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

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

Lubbock, TX – Early morning apartment fire extinguished by sprinkler system

Lubbock Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating two separate apartment fires that occurred on Thursday. The first occurred at about 5 a.m. at The Ranch Apartments, 1002 Frankford Ave, according to a Lubbock Fire Rescue social media post. The fire was reportedly extinguished with minimal fire damage to the apartment prior to the crew’s arrival. According to the post, the smoke detectors awoke the resident and the sprinkler system assisted in extinguishing the fire. LFR FMO were called to investigate, and the fire has been ruled as undetermined.

Other / Not Specified

McCleary, WA – Fire at old hospital site doused by sprinkler system, which was still functional

The old Mark Reed Hospital building was on fire this morning in McCleary.  Fire District #5 released a statement on behalf of the McCleary Fire Department which says the McCleary FD was dispatched to a possible structure fire Monday October 23rd at about 5:45 AM.

They say Fire District 12 and Fire District 5 were also dispatched for mutual aid.  According to the statement when they arrived at the old Mark Reed Hospital site the fire was located on the east end of the structure spreading from a back porch area up to the roof.

They say the fire was put out, and the roof area was checked to see if it extended to further.  The fire was contained to the east end of the building and because it had a working sprinkler system there was minimal damage inside.

Chief Nott, McCleary Fire said “You can see where the fire started entering the building from the roof and where the sprinklers stopped the spread of it.” They say the cause of the fire is still unknown at this time and it is under investigation.

A fire investigation officer with the Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Department will be investigating.

Adult Care/Rehab Center, Hospital/Care Facility

Birmingham, AL – Sprinkler system knocks down dryer fire at rehabilitation center

A small dryer fire forced patients at UAB’s Spain Rehabilitation Center to be evacuated early Thursday morning.

The fire was reported before 4:00 a.m. on the fifth floor of the building. Birmingham Fire-Rescue says the flames were put out by the building’s sprinkler system before they arrived.

Patients covered in blankets waited outside the building for approximately 30 minutes according Birmingham Fire-Rescue. 

Other Business, Recycling / Waste Facility

Moraine, OH – Sprinkler system keeps fire in check at garbage hub transfer station

The garbage hub for Montgomery County is back in business after being shut down much of Thursday from a trash fire believed to have been caused by recently dumped, smoldering materials.

The county’s Solid Waste Transfer Station on Sandridge Drive reopened to both commercial and public customers by mid-afternoon, about 10 hours after fire crews responded the Moraine site near I-75.

“Our operations are getting back to normal,” county Environmental Services Communications Coordinator announced in a statement. “We will be open for regular business hours the rest of the week.”

Crews responded to the fire at the facility shortly before 5 a.m. Thursday, forcing employees and haulers off site, and the postponement of the start of a free, three-day appliance disposal program, which will begin Friday.

No injuries were reported and the blaze was put out by early afternoon, a county official said.

Thursday afternoon there was no dollar value estimate of the damage. But it was limited to some offices and the tipping floor where garbage is deposited after haulers make their pick-ups from customers throughout the county, Moraine Fire Chief David Cooper said.

“It’s a big building. There’s not much to burn other than the trash that’s in there,” he said.

Cooper said a definite cause had not been determined. However, it’s not uncommon for trash fires to flare up after haulers empty loads that can contain smoldering material, he said.

“And basically what happens is a fire starts down deep inside of it and it kind of snakes through,” Cooper added. “So you have to just dig it out and keep applying water.”

Moraine fire personnel were on the scene for more than seven hours, aided by crews from Dayton, Kettering and the Miami Valley Fire District, Cooper said.

The transfer station was not staffed overnight, he said, allowing the fire to get “a pretty good head start” before crews arrived. Yet he noted the “sprinkler system actually held it in check” for “quite some time until we got there.”

Crews used back hoes to separate the trash while using some 30,000 gallons of water to extinguish the flames, Cooper said.

“You almost have to move every bit of trash that’s on that floor,” he said. “So we just have to move it from one side to the other and we spray it down.”

While the transfer station was closed because of the fire, county employees were diverted to alternative work sites, and haulers were directed to dump their loads at landfills, Wooten said.

