Tag Archives: Canada

Hamilton, ON, Canada – Fire in garbage chute at high rise apartment building extinguished by sprinklers

Residents were evacuated from a downtown apartment building for about half-an-hour Monday to allow Hamilton firefighters to deal with a fire in the garbage chute.

Firefighters were called to 150 Sanford Avenue North shortly after 8:30 p.m. Monday.  Fire department spokesperson Claudio Mostacci said by the time firefighters had arrived, the sprinkler system had extinguished the fire.

 The service sent 11 vehicles to the scene. Some firefighters remained on the scene to deal with possible “hot spots” in the garbage.  Mostacci said no one was hurt and there was no damage.

While he could not say what caused the fire, Mostacci said the fires are often started by people accidentally throwing cigarette ashes down the chute.  He reminds tenants in apartment buildings to be careful.

Calgary, AB, Canada – Sprinkler system controls fire at plastics recycling plant; Fire crews extinguish blaze

Calgary Fire Department crews were called to plastic recycling plant Carpenter Canada Co. in the 5880 block of 36th Street S.E. just before 2 a.m. last Friday. When they arrived, firefighters found smoke pouring from the building.

They managed to extinguish the fire, and credit an in-building sprinkler system for keeping the blaze in check before they arrived. Once the fire was extinguished, crews still had concerns about whether air quality would be impacted, as burning plastic can release toxic gases. However, fire officials say the air gradually cleared up.

Dartmouth, NS, Canada – Overnight fire on fourth story of apartment building extinguished by sprinkler system

The blaze broke out at about 3:15 a.m. on the fourth storey of the building at 51 Joseph Young Street.  The Halifax fire department said the blaze was mostly extinguished by the sprinkler system.

One person was treated for smoke inhalation.  A Metro Transit bus was brought to the scene for displaced residents to keep warm.  The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Huntsville, ON, Canada – Sprinkler system minimizes damage in apartment fire; No injuries reported

Firefighters are crediting the sprinkler system with minimizing the damage at an apartment fire.  At roughly 2:30 p.m. on Mar. 5 a fire was reported at a 60 unit apartment building on Sabrina Park Drive in Huntsville. When crews from Huntsville Station 1 arrived on scene they found the fire, which was located in the garbage room, had already been extinguished by an activated sprinkler head.

Damage from the fire was limited to the garbage and recycling containers in the room. Firefighter’s say if not for the working sprinkler system the fire could well have spread to other parts of the building.  All occupants were allowed to return to the building only hours later and noone was injured.  Police and the Fire Marshall are investigating to determine the fire’s cause.

Osoyoos, BC, Canada – Fire at retirement home doused by sprinkler system

Residents of an Osoyoos retirement home will begin returning to their rooms today, following their evacuation Monday night because of a fire in the laundry room. The fire was doused by the building’s sprinkler system, and fire retardant was applied by Osoyoos Fire Department members, who reacted quickly to the alarm.

The blaze erupted about 9:30 p.m. at Mariposa Village, apparently because of an overheated clothes dryer on the second floor of the care facility. Acting facility manager Jesse Sales said 26 residents were taken from their rooms and moved “behind the fire walls” as soon as the alarm was sounded. They were accommodated overnight in other rooms at the seniors’ home.

One resident and one staff member were taken to South Okanagan Regional Hospital in Oliver Tuesday night. They were treated and released and were back “in a couple of hours,” Sales said. “They (the fire department) got here before I did,” said Sales, “and I was here in about 15 minutes.”

Will McKay, managing partner of the Baybridge-Baltic ownership group, also had high praise for the volunteer fire department. “They were Johnny on the spot. … They did a wonderful job for us,” he said. 

Sales said most of the residents would be back in their rooms today. For any whose rooms are not ready for re-occupancy, alternative accommodation has been arranged, he said. The care facility is home to 109 residents, plus staff.

Sechelt, BC, Canada – Fire sprinkler averts major downtown blaze

The Sechelt fire department is praising the use of fire sprinklers, which averted a major fire in downtown Sechelt last Thursday afternoon. Fire Chief Bill Higgs said the fire occurred just after lunch on Feb. 19 at a residential apartment building when a pot of grease was left on a stove unattended.

 “Upon arrival it was observed that a fire had occurred in the kitchen of a second-floor suite,” Higgs said. “The heat from the blaze had activated just one sprinkler head, which extinguished the fire. The fire department was automatically called by the monitored sprinkler/fire alarm system and the residents were alerted to the fire by the alarm bells. We were on scene within five minutes and quickly learned that we were only needed to ventilate the building and begin cleanup.”

Higgs said the fire had the potential for catastrophic life and property losses. “Thankfully, this fire occurred in a building protected by fire sprinklers and therefore had been completely extinguished by the automatic system that had been installed throughout the building,” he said.

In less than an hour, the 17 volunteer firefighters and four fire trucks had returned to the fire hall. No civilian or firefighter injuries occurred. “Only one tenant was displaced from the building for a couple of days, and everyone else reoccupied their suites that day,” Higgs said. “The total dollar loss to the $3-million structure was less than $5,000. Had this fire occurred in a similar unsprinklered building, at least three other fire departments from the Sunshine Coast would have been called to assist with the suppression effort, lasting at least half a day, with the follow-up investigation, demolition and rebuilding lasting months.”

The Sechelt fire department recommends the installation of fire sprinklers to all building owners ranging from single-family homes right up to multi-family or commercial buildings, new and old. “At less than $1.50 a square foot in new construction, why not?” Higgs asked. “Come and see us to learn what we have witnessed about the community cost saving benefits of automatic fire sprinklers in our town of just 12,000 people. We encourage others to learn from our experiences and to support our efforts in the promotion and continued use of commercial and residential fire sprinkler systems.”

Silver Star Mountain, BC, Canada – Sprinkler system activates to help control fire at popular ski resort

Some guests at a Silver Star Mountain Resort hotel were evacuated from their rooms Thursday morning after an early morning fire broke out at Vance Creek Hotel and Conference Centre. The hotel’s General Manager, Russell Haubrich says the blaze sparked in a storage room near the restaurant kitchen.

Haubrich says the blaze triggered the sprinkler system.  Silver Star Mountain Resort says they are working to reopen the saloon as soon as possible, which could mean a couple of days. Haubrich expects the hotel restaurant will reopen by Thursday night. He adds hotel guests were evacuated from their rooms for about an hour.

Cobourg, ON, Canada – Sprinkler system activates in fire at wood pallet manufacturer; No injuries to workers

All staff got out safely after a fire started in a grinder machine at Canada Pallet Friday evening. Cobourg Fire was called to the plant on Division Street in Cobourg after 6 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 23 after the machine overheated and started a fire, said Fire Captain Scott MacDonald. The flames set off the sprinkler system, he said.

 Night supervisor Cathy MacLean said she saw the flames and ran over to shut off power to the machine. She made sure everyone was out of the building, a staff of about 40 to 50 people. “Thank God everyone is out safe,” she said.

Langley, BC, Canada – Fire in dorm at Trinity Western University stopped by sprinkler system

A sprinkler system installed in the dorms at Trinity Western University a few years ago is being credited for stopping a fire from spreading last Wednesday morning. Township firefighters were called out to one of the dormitories on campus, after a couch erupted in flames around 7:30 a.m.

The couch was in one of the common areas and so far, fire investigators don’t know what caused it to catch on fire. “It’s still under investigation,” said Assistant Fire Chief Pat Walker. The sprinklers put out the fire as firefighters arrived.