of a roof vent at the Adobe House, a memory care facility at 750 N. McDowell Blvd.

The fire was sparked by a dryer in the facility, but the sprinkler system stopped it from spreading, Petaluma Fire said in a statement.

Fire crews gained control of the small blaze by 4:11 p.m. and assisted in smoke removal and water cleanup before residents were allowed back in the home, Petaluma Fire said.

There were no reported injuries. The fire caused an estimated $30,000 in damage, excluding cleanup costs.

Other - Retail, Retail

Gilroy, CA – Sprinkler system helps protect Salvation Army store from fire set by thieves

A 2-alarm fire at a Salvation Army facility in Gilroy destroyed $5,000 worth of donations.

Monday’s 2 a.m. blaze is being investigated as suspicious by the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office and Gilroy Police Department.

Flames spread through a trailer filled with donations.

Workers at the Salvation Army said the trailer has been broken into several times before at night, and the thieves use candles to light their way through darkness.

Workers suspect a thief’s candle sparked the fire.

The Gilroy Fire Department wrote on Facebook, “Crews responded to the Salvation Army store on Camino Arroyo, where they found a 53 (foot) trailer on fire up against the loading dock. The fire extended into the building but was held in check by the sprinkler system.”

Residential, Single Family Home

Antioch, CA – Fire sprinkler in garage prevents helps prevent spread of house fire

Fire investigators were seeking a person or people suspected of setting several fires Sunday night and Monday morning, including one that burned a church in Antioch, officials said. Fire crews also knocked down a fire that started in a garbage can outside a Brentwood house and spread to the outside walls and attic of the home, Battalion Chief Ross Macumber, a spokesman for the East Contra Costa Fire District, said.  A neighbor heard the sound of flames and alerted the family of four living on Emory Oak Court, Martinez said. They were out of the home when crews arrived after being dispatched at 7:05 a.m. The blaze caused significant destruction to an outside wall, but crews kept the damages inside the house to a minimum, Macumber said. A fire sprinkler in the garage went off and also prevented it from being worse, he said.

The first of the suspicious fires began just before 5:40 p.m. in Antioch. “We’re trying to figure out whether they’re all related,” said Robert Marshall, a fire marshal for the Contra Costa Fire District. “We get a number of serial-related arsonists, but these are different, because nothing that is predictable is going on with them. They’re all different. That’s what makes it so difficult.”

The church fire began around 6:15 a.m. in a shed on the church grounds, Martinez said. It spread to the attic of a building used on the grounds for congregations of other churches to gather, she said. The fire did not damage the main sanctuary, she said.

Crews stopped the fire from spreading by 6:30 a.m. and had it out by 6:42 a.m, Martinez said. “They could be back in there as soon as (Monday) night,” he said.  The battalion chief’s report stated that a hot coal in a plastic garbage can was possibly the cause of the fire.

The morning activity came after crews put out several other fires before midnight, including one that damaged the outside of another home. That fire, at Somerset Place off Hillcrest Avenue in Antioch, started just before 8 p.m. and ran along a fence after starting in the vegetation and up to the house, Martinez said.

Crews earlier had been dispatched to two small roadside fires along East Tregallis Road and Holly Court in Antioch, Fernandez said. Those fires started around 11:35 p.m., about a half-hour after crews were dispatched to Madill Street in Antioch, then told to go to Alpha Way. They put out two small fires, Martinez said, one of which burned near the fences of two houses.

A vegetation fire also burned on Biglow Drive at Gary Avenue around 9:10 p.m., about 3½ hours after crews were called to the first blaze, only two blocks away. That fire happened on Parsons Lane at Lela Way, and, like the ones on Madill Street and Alpha Way, started near a creek, Martinez said.

Investigators don’t have any suspects, and appealed to the public for help. “Other than the location, there’s nothing really that ties these together,” Marshall said. “If anybody sees anything, please let us know. It can be anything at all, anything out of the ordinary.”  Those with information to help can call the 866-502-7766 and leave an anonymous message.

