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

Apartment Building, Residential

Topeka, KS – Sprinkler system activates to help limit damage in apartment fire

Topeka Fire Department crews put out a small trash fire early Tuesday at a downtown apartment building.  An automatic alarm was activated shortly after 5 a.m. on the second floor of the Santa Fe Place Apartments, a five-story brick building at 600 S.E. Madison.

Crews arrived to find a small fire on the second floor, where sprinklers had activated.  Fire officials at the scene said there was no major damage associated with the fire, which was believed to have started as a result of improper disposal of smoking materials.

However, water from the sprinkler system ran down the elevator shaft and into at least one apartment. It took about 30 minutes to get the sprinkler system shut off. No injuries were reported.

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Scottsdale, AZ – Townhouse fire controlled with help from sprinkler system

Scottsdale Fire Department said a townhouse near 92nd and Cholla streets caught fire Friday morning and a resident was rescued and treated for smoke inhalation. Scottsdale fire crews arrived around 6:30 a.m. and discovered a bedroom fire had activated the unit’s sprinkler system. Firefighters assisted a woman out of the townhouse and paramedics treated her for smoke inhalation. After she was treated at the scene, she was taken to the hospital. Fire department officials did not have an update on her condition. The fire is under investigation. Officials said the townhouse had a smoke detector and one sprinkler was activated above the fire. No firefighters were injured.

Apartment Building, Residential

Houston, TX – Single sprinkler contains early morning apartment fire; No injuries reported

Fire marshals are crediting a sprinkler system with limiting damage during an early-morning fire at a northwest Harris County apartment complex. A blaze broke out at about 5:30 a.m. Thursday on the third floor of an apartment in the 15000 block of Tuckerton.

The fire triggered a single sprinkler system on the balcony. It contained the flames until firefighters arrived at the scene. There were no reports of injuries, officials said.

“The fire sprinkler did exactly what it was designed to do. Lives and property were saved because one sprinkler head activated and minimized the fire damage,” said Harris County Fire Marshal Mike Montgomery. The cause of the fire was later identified as “discarded smoking materials,” officials said.

Apartment Building, Residential

Seattle, WA – No injuries after apartment complex fire is extinguished by sprinkler system

Residents at a Seattle apartment complex said they started knocking on each other’s doors as soon as the fire alarms went off. Tenants evacuated early Tuesday morning as flames burned through portions of the second and third floors of the Union View Apartment complex, Seattle Fire said. The building’s sprinkler system extinguished the fire.

The complex is located in the 1600 block of Dexter Avenue North. A unit’s patio was charred in the flames. No injuries were reported,

Close to 60 Seattle firefighters responded.  Authorities haven’t determined the fire’s cause, as of Tuesday morning. Fire officials are investigating.

Residential, Single Family Home

Turlock, CA – Residential garage fire kept from spreading to home by sprinkler system

The Turlock Fire Department responded to a fire early Sunday morning that was sparked by a malfunction in a refrigerator in the garage.  The residents were all able to get out of the home safely, thanks in part to their smoke alarm and residential sprinkler system, the fire department reported.

The fire was reported shortly before 5:30 a.m. Sunday at 1882 Moonbeam Way.  The first engine to arrive at the scene found smoke coming from the garage area of the two-story home.

Firefighters found the fire in the garage coming from a refrigeration unit. The fire was kept from spreading to the house by the residential fire sprinkler system. Turlock firefighters went to work, stretching fire hose, ventilating the home, extinguishing the fire, and performing a search to ensure the home was clear of any other occupants or pets.

“Quick extinguishment prevented thousands of dollars worth of damage to the home,” said Turlock Fire Chief Robert Talloni.  The fire spread to some nearby storage items and a vehicle parked inside the garage.

Turlock Fire responded with two chief officers and four Engine companies. Turlock Rural and Ceres Fire Department provided city coverage during the fire.

The fire department said the event was a good example of the benefits of having a working smoke alarm. “The residential sprinkler system and working smoke detectors were instrumental in giving the family time to safely escape the home,” the fire department stated in a news release.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Buffalo Grove, IL – Warehouse fire controlled by sprinkler system

NO MEDIA COVERAGE – FD REPORTED:  At 01:41 the FD responded to an activated fire alarm at 1602 N. Barclay Blvd. Upon arrival, fire companies found an activated fire alarm with water flowing from the sprinkler system. After further investigation they discovered a fire in unit 1602. The fire was held in check by the sprinkler system followed by complete extinguishment with FD hose lines.

Key Fob business. Electrical in nature, three heads went off in small warehouse. Racks with neatly stacked product cardboard and lower level small plastic totes.

Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic

Bend, OR – No injuries as single sprinkler keeps mechanical fire in check at hospital

A fire broke out in a washer for surgical instruments at St. Charles Bend early Wednesday, causing about $200,000 damage, but a fire sprinkler kept the damage from being far more severe, officials said.

