Tag Archives: California

Other Business, Place of Worship

Sprinklers limit damage at church fire (Manhattan Beach, CA)

Fire sprinklers put out a fire that began in the storage room of a church the first week of June. Firefighters arrived at the scene to find some charred maintenance supplies in the closet, and investigators believe the fire was started by the large commercial vacuum cleaner that was stored close to some combustible items.

Manhattan Beach Fire Marshal Lou Petroni reported, “This would have been far more damaging if not for the sprinkler system extinguishing the fire. Fire sprinklers in homes and businesses are very effective in extinguishing fires in the early stages of burning.”

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Fire sprinklers prove worth in senior living facility (Casa de Vallejo, CA)

An unattended pot on a stove was to blame for the fire which caused the evacuation of a senior living facility in the early morning hours of June 5. The fire sprinklers activated and quickly suppressed the fire. No injuries were reported. ***Blog Editor’s Note – Please let us know what you think of the coverage by the Times-Herald and journalist Rachel Raskin-Zrihen, who focused on water damage rather than the lives and property saved by the automatic fire sprinkler system. ***

Apartment Building, Residential

Apartment saved thanks to fire sprinklers (Concord, CA)

Fire crews who responded to a mid-day apartment fire found it largely extinguished thanks to the unit’s fire sprinklers. The fire, which started in the apartment’s kitchen, was deemed under control within fifteen minutes, and no injuries were reported in connection with the fire. “Fire sprinklers saved lives and property today.” the Contra Costa Fire Protection’s Twitter feed stated.

Apartment Building, Residential

Apartment electrical fire contained by sprinkler system (Novato, CA)

A stacked washer-drier unit in an exterior closet caught fire next to a downtown Novato apartment, and the only loss was a few clothes. Firefighters responded to the call and found that a sprinkler system had done most of the work on the electrical fire, which took place on the patio of an apartment. Battalion Chief Jeff Veliquette said the fire remained contained to the exterior closet. “The sprinklers knocked it down,” Veliquette said. “The take-home message is that sprinklers did their job and held it off long enough for us to do our job. Otherwise this could have easily spread into the apartment.”