Other - Retail, Retail

Palo Alto, CA – Suspicious fire at furniture store minimized with help from sprinkler system

Palo Alto firefighters doused what appeared to be a “suspicious” fire at the rear of a furniture store to the Town & Country Village this morning, fire officials said.  Crews reported to the blaze at the rear of Cisco Home at 855 El Camino Real shortly after 7 a.m., Deputy Fire Chief Catherine Capriles said.

The fire “appears to be suspicious,” according to Battalion Chief Chris Woodard. An initial report indicated the fire was inside CVS Pharmacy, which is adjacent to Cisco, but Capriles later clarified that it was inside a storage room at the furniture store.

Crews had to force their way inside the store that was locked up at the time, and discovered the blaze in a storage room.  A sprinkler system was activated once they arrived and extinguished the fire, Capriles said.  The incident was upgraded to a second-alarm response that brought additional units to the scene, but crews later determined the fire was under control.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.  Access to the shopping center was limited while crews work to extinguish the fire, police said in a tweet.  At about 8:40 a.m., crews were cleaning up in the area where traffic was “no longer significantly impacted,” police tweeted.  Crews left the scene around 9 a.m., Capriles said.

Bob Wenzlau was in the area around 9 a.m. and said there appeared to be no apparent structural damage from the fire, which appeared to damage property at Cisco Home.  A damage estimate for the fire wasn’t available this morning.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Salinas, CA – Sprinkler system contains fire at cardboard box manufacturing facility

A fire in a processing machine at the WestRock facility on Merrill Street has been extinguished with no injuries, fire officials said.

The plant makes cardboard boxes for the agriculture industry, said Salinas Deputy Fire Chief Brett Loomis.

Flames were contained to the interior of the building, but smoke was visible from the outside. The building’s sprinkler system held the fire in check until firefighters arrived, and they were able to fully bring the fire under control in about 45 minutes.

Fire officials said the blaze began sometime after 1 p.m.

Twenty six firefighters and three chiefs were on the scene.

Investigators have not determined a cause, but Salinas Battalion Chief Scott Myhre, at the scene, said it was likely caused by heat from a machine and scrap paper.

Myhre said there has been at least one other fire at the plant within the past year.

Government Office, Government/Military

Riverside, CA – Arson fire at social services building contained by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A chair and other items in the Riverside County Department of Social Services building in Riverside’s Arlington neighborhood were set on fire Saturday night, authorities say.

Nobody was hurt in the fire, which set off alarms at 7:37 p.m. at the 21,000-square-foot building in the 3900 block of Reynolds Road, behind the Lowe’s on Magnolia Avenue, according to a Riverside Fire Department news release. The statement did not say anyone had been arrested.

Arriving firefighters found that the front door had been forced open and smoke was coming out, the news release said. When they went inside, they found “evidence of vandalism.”

The fire set off the building’s automatic sprinkler system and it was contained to an “office area,” the news release said. That’s where firefighters found a chair and other items that had been ignited. Firefighters shut off the sprinkler system and removed “large amounts of water from the building,” the news release said.

The Fire Department’s Arson Task Force is investigating.

Place of Worship

Modesto, CA – Sprinkler system keeps arson fire at church from spreading

Treading carefully through standing water in the basement of Christ Unity Baptist Church on Tuesday afternoon, the Rev. Nathaniel Green and his wife, Dorothea, were pained by more than just the damage done in an act of arson and vandalism. They struggled to understand why.

The man suspected of breaking into the church on the 1300 block of L Street, 57-year-old Theodore Garcia, is someone they’ve cared for and employed, Nathaniel Green said. “He’s really worked for us,” the pastor said at his office desk. Behind him, a table was covered in broken glass from the window behind it. “He loves me and my wife, he loves this church.”

Green said he understands Garcia has battled drug addictions, and the pastor indicated he regrets that wages paid to him may have fed that addiction. He said he hasn’t spoken to Garcia but suspects that the man was despondent and suicidal. Garcia had knives with him, and bloody handprints (church staff believe he cut his hands breaking windows) were on at least two Bibles near the church altar.