The blaze prompted closure of some areas of the hospital for a time, as well as the cancellation of all elective surgeries for the day.

Shortly before 6 a.m., Bend fire crews responded to the reported fire at the hospital on Northeast Neff Road, said Deputy Fire Marshal Cindy Kettering. They arrived to find light smoke coming from the lower level of the facility.

A machine used to clean surgical tools caught fire, said hospital spokeswoman Lisa Goodman.

A single sprinkler head activated in the area and held the fire in check until crews arrived, Kettering said. There was some smoke and water damage to the lower level of the facility, and fire crews helped clear remaining smoke from the building.

Investigators determined a heating element within the unit had overheated and failed, causing the fire, Kettering said.

As with any alarm at the hospital, numerous Bend firefighters responded to the scene, clearing the area of smoke and water by about 6:40 a.m. No one was injured, Goodman said.

As a result of the fire in the hospital’s central processing area, elective surgeries were canceled for the day, with only emergency procedures to be performed.

The hospital’s lower-level floor, including the in-patient pharmacy, was closed for a time but had reopened by 7:30 a.m. Goodman said the hospital had resumed normal operations and that all scheduled caregivers should report to work as usual.

Kettering said the fire was a clear example of the value of fire sprinkler and fire alarm systems,” which helped to isolate the fire area and quickly move to protect staff and patients. The sprinkler system minimized damage and will allow operations to resume in a timely manner.

“Without a properly maintained and operational fire sprinkler system, the damage from today’s fire would have undoubtedly been far more severe,” Kettering wrote in a news release.

Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic

Bend, OR – Early morning fire at hospital held in check by sprinkler system

A fire broke out in a washer for surgical instruments at St. Charles Bend early Wednesday, but a fire sprinkler kept the damage from being far more severe, officials said.  The blaze prompted closure of some areas of the hospital for a time, as well as the cancellation of all elective surgeries for the day.

Shortly before 6 a.m., Bend fire crews responded to the reported fire at the hospital on Northeast Neff Road, said Deputy Fire Marshal Cindy Kettering. They arrived to find light smoke coming from the lower level of the facility.  A machine used to clean surgical tools caught fire, said hospital spokeswoman Lisa Goodman.

A single sprinkler head activated in the area and held the fire in check until crews arrived, Kettering said. There was some smoke and water damage to the lower level of the facility, and fire crews helped clear remaining smoke from the building.  Investigators determined a heating element within the unit had overheated and failed, causing the fire, Kettering said.

As with any alarm at the hospital, numerous Bend firefighters responded to the scene, clearing the area of smoke and water by about 6:40 a.m. No one was injured, Goodman said.  As a result of the fire in the hospital’s central processing area, elective surgeries were canceled for the day, with only emergency procedures to be performed.

The hospital’s lower-level floor, including the in-patient pharmacy, was closed for a time but had reopened by 7:30 a.m. Goodman said the hospital had resumed normal operations and that all scheduled caregivers should report to work as usual.

Kettering said the fire was a clear example of the value of fire sprinkler and fire alarm systems,” which helped to isolate the fire area and quickly move to protect staff and patients. The sprinkler system minimized damage and will allow operations to resume in a timely manner.

“Without a properly maintained and operational fire sprinkler system, the damage from today’s fire would have undoubtedly been far more severe,” Kettering wrote in a news release.

Office Building, Other Business

Florence, OR – Possible arson fire at business center suppressed by sprinkler system

Authorities suspect arson as the cause of a fire in the Florence Business Center after eight fire starts were discovered inside a business on 12th Street.   At 6:41 a.m. Tuesday, Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue personnel were called to the business center after someone reported smoke coming from the building and water flowing from a sprinkler in the ceiling.

Within 5 minutes, firefighters arrived but discovered no fire because the sprinkler had put the fire out.  Authorities said it was “very obvious” that the fire starts were intentionally set.  Three fire engines, one firetruck, three support vehicles and 12 firefighters responded.

The structural damages are estimated at $25,000.  Anyone with information is asked to call Florence police detective Brandon Ott at 541-997-3515.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Oak Ridge, TN – Warehouse fire caused by spontaneous combustion controlled by sprinkler system

On Thursday, at about 6:50 am, the Oak Ridge Fire Department was dispatched to a report of a sprinkler system activation alarm. Upon arrival at 342 Warehouse Road, the Fire Department found heavy smoke coming from the windows and doors of the building. The Fire crew entered through the front door and quickly extinguished a fire in a waste container.

The structure was unoccupied at the time of the fire and damage was minimal. The fire was initially controlled by the building sprinkler system; with a single sprinkler head activating. The fire was contained to a waste container and the remainder of the business suffered minimal heat and smoke damage. Without the sprinkler system, several businesses within the building could have been destroyed, an ORFD press release said.

The cause of the fire appears to have been spontaneous combustion from oily rags discarded in the waste container. This fire points out two critical safety items worth discussing:

The final solