Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential Jersey Shore, PA – Early morning fire at nursing home kept from spreading by sprinkler system June 13, 2017 viking210 Third-floor residents of Manorcare Health Services in Jersey Shore were briefly evacuated after a small electrical fire broke out in a bathroom early Tuesday morning, according to Citizen’s Hose Co. Fire Chief Matthew Fausey. The fire at Manorcare occurred in the ceiling of a resident’s bathroom on the third floor just before 5 a.m., Fausey said. The fire activated the building’s sprinkler system, which helped prevent the fire from spreading, Fausey said, adding that firefighters had the fire extinguished in a matter of minutes. Once the fire was out and the water cleaned up, residents were moved back into their rooms, he added.
Primary / Secondary School, School / University Delta, BC, Canada – Fire in gymnasium storage area at elementary school contained with help from sprinklers June 4, 2017 viking210 An investigation is ongoing into what could have sparked an early Saturday morning fire at Delta Manor Education Centre in Ladner. Delta fire responded to the scene just before 3 a.m. Deputy chief Guy McKintuck said the fire was contained to a storage area behind the gymnasium. He said firefighters had the small blaze knocked down pretty quickly, which was also aided by an overhead sprinkler. There is water, smoke and fire damage, but no estimate on the costs for the restoration, he said. The former elementary school serves as a church and also offers adult basic education and ESL classes.
Other Business Branson, MO – Early morning fire at theater contained by sprinkler system; No injuries reported June 3, 2017 viking210 A Branson police officer heard popping sounds coming from the back of the Shoji Tabuchi Theatre on Shepherd of the Hills Expressway overnight and when fire crews arrived, they found flames shooting out of the backstage area. Branson Fire Chief Ted Martin tells KTTS News the call came in around 2 a.m. and three fire departments responded. He says the fire started stage left in a 12 by 12 area where there’s a lot of support equipment, including radios, battery chargers, power strips and extension cords. Martin says the sprinkler system kept the fire contained. There’s smoke throughout the building, and crews have spent the morning trying to ventilate the smoke and they’ll be working with restoration companies to use dehumidifiers to get the moisture out of the stage props and the stage deck, and remove the smoke odor. Martin says the theatre should be able to re-open in a few days. The fire is accidental, and Martin says they haven’t been able to rule out an electrical short. No one was hurt.
Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill La Grande, OR – Early morning sawmill fire contained with help from sprinkler system May 29, 2017 viking210 A fire was reported at Boise Cascade’s Mt. Emily plant at 1917 Jackson Ave. in La Grande about 4:45 a.m. Sunday. Nobody was injured in the blaze, which kept firefighters busy until about 7 a.m., according to Larry Wooldridge, chief of the La Grande Rural Fire Department. The fire originated in some wood stored inside a Boise Cascade building and caused no structural damage, Wooldridge said. Four fire departments responded to the blaze: the La Grande, La Grande Rural, Imbler and Union fire departments. The firefighters were aided by an automatic sprinkler system at Boise Cascade, which was running when they arrived. The cause of the fire has not been determined.
Primary / Secondary School, School / University Chantilly, VA – Early morning fire in middle school classroom extinguished by sprinkler system May 20, 2017 viking210 At 2:00 a.m., Monday, May 17th, Fire and Rescue crews from Dulles South were dispatched for a fire alarm at J. Michael Lunsford Middle School, located at 26020 Ticonderoga Road. Firefighters arrived to find an active fire alarm and the presence of smoke inside the building. A full structure fire assignment, to include units from Brambleton, Fairfax County, and Dulles Airport, were dispatched to assist. Firefighters located a small fire in a classroom which had been extinguished by an automatic fire sprinkler system. Fire department personnel remained on scene to ensure the extinguished material was removed, the utilities were secured and that the building was adequately ventilated. Once deemed safe, the building was turned over to Loudoun County Public Schools representatives. The Loudoun County Fire Marshal’s Office conducted an investigation and determined the fire was accidental and estimated damages at $5,000. There were no injuries to firefighters or civilians. One pet reptile was removed from the room of origin and turned over to school staff for care. This incident is a prime example of the positive impact of a fire protection alarm and automatic sprinkler system. A small fire in a classroom triggered the school’s monitored fire alarm system, which alerted firefighters, while the fire was quickly contained and extinguished by an automatic sprinkler system. The damages to the building were minimized by the sprinkler system, allowing the school to remain open with little impact to the community and its students. Loudoun County Fire and Rescue Officials continue to tout the importance of automatic fire sprinkler systems and their safety benefits. For more information on fire prevention activities and education in Loudoun County, visit www.loudoun.gov/firemarshal or call 703-737-8600.
Department Store, Retail St. George, UT – Fire in break room at TJ Maxx store extinguished by sprinkler system May 10, 2017 viking210 Firefighters rolled out to a structure fire Sunday morning at a retail store that was extinguished by the time they arrived, thanks to an internal sprinkler system. “Sprinklers for us are life savers and building savers both,” St. George Fire Battalion Chief Darren Imlay said. Firefighters responded to a fire alarm at TJ Maxx, 42 S. River Road, around 6:20 a.m., Imlay said. When they arrived on scene the firefighters saw some light white smoke inside the building. Lights and alarms attached to a fire alarm were going off at the time and water was on the floor, signifying the sprinklers had gone off. The sprinklers had extinguished the fire before they arrived, Imlay said, leaving it to firefighters to reset the sprinkler system and alarm, as well as air out the building. The fire had started in an employee break room by a large vending machine. While sprinklers and alarms going off in commercial buildings is nothing new (sprinkler systems for fire suppression are required by standards set by the National Fire Protection Association), Imlay was nonetheless glad they were in play in this instance. “For us, that could have been a big, big fire,” he said, “but because it was a sprinklered building … the sprinklers activated and kept the building from burning down. Plus the alarm activated and we were notified through the alarm company, so we had a quick response there.” Though sprinklers systems for fire suppression may not be as common in residential units as they are in commercial ones, residents can still invest in smoke detectors (which can be acquired for free in some instances) and alarm systems that can alert police, fire and medical personnel to a potential emergency. The building was unoccupied at the time of the fire. A call into TJ Maxx’s St. George location Tuesday was answered by a recorded message stating the St. George store is currently closed for renovations and will have a grand reopening soon. This report is based on preliminary information provided by emergency responders who were at the scene and may not contain the full scope of findings.
Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant College Station, TX – Early morning fire at BBQ restaurant controlled by sprinkler system May 10, 2017 viking210 Rudy’s Barbecue in College Station had a fire scare early Wednesday morning. College Station Fire officials say people saw smoke coming from the building around midnight. The building’s sprinklers were activated; keep the fire under control until firefighters arrived. Officials say the fire was contained to the wooden fence outside of the building, and did not damage the inside of the restaurant. No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
Child Care Facility, Other Business Murray, UT – Early morning fire at day care facility contained by sprinkler system May 8, 2017 viking210 It could have been a whole lot worse. That’s what Murray fire investigators are saying about an early morning blaze that burned a detached classroom area at Almost Home Playcare, a children’s daycare facility located at 140 West Winchester Street. Deputy Chief Jon Harris told Gephardt Daily the fire started in a rubbish collection area outside a converted classroom. He said a lawnmower was also stored there. The flames spread quickly, scorching the exterior of the classroom before spreading into the attic. A sprinkler system did its job, however, not only saving the interior of the classroom, but also preventing the fire from spreading to the rest of the daycare. “If those sprinklers didn’t go off and there was nobody around, this would have been a whole different story,” Deputy Chief Harris said. Harris also credited the daycare’s alarm service for placing a call to dispatchers, letting them know that fire had broken out. Harris said investigators had yet to determine the cause of the fire although there were no indications of foul play.
Apartment Building, Residential Poughkeepsie, NY – Early morning apartment fire put out with help from sprinkler system; Fire started in closet May 1, 2017 viking210 An early morning apartment fire that began inside a closet was quickly put out with the help of a sprinkler system Monday, according to City of Poughkeepsie Fire Chief Mark Johnson. An automatic fire alarm at 4:15 a.m., shortly followed by a phone call, alerted firefighters to the fire at 150 Hudson Ave., Johnson said. Once on scene, firefighters discovered a fire in a first-floor apartment. Firefighters were met with heavy smoke, and heat from the fire had caused the sprinkler system to activate. The sprinkler system helped contain the fire, according to Johnson. The occupant of the apartment was not home at the time, Johnson said. No civilians or firefighters were injured. Firefighters from the Arlington Fire District and the Fairview Fire District assisted at the scene. All fire personnel had left the scene by 5:40 a.m., Johnson said. The fire is believed to have started “in a clothing closet,” he said, and its cause is under investigation by police and fire investigators.
College/University (on campus), School / University Greencastle, IN – Fire in new dining hall building at DePauw University suppressed by sprinkler system April 30, 2017 viking210 A small fire early Saturday morning at Hoover Hall on the DePauw University campus occurred in a storage room on the lower level of the new dining hall in the center of campus. The fire was extinguished very quickly, DePauw officials said. The fire began at about 5:45 a.m. while no one was in the building but the safety system did its job, DPU spokesman Ken Owen told the Banner Graphic. Two sprinklers put out the bulk of the fire, he said, and a fire extinguisher was used once the Greencastle Fire Department arrived on the scene to fully put it out. No fire hoses were necessary in the incident. No damage estimate was available Saturday morning, however, damage was deemed “minimal” by DePauw officials. The fire created smoke and there was water left by the sprinklers, necessitating clean-up and the closing of the dining hall at least for Saturday breakfast. The sprinkler system must be recharged, Owen said. Because of that clean-up work, along with the need for the fire marshal to do his work to determine the cause of the fire, breakfast was not being served at Hoover but instead breakfast items were available at the convenience store in the Union Building. At 10 a.m., the Health Department gave DePauw clearance to reopen Hoover Hall. The plan at that time was to open Hoover Hall with a limited menu at noon Saturday. “All of us — the DePauw administration and our friends from the fire department and public safety — thank you and all students for their patience and understanding as we proceed today,” Owen said in a statement for the university. “I can’t say enough about the good work many people have performed in the early hours of a Saturday to make the process of recovering from this incident as quick and seamless as possible.” Hoover Hall is the DePauw’s new 48,600 square-foot dining hall which sits in the shadow of historic East College in the center of campus. It was formally dedicated last October. The $32 million project took 29 months to complete after ground was broken on May 17, 2014. The lead gift came from R. David and Suzanne A. Hoover, both 1967 graduates of DePauw.