The blaze also set back the start of the Appliance Amnesty program. The appliance disposal program – free to county residents – is a twice-a-year opportunity for people to unload large, unwanted household items.

Apartment Building, Residential

Pendleton, OR – Early morning apartment fire controlled by sprinkler system

One person is recovering from smoke inhalation after an early morning apartment fire.  Firefighters got the call from the Security Apartments on Court Avenue just after 6:00 Monday morning. Responding units found a fire on the first floor of the three story building. The sprinkler system kept the fire under control while crews evacuated the building and extinguished the fire.  Medics took one person to St. Anthony hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.

Uncategorized

Geneva, IL – Sprinkler system holds fire in check at Fox Valley Ice Arena; No injuries reported

A mechanical fire that spread to the roof of the Fox Valley Ice Arena in Geneva forced the partial closure of the ice skating facility, authorities said.

Geneva Firemen were dispatched around 6:26 a.m. Sunday to 1996 S. Kirk Road on the city’s east side. The building is owned by the Kane County Forest Preserve District.

Geneva Fire Chief Mike Antenore said the alarm was upgraded when engines were on route to the scene when Tri-Com Central Dispatch reported there was smoke in the building.

“The first arriving fire company found heavy black smoke showing from the roof area on the west side of the building. Firefighters initiated an interior attack and brought the fire under control in approximately 40 minutes,” Antenore said in a news release.

Antenore said the response was upgraded to a box alarm because of the size of the building.

Fire department officials said the building’s sprinkler system activated and “held the fire in check” until the blaze was extinguished.

Firefighters contained the fire to a refrigeration compressor room.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. Damage estimates were in the process of being compiled Sunday afternoon.

“The facility resumed partial operations this morning and is expected to resume full operations later today,” the fire chief said Sunday.

Firefighters from Batavia, St. Charles, Elburn, West Chicago, Fermilab, South Elgin, Elgin, Wheaton, Bartlett and North Aurora assisted Geneva on the scene.

Antenore said no one was hurt.

Other Business

Medford, OR – Sprinkler system contains grease fire at laundry service

Just before 7:00 Saturday morning, Medford Fire-Rescue and Jackson County Fire District 3 responded to a fire alarm at American Linen Service Company between Medford and Central Point.

When crews arrived, they found open flames inside and smoke down to shoulder level. Fortunately, a sprinkler system just over the fire kept it relatively contained.

Investigators say the source was some grease rags.

“[Businesses throw the rags] in a bin and then that bin gets emptied in these big bags and ends up here, so if [the rags are] tightly wadded up and not given the opportunity to dry out, they will develop and generate their own heat,” Battalion Chief Ron Nelson said.

Nelson says most of the damage from the fire was contained to some bags of rags and some nearby shelves. He also added these types of fires are not uncommon in places that use oils and mixtures that could ignite when heated.

Adult Care/Rehab Center, Residential

Portland, OR – Fire in residential room at behavior health facility put out by sprinkler system

A fire broke out at a behavioral health facility in southeast Portland early Thursday morning. Portland Fire & Rescue said firefighters were called to the fire that ignited in an apartment unit at Cascadia Behavioral Health, located at 7511 Southeast Henry Street. The small fire was put out by a sprinkler before firefighters arrived to the scene. Firefighters helped evacuate all the occupants of the smoke-filled building and searched for any additional flames.

PF&R said the fire didn’t do much structural damage, and the bit of damage done was contained to the room where the fire started. Two or three people were evaluated for non-life-threatening issues related to smoke, and one patient was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation of smoke inhalation.  PF&R said the water cleanup could take a couple of hours. The cause of the fire wasn’t immediately known.

Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

St. Paul, MN – Sprinkler system extinguishes electrical fire in dorm room at University of St. Thomas

An electrical fan in a resident’s room sparked a small fire early Monday morning in Grace Hall, tripping the sprinkler system and the fire alarm, and requiring the building to be evacuated.

The sprinkler system extinguished the fire. St. Paul Fire Department also responded promptly.

Fire alarm and suppression systems worked the way they were designed to work, and the fire was contained to a small area. Residents evacuated and everyone is safe.

The University of St. Thomas places the safety and security of our students, faculty and staff as our highest priority. The university regularly tests fire safety and suppression systems. In this instance, all systems worked as required.