Tag Archives: Early AM (5am-7am)

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Beaufort County, SC – Fire is kept from spreading at school thanks to sprinkler system activation

A laptop left charging on a “combustible” material started a small fire at Beaufort Academy Sunday morning, officials with the Lady’s Island St. Helena Fire District say.

The fire department first responded to the school at 6:24 a.m. after a passerby noticed the fire alarm sounding and called 911, said Scott Harris, fire district spokesman.

Crews did not notice signs of a fire after walking through the building, Harris said. The fire’s location, inside a classroom, was discovered after reviewing data from the school’s sprinkler system.

Fire and water damage were restricted to the classroom because the sprinkler system activated only in that location and it was able to extinguish the fire before it spread, Harris said.

About 300 students from preschool through 12th grade attend Beaufort Academy, the school’s website says. It describes itself as an independent college preparatory school.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

San Antonio, TX – Sprinkler system puts out fire at local plant; No injuries reported

Nearly 30 fire crews responded to a report of a 2-alarm fire at a facility on the Northeast Side on Friday morning.

The fire was reported at about 6 a.m. at a plant located at Nacogdoches Road and Wurzbach Parkway.

Aerial footage showed several people were evacuated from the building; they stood in the parking lot as fire crews worked inside and outside the plant.

The San Antonio Fire Department reported the fire was out by 7:30 a.m. and crews were working to ventilate the building. An agency spokesperson said the fire may have started with the machinery; it was extinguished by the sprinkler system.

No one was hurt.

Other - Retail, Retail

Courtenay, BC, Canada – Sprinkler system stops fire from spreading from roof at pharmacy

A fire in the roof of Living Room Pharmacy was quickly extinguished by Courtenay Fire Department.

There was nobody at the business when the fire broke out, at approximately 6:30 a.m. Wednesday.

“It started [around] the sign at the front of the building; there’s actually no damage inside the building, really,” said Living Room Pharmacy owner Greg Oksanen.

By the time the Courtenay Fire Department arrived, the business’s sprinkler system was fully activated.

“Absolutely – that’s what kept it in the location that it was at,” said Courtenay Fire Chief Don Bardonnex. “The fire was contained inside that peak point. The fire followed the wiring up over to the side, then ran up to the top, and went through the roof. That’s where it was when we arrived. The sprinkler system stopped it from spreading anywhere else.”

Bardonnex said the fire started in behind the sign itself, but the exact cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Oksanen said he doesn’t expect the setback to affect business too much.

“We will have to mop up but we will deal with people who have to get a prescription today; otherwise we will ask them to come back tomorrow or the next day,” he said.

Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill

Strasburg, VA – Sprinkler system keeps fire contained to machinery at paper mill

Mercury Paper evacuated its Strasburg plant when a fire started in a building Friday morning.

The Shenandoah County Emergency Communications Center received a call at 3:41 a.m. from someone at the scene who reported a fire in one of the buildings, Shannon Walters, service assistant for the Shenandoah County Department of Fire and Rescue, said Friday.

Employees evacuated the facility, Deputy Chief Billy Streett said. Responders checked out one employee on the site for smoke inhalation who refused transport to the hospital, Streett said.

The fire started in a piece of equipment in a processing area of the plant, Streett added. Employees and then the plant’s sprinkler system extinguished the fire by the time fire and rescue crews arrived, he said, explaining that employees worked on putting out the blaze but flames grew to the point that the fire triggered the sprinklers. The sprinkler system kept the fire contained to the machinery.

Crews cleared the scene at 5:28 a.m., Walters said. Fire stations in Strasburg, Toms Brook and Middletown responded to the call along with rescue squads in Strasburg and Woodstock.

Fire and rescue workers have responded to other emergencies at Mercury Paper, Streett said.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Erie, PA – Local pizza shop fire contained thanks to fire sprinkler activation

Fire at Summit Township pizza shop brought out firefighters early Saturday morning, but they said an effective sprinkler system put it out, and security camera video showed how it started.

Perry Hi-Way Hose and assisting companies came to Brooklyn Pizza on Rotunda Dr. just before 6 a.m.

Security video shows pizza boxes stored near the oven fell into a pilot light and touched off the fire. That kicked off the sprinkler system, which snuffed out the fire.

Firefighters forced entry from the front and back but found the big problem was water damage

Perry Hi-Way Chief Kip Hayford said a good firewall kept the fire from spreading.

Mariners Insurance had a little water damage, and the cell phone repair store vented a little smoke, but both were able to open for business.

The pizza shop said on Facebook it will be closed until further notice due to the fire.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Las Vegas, NV – Fire in supermarket bathroom quickly stopped by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

Las Vegas Fire and Rescue responded to a fire at Marketon Supermarket in the northeast part of the valley early Friday morning.

LVFR spokesman Tim Szymanski said crews were called to 755 N. Nellis Boulevard at about 6:10 a.m. Aug. 9.

Szymanski said a fire sprinkler quickly put out the fire that started in a restroom at Marketon Supermarket. LVFR crews reported very little damage and no injuries.

Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic

Salem, OR – Fire at Health Hospital put out by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

Firefighters say sprinklers extinguished a fire in a building at Salem Health Hospital Thursday morning.

According to Salem Police Department, smoke was reported in Building B of the Salem Health Hospital at 6:30 a.m.

The Salem Fire Department, Salem Health officials and the Salem Police Department responded to the scene to locate the source of the smoke.

Investigators say the fire was located in an elevator shaft on the south side of Building B and the smoke affected several floors of the building. The building has smoke and water damage.

Patients in the building were relocated and patient care was not effected. The building is mostly used for administrative purposes.

All procedural appointments at Salem Health Hospital are canceled Thursday and will be rescheduled.

Winter Street Southeast was closed between Mission Street Southeast and Bellevue Street Southeast while crews responded. It reopened at around 11:45 a.m.

The Emergency Room at Salem Hospital remains open.

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Lawrenceburg, IN – Fire sprinkler system keeps balcony fire to a minimum

A fire broke out at a Lawrenceburg condominium building Monday morning.

The fire was reported at 304 West Wind Lane at Riviera Condominiums at 5:05 a.m. Police arrived at the scene first and found fire visible on the second floor of an exterior balcony.

Lawrenceburg Fire Department Chief Johnnie Tremain said the fire’s spread was held at bay by an exterior sprinkler. Firefighters came and knocked down the remaining fire.

All residents of the complex were safely evacuated. Nobody was hurt, Tremain said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Lawrenceburg Fire Department was assisted at the scene by Lawrenceburg EMS, Lawrenceburg Police, and Greendale Fire Department.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Indianapolis, IN – Hotel fire caused by cigarette butt kept in check by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A fire outside a hotel forced the early Saturday morning evacuation of the Extended Stay America near the Indianapolis airport.

Guests woke up to a fire alarm, smoke and sprinklers. Many people and their wet stuff are looking for somewhere else to stay tonight.

The Wayne Township Fire Department thinks someone discarded a cigarette butt in the bushes outside the hotel that started a fire that displaced some 200 people staying at the hotel.

“I was laying in the bed and the smoke was coming in the window,” said Scott Beckham, a construction worker from Florida who has lived at the hotel for about two months. “Then the alarms went off and they told everybody to evacuate.”

Firefighters quickly knocked down the flames, but not before the fire leaped into the attic and set off the sprinklers.

“I never really felt super in danger once firefighter staff and stuff got here,” said hotel guest Autumn Heidenthal.

No guests were injured but the building suffered extensive damage, including standing water in several hallways and rooms. 

“Just smoky and everything,” said Beckham, whose room is right above where the fire started. “The ceiling fell down in my room from the water damage.”

Heidenthal has lived at the hotel for a couple months during a summer internship. Her PT Cruiser was parked right by the fire and was covered in dusty debris. Most of that was washed away when she returned to the hotel after a car wash.

“I’m really lucky my car still runs, still drives,” said Heidenthal. “It just needed a little bit of a cleanup. That’s just about the bulk of it. At first, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh! Did my car start the fire?’ because where the flames were from my angle it looked like it was right by my car.”

Heidenthal doesn’t smoke cigarettes and she was asleep in her room when someone’s cigarette apparently ignited a burning bush.

102 of the 105 rooms at the Extended Stay America were occupied, some by people in town for Gen Con. The American Red Cross of Indiana was on hand to provide shelter if needed.

Other - Residential, Residential

Bloomfield Hills, MI – Fire sprinkler systems controls fire in attic until crews arrived; No injuries reported

For the second time in just a few months, a fire broke out at the historical Manresa Jesuit Retreat House early July 31, according to police.

According to Sgt. Steve Splan, of the Bloomfield Hills Public Safety Department, an alarm at the retreat’s main house, 1390 Quarton Road, was activated at 5:44 a.m. July 31. Upon arrival, first responders said they could smell smoke, and they circled the unoccupied building to find the source.

“We repositioned to the north side of the building and we could see smoke coming from what appeared to be the attic area,” Splan said. 

The attic of the facility had been undergoing renovations and reportedly hadn’t been used in some time. With the help of firefighters from Bloomfield Township and Troy, the flames were extinguished from the attic — a space Splan said is notoriously tough for firefighters — and the damage was contained to an about 20-by-20-foot space.

“The sprinkler system did a fantastic job. It did exactly what it was supposed to do and hold the fire back until our crews were able to fully extinguish it,” he said. “It was lucky for the sprinklers — actually, probably not lucky: good preparation.”

Splan said that the cause of the fire is still under investigation, but as of now there is “zero suspicion of foul play.” There were no injuries.

The Eagle could not reach anyone at Manresa for comment before press time. The phone lines were disconnected, likely due to the department cutting off power to one of the buildings as a precaution, Splan said. 

Just a little over three months ago, public safety personnel responded to another fire at the facility, on April 10, when a fire broke out in a large historical barn on the property. While the barn, one of three,  was burned down completely, there were no injuries, and at that time, Steve Raymond, the associate director of Manresa, said the incident wouldn’t affect daily activities. 

The cause of that fire has yet to be released by investigators.