“Isn’t it something, the power of what drugs can do?” Dorothea Green said as she surveyed fire damage, pried-open doors and other vandalism done throughout the basement. A couch was set on fire, as was clothing to be donated to the homeless. A fire in the dining hall damaged a table and carpeting. In all, the Greens believe five separate blazes were set. And the sprinkler system caused more damage, leaving water at least an inch deep throughout basement rooms and corridors.

The Rev. Green said the damage means the church’s homeless breakfasts and food giveaways will have to be put on hold. “I’m hoping we’ll be able to hold services,” he said. “We do have a few people with severe asthma,” he added, noting that smoke can be smelled throughout the church. The church also hosts several groups – including Narcotics Anonymous, children of alcoholics and families of inmates – that regularly meet in rooms, he said, that also will be temporarily affected.

The vandalism at the church came to light about 11:20 p.m. Monday when a sergeant and officer with Rank Investigation & Protection responded to a report of a subject breaking windows there. They encountered an uncooperative man who ran back inside the church and started a fire, according to a post on Rank’s Facebook page.

The Modesto Police and Fire departments were on scene within minutes, Rank reported. A Modesto Fire Department incident summary says light smoke was coming from the first and second floors of the southeast corner of the church. Crews determined a fire sprinkler was keeping the fires – in the basement level – from spreading. Police found the man on his hands and knees near the church altar, said Lt. Tom Ciccarelli. He was armed with knives and would not comply with commands from officers.

The department’s Critical Incident Team was activated to negotiate with the man, the lieutenant said. Talking with him was unsuccessful, Ciccarelli said. A bean bag round was fired at him, but had no effect.

At some point, the man – later identified Garcia – got up. When the knives were on the floor and he moved far enough away from them, officers were able to take him into custody, Ciccarelli said. Officers at the scene were unable to ascertain a motive, he said. The incident was concluded close to 2 a.m.

Garcia was medically cleared at the scene and booked into the Stanislaus County Jail. He is being held on charges of arson and vandalism, with bail at $200,000. The Rev. Green was dealing with his insurer Tuesday afternoon, but no financial estimate of church damage was immediately available.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Santa Clara, CA – Fire at trade show exhibit hall contained by sprinkler system; No injuries

A fire yesterday at the Flash Memory Summit in Santa Clara, Calif., has forced the closure of the show floor. The fire started about Tuesday morning in the Santa Clara convention center.

An overhead sprinkler contained the blaze.

According to a worker for the show floor infrastructure provider, the sprinkler ran for about an hour before workers discovered the mishap. The booth underneath the blaze was heavily damaged, and there was water damage to some of the surrounding booths.

No one was injured.

According to the worker, the cause of the fire was an overloaded power strip that booth workers left under a pile of paper brochures. The exhibits were scheduled to open at 4pm on Aug. 9 but remained closed. They are now scheduled to open at noon on Aug. 10.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Centralia, CA – Forklift fire in warehouse contained with help from sprinkler system; No damage reported to structure

The Riverside Fire Authority responded last Monday to the north end of Centralia after a forklift caught on fire, threatening the contents of a warehouse. Firefighters responded at 2:50 p.m. to the 2000 block of Industrial Drive to a report of a forklift on fire at the Wayne Dalton warehouse, a manufacturer of wood garage doors. Crews arrived to find black smoke coming from the bay doors of the warehouse. A sprinkler system activated and helped contain the fire to the forklift. Fire crews contained the remainder of the fire, preventing it from spreading to the products in the warehouse. The forklift sustained heavy damage, but no damage to the warehouse structure was reported.

Apartment Building, Residential

Huntington Beach, CA – Sprinkler system prevents early morning apartment fire from spreading

A portable air-conditioning unit sparked a fire in a Huntington Beach apartment Wednesday morning, according to fire officials. Huntington Beach firefighters responded at 5:48 a.m. to a fire at the Huntington Breeze Apartments at 16171 Springdale St. The first crews on the scene reported light smoke coming from the third story. City firefighters knocked down the blaze with help from the Orange County Fire Authority and the Fountain Valley Fire Department, said Capt. Steven Teasdale. A resident of the building was evaluated by paramedics but was not taken to a hospital. The building’s sprinkler system helped prevent the fire from spreading to additional units, Teasdale said.