Tag Archives: California

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Palo Alto, CA – Restaurant fire controlled with help from sprinkler system

A restaurant fire in Palo Alto led to street closures in downtown last Monday afternoon.  Crews responded to multiple reports from passersby of a structure fire at Three Seasons restaurant at 518 Bryant St. shortly before 2:30 p.m., when smoke and flames were visible from the two-story building, according to emergency-radio dispatches. When firefighters arrived, a restaurant manager told them the restaurant was empty and they made their way inside, according to dispatch radio.

Plumes of smoke were coming from the roof. Palo Alto Fire Battalion Chief Bobby Davis said the fire started in the kitchen and spread over the stove and other equipment. Flames in the kitchen went up the flue to the roof. Two of three vents burned up, he said. The blaze was extinguished about 20 minutes later. No one was injured and no other buildings were damaged. There was some smoke and water damage where the sprinkler system turned on, Davis said.

The cause of the fire was not immediately apparent, and fire officials are still doing a formal investigation, he said. Police had blocked off University and Hamilton avenues between Bryant and Ramona streets until about 4 p.m., the agency said on Twitter.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Union City, CA – New Year’s Day restaurant fire extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Employees and patrons evacuated a popular Filipino restaurant in Union City on New Year’s Day, and no injuries were reported after a water-heater fire broke out, according to the Alameda County Fire Department. Crews responding Monday at 4:33 p.m. to Gerry’s Grill, at 31005 Courthouse Drive, where the eatery’s sprinkler system extinguished the blaze, isolated the water flow to prevent flooding throughout the restaurant, the agency said. The fire was contained to the area around the water heater in the rear of the building, the department said, adding that although the fire extended to a wall, it did not spread inside the wall.

“As a result of the quick actions of firefighters to prevent further water damage and a functioning sprinkler system, Gerry’s Grill sustained minor damage,” fire officials said. There were no reports of injuries to firefighters, restaurant employees or guests, but Gerry’s was temporarily closed. In addition to the Union City locale,Gerry’s, which serves traditional Filipino dishes, has locations in Artesia, Hawaii and Manila, Philippines. No cost estimate for the fire damages was available.

Fire / Police Station, Government/Military

Santa Maria, CA – Sprinkler system halts blaze after man sets fire to police department Christmas tree

A 23-year-old Guadalupe man was arrested when he allegedly set a Santa Maria Police Department Christmas tree on fire in their own lobby.

Santa Maria police say Steven Minami, 23, contacted police to report he was paranoid and believed someone had hacked into his computer.

The Santa Maria Police Department provided the following narrative on what happened next:

When Officers did not respond as quickly as Minami wanted, he grabbed a Department decorated Christmas tree and placed it on top of some chairs. Minami then lit the tree on fire, which caused the building’s fire protection sprinkler system to activate.

The emergency sprinkler system performed properly and quickly extinguished the fire; however, a large amount of smoke filled the front of the building. Minami was immediately located in front of the Department and arrested.

A part of the police department’s interior walls and flooring received water and smoke damage.

Minami was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on charges of felony arson, vandalism, and public intoxication. His bail was set at $250,000.

Apartment Building, Residential

Palo Alto, CA – Sprinkler system extinguishes kitchen fire at 88 unit affordable housing complex

Seven residents were displaced by a kitchen fire at the Opportunity Center in Palo Alto on Saturday evening that resulted in significant water damage, a fire official said.  Crews responded to the 88-unit affordable housing complex, located at 33 Encina Ave., around 5:30 p.m. where a fire was reported on a second-floor unit, Deputy Fire Chief Catherine Capriles said.  Sprinkler heads extinguished the fire by the time crews were at the scene and residents had already evacuated, she said.  The fire was caused by unattended cooking oil on a hot plate, according to Capriles.  Residents in the involved unit and others below were displaced by the blaze, which left a significant amount of water damage, she said. The American Red Cross was called to assist seven people.  The fire left an estimated $50,000 to $60,000 in damage, Capriles said. No injuries were reported.

Other Business

Camarillo, CA – Sprinklers assist firefighters in controlling fire at electrical parts supplier

A Camarillo business is recovering after a brief fire Friday night. According to Engineer Steve Swindle with the Ventura County Fire Department, the blaze was reported Nov. 17 at electronic parts supplier Advanced Motion Controls, 3805 Calle Tecate. Firefighters arrived around 6:45 p.m. and the fire was out in 30 minutes, Swindle said. Dan Mayer, vice president of finance at AMC, said the fire’s cause is under investigation but it looks to be an electrical fire that damaged manufacturing equipment. Swindle said the department helped remove smoke and clean up water from the sprinkler system as well. “They had already knocked the fire down pretty quickly, but it was a large concrete building full of smoke,” Swindle said.

Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic

Temecula, CA – Overnight fire at women’s health clinic extinguished by sprinkler system

A Temecula women’s clinic was damaged in a possible arson fire Wednesday, but no one was injured. Firefighters were called out just after 1 a.m. to a reported fire inside FPA Women’s Health at 41715 Winchester Road after an alarm company was alerted, according to officials. The fire was extinguished by the time crews arrived on scene, apparently by a sprinkler system at the location, officials said.

Residential, Single Family Home

Fontana, CA – Arson fire at home extinguished by residential sprinkler system

Santa Barbara City police are assisting Fontana cops in searching for Santa Barbara fisher Matthew Rice, who is accused of breaking into the home of his ex-wife, attempting to shoot her twice, breaking her arm in an ensuing struggle, and then attempting to set three homes on fire: those belonging to his former parents-in-law, his ex-wife, and his ex-wife’s boyfriend. Of the arson fires Rice allegedly started, a home sprinkler system put one out and firefighters doused the other two.

Police officers were called to the city’s waterfront Thursday morning to check out reports that Rice might be on board his boat, the St. Peter. The police said they did not find Rice and could not confirm he was, in fact, there. They did see a car that appeared to match the description of the car Rice allegedly stole from his ex-wife, but they could not confirm Rice was in it. The driver of that car took off before police could intervene and went onto the freeway. Santa Barbara police did not give pursuit. Likewise, police could not confirm reports that Rice had attempted to sink his boat. Rice, 37, has held a harbor permit since 2014.

According to Fontana police, Rice broke into the home of his ex-wife Tuesday night. There, he tried two times to shoot her with an old rusty shotgun, which reportedly malfunctioned. Her new boyfriend was present, and a fight broke out.

Rice’s only prior contact with city police took place in June 2016, when he was arrested and booked into County Jail for public intoxication

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Escondido, CA – Kitchen fire at restaurant suppressed by sprinkler system

A kitchen fire damaged a Mexican eatery in Escondido, but a sprinkler system helped suppress the flames before firefighters arrived and made quick work of it, a battalion chief said Thursday. The blaze was reported just after 10 p.m. Wednesday at Paulita’s Restaurant at 636 N. Broadway, Escondido Battalion Chief Art Holcomb said. The first crews on scene found smoke coming from a large vent pipe on the roof of the small diner that was already closed for the night. “The units on scene made access to the building and located a small fire that was being held in check by a commercial kitchen suppression system,” Holcomb said. “Aggressive action by the firefighters contained and controlled the fire in approximately 20 minutes.” The cause of the fire was still under investigation Thursday, but it likely started near a stove in the kitchen, Holcomb said. Firefighters reported moderate damage to the kitchen and minor to moderate smoke damage throughout the rest of the restaurant. No injuries were reported and there was no immediate estimate of the cost of damages

Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business

Temecula, CA – Electrical fire at dance studio controlled by sprinkler system

A Temecula dance studio was damaged today when an electrical fire triggered an automated sprinkler system that poured water onto the blaze and everywhere else.  The fire was reported at 4:30 a.m. in the 28000 block of Felix Valdez Avenue, just off of Rancho California Road, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.

An agency spokeswoman said six engine crews and a truck company, numbering 25 personnel, arrived within minutes and encountered smoke on the second floor of the two-story structure and went into attack mode.  On entering the 10,000-square-foot building, crews realized the fire-extinguishing sprinkler system was engaged, causing water to flow from the upper floor to the ground floor, according to the fire department.

The system was eventually shut off but caused an estimated $20,000 in damage, departmental officials said.  The sprinklers were credited with dousing the flames, which broke out as a result of faulty wiring in a bathroom fan, according to the agency.

Apartment Building, Residential

Davis, CA – Sprinkler system controls fire at apartment complex; No injuries reported

Ten people were displaced from their apartments Saturday after a small fire activated the complex’s sprinkler system, according to the Davis Fire Department.  Division Chief Joe Tenney said crews responded at 10:30 a.m. to the Sharps & Flats Apartments, 1660 Drew Circle, where a small fire had broken out on a desk in an upper-floor bedroom. The fire broke a nearby window, sending smoke and flames outside as firefighters arrived on scene.

A fire sprinkler in the apartment controlled the blaze, but it also caused water damage to that unit and two others, Tenney said. No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.  The Red Cross was summoned to assist those who were displaced by the incident.