Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant Victoria, BC, Canada – Fire at Indian restaurant contained by sprinkler system June 9, 2016 viking210 Patrons of Saaz will be able to enjoy the restaurant’s south Indian cuisine again, perhaps as early as June 30, an owner said Wednesday. Co-owner Raj Gupta said building assessors and insurance adjusters are only beginning to look over the fire and water damage, estimated at $150,000. But Gupta said Saaz, at 535 Yates St., near Wharf Street, could reopen as early as the end of the month if damage is not too extensive and repairs and renovations can be completed. Nobody was injured. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Gupta said he has received a number of calls from people sad to the hear news of the fire. “Hopefully, everything will come back,” he said. The fire broke out just after 11 p.m. Monday, after the restaurant, which opened in 2013 and specializes in the cuisine of southern India, had closed for the night. Price’s Alarms alerted firefighters to an alarm on the premises, while someone called 911 reporting possible flames. Victoria police also advised the fire department of flames seen from the rear of Bastion Square. Firefighters arrived and broke down a nearby door, smashing out the glass. The restaurant’s sprinklers had activated and kept the fire contained, said Battalion Chief Dave Bicknell, and firefighters were able to extinguish the flames within minutes. The fire started in an area used as a busing station and for storage, he said. According to the Victoria Fire Department, the fire began in an area used as a busing station and for storage. A few hours after the Saaz blaze, a small fire was reported at 701 Esquimalt Rd., across from Dalton Street in Vic West. Victoria firefighters responded about 3 a.m. to the report of smoke in the building. Upon arrival, crews found light smoke in the basement and the ground floor of the apartment building. It turned out a chair in a common area of the basement had been smouldering. The apartment’s manager discovered it and moved it to the rear parking lot. Fire crews removed the smoke with fans. Residents were able to return to their suites once the smoke had cleared.
Retail, Shopping Mall Halifax, NS, Canada – Shopping center fire extinguished by sprinkler system; Fire spread limited June 4, 2016 viking210 Firefighters responded to a store fire in the Halifax Shopping Centre last Tuesday evening. Ben Moss Jewellers suffered both smoke and fire damage, as well as problems due to the water from the sprinklers the blaze set off. “We received a call about an alarm at the centre at 10 p.m. and upon our arrival, we realize a sprinkler was flowing,” said Halifax Fire spokesman Scott Blackburn. “We made our way in and we observed the issues at the jewelry store. The fire had been extinguished from the sprinkler.” There were 14 responders and they forced their entry into the store to clear the area and do ventilation work. There were no injuries. Firefighters believe they may have a cause for the fire. “There are renovations going on. There was welding work going on above and we believe sparks may have hit and ignited combustible material on the customer counter.” The Halifax Shopping Centre was open Wednesday, except for Ben Moss, which was slated to be shut down in the next few weeks due to poor financial performance.
Apartment Building, Residential Crossfield, AB, Canada – Possible arson fire at apartment complex put out with help from sprinkler system June 3, 2016 viking210 Airdrie RCMP believe a blaze at an apartment complex in southern Alberta on Tuesday may have been intentionally set. The fire broke out in the 1000 block of Railway Street in Crossfield, Alta. RCMP said the blaze was extinguished quickly, thanks to the building’s sprinkler system, Good Samaritans and members of the fire department. A third-floor apartment sustained minor damage, but RCMP said all residents in the building were able to get out safely and no one was injured. Anyone with information on this case is asked to call Airdrie RCMP at 403-945-7200 or contact Crime Stoppers. Crossfield is located at about 50 kilometres north of Calgary.
Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse Brampton, ON, Canada – Fire in 800,000 ft² Unilever warehouse extinguished by sprinkler system May 14, 2016 viking210 Sprinklers are being credited with averting a potentially major fire at a massive warehouse in Brampton Wednesday night. Flames broke out under some racking in the 800,000-square-foot Unilever building on Airport Road south of Steeles Avenue East around 10:30 p.m. Firefighters were called to the warehouse, where they had to force open a rear door closest to the fire. But the building’s sprinkler system had been trigged, and extinguished the blaze. Damage was limited to 40 skids out of potentially millions of dollars worth of product, which includes soap and mayonnaise, according to Platoon Chief Gord Fowler. “That type of fire is very difficult to fight,” Fowler noted, saying getting hose lines into a large, enclosed area like that is one of the many issues firefighters face in such a situation. Employees inside the building were evacuated and no injuries were reported. It’s a good news stories that highlights the effectiveness of sprinklers, Fowler said.
Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic Montreal, QC, Canada – Arson fire at medical clinic performing gender change surgeries is extinguished by sprinkler system May 9, 2016 viking210 Police are seeking a male suspect in relation to a suspicious fire that targeted the Centre métropolitain de chirurgie in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough in Montreal, the only medical clinic in Canada that offers gender reassignment surgery. Firefighters were alerted to a fire at the clinic at 8:44 p.m. Monday. About 20 firefighters rushed to the scene, but the fire was extinguished by an automatic sprinkler system. The fire was in an operating room, according to Montreal Fire Prevention Service spokesperson Mélanie Drouin. There were a few staff members and patients in the building at the time but they got out before firefighters arrived. Drouin said damages are estimated by fire department officials at about $700,000. Medical equipment was damaged by water and smoke, she said. The clinic provides a variety of plastic surgeries and body surgeries, including breast augmentation or reduction, facelifts, liposuction and gender reassignment surgery (GRS). The news spread quickly among members of the transgender community in Montreal and across Canada. Some are concerned that the fire will exacerbate the already lengthy waiting periods for gender reassignment surgery at the clinic. There is also speculation as to whether the clinic was targeted because it offers GRS. “It would certainly seem relevant that the arson targeted the only clinic in Canada that currently provides GRS and other trans-related surgeries — especially at a time when things are becoming increasingly polarized on trans issues,” said Mercedes Allen, an advocate for transsexual and transgender communities in Alberta who writes on equality, human rights, LGBT and sexual minority issues in Canada. “Something like this is certainly not going to help a community that already feels targeted. I also hope for the sake of the surgeons and staff that they too won’t have to start living in fear of violence. However, I’d also want to be careful not to be too quick to assume that this is hate-motivated,” Allen said. Constable Manuel Couture, a Montreal police spokesperson, said investigators are aware of the services offered by the clinic, but had not, to his knowledge, classified the fire as a suspected hate crime by Tuesday afternoon. “I don’t have any information right now to indicate that this was some kind of hate crime, but investigators are aware of that and as soon as they have the slightest suspicion that something could be a hate crime, they transfer it to the Hate Crimes Unit,” Couture said. “This is devastating for trans health care,” Sophia Banks, a Montreal-based photographer and trans-rights advocate told the National Post. “People are freaking out” about wait times and how long the clinic will be closed. She said they’re also concerned about why this happened
Primary / Secondary School, School / University Port Alberni, BC, Canada – Sprinklers limit spread of fire that started outside elementary school May 6, 2016 viking210 A fire that broke out in a motor home parked at E.J. Dunn Elementary School just before 7 p.m. today (May 5) caused only minor smoke and water damage to the school building itself. E.J. Dunn will be open tomorrow (May 5). “It started at the motor home and spread to another car,” said Port Alberni Fire Department Deputy Chief Wes Patterson. Three Port Alberni trucks and one Beaver Creek Volunteer Fire Department truck responded to the blaze, along with one RCMP car and an ambulance. “There’s water damage from the sprinkler that’s gone off and a little smoke damage inside and then the front entrance doors [are damaged] but all in all it was very lucky. The building and the controls and the sprinkler system did what it was supposed to do which limited the spread of the fire. Structurally the school is fine.” Patterson said that the motor home belonged to one of the workers at the school but that the cause of the fire is yet to be determined. One person was taken to West Coast General Hospital as a result of the blaze, he added. “One person was taken to the hospital but not necessarily by B.C. Ambulance. I don’t know the extent of his injuries at this point.”
Adult Care/Rehab Center, Hospital/Care Facility Edmonton, AB, Canada – Arson fire at women’s shelter controlled with help from sprinkler system May 1, 2016 viking210 A fire believed to have been deliberately set has shut down a downtown Edmonton emergency shelter and displaced more than 60 women who were staying there. Early Tuesday, firefighters responded to a fire on the fourth floor of a building that provides temporary shelter to homeless women. When police arrived, they were told a lighter had been used to start a fire inside the building. Officers arrested a 33-year-old woman at the scene and charged her with arson. Police said the flames triggered a sprinkler. Water and smoke damaged several floors on one wing of the building. Damage is estimated at $6,000. CBC has not been able to reach staff at the shelter to find out where clients are now staying and when the shelter will re-open.
Primary / Secondary School, School / University Enderby, BC, Canada – Arson fire in school bathroom extinguished by sprinkler system April 21, 2016 viking210 RCMP are continuing their investigation of a fire at AL Fortune Secondary School in Enderby earlier this month. Cpl. Kevin Kwast said the fire has been determined as arson. “It looks like it was set with toilet paper and Post-it notes,” said Kwast, adding police want to interview a student, but could provide no more details because the student is a minor. Enderby Fire Chief Kevin Alstad said the fire started in the girl’s washroom and was put out by the sprinkler system. “There was smoke damage throughout the building,” said Alstad. “The washroom was pretty much a write off.” While the fire was limited to the washroom, smoke forced the evacuation of students and staff. The school was closed for two days before students could return to class
Apartment Building, Residential Richmond, BC, Canada – Sprinkler system knocks down apartment fire possibly caused by Molotov cocktail April 20, 2016 viking210 Richmond RCMP is investigating a suspicious fire late on Sunday evening in City Centre which is thought to have displaced up to eight families. Shortly after 11 p.m. the Mounties were called to the 5800 block of No. 3 Road to assist Richmond Fire-Rescue with a fire on the sixth floor of an apartment building. Fire crews had arrived earlier to find heavy smoke coming from the sixth floor. The Richmond News understands a Molotov device had been thrown on the floor and the fire was knocked down by the sprinkler system. Residents of the apartment claim this is the second time in a week that the building has been targeted, adding that a smoke bomb was let off and offensive graffiti was found. However, according to the RCMP, the cause of the fire has yet to be determined, but is being treated as suspicious. “We are greatly relieved no one was injured,” said Richmond RCMP’s Cpl. Dennis Hwang. “We are currently reviewing surveillance footage and conducting interviews with witnesses. “One of our specially trained fire investigators is working with our counterparts from Richmond Fire-Rescue.” Anyone with information about the fire is asked to contact Cpl. Kevin Lin immediately at 604-278-1212. To leave a tip, email Richmond_Tips@rcmp-grc.gc.ca or to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). No injuries were reported, but several families were unable to return to their homes due to water damage.
Primary / Secondary School, School / University Enderby, BC, Canada – Sprinklers activate in suspicious fire at secondary school April 14, 2016 viking210 It’s back to school Tuesday for high school students at A.L. Fortune Secondary in Enderby following a fire in the girls’ washroom. About 250 students and teachers were evacuated around noon on Friday after the fire broke out and caused overhead sprinklers to come on. The fire is considered suspicious. A restoration company was called in immediately after the fire was doused to clean up the mess. However, reparation work forced the school to remain closed on Monday. “We are pleased to have our students and staff returning to the important learning that takes place at A.L. Fortune every day,” said Carl Cooper, director of instruction. Not all the classrooms will be open tomorrow. Cooper said one wing of the school will remain closed for a few more days, including a couple of classrooms, for construction of a new wall after asbestos was discovered in the mud used for drywall. “Since the washroom and one classroom wall were damaged by fire and water, and the mud was no longer encapsulated, an environmental services company, Apex EHS Services, was brought in to assess the hazardous materials,” said Alice Hucul, spokeswoman for School District 83. “The asbestos was removed on Monday to WorkSafe B.C. standards. Air quality was monitored throughout.” The district has been unable to supply an estimate of damage caused by the fire. The RCMP continue to investigate the incident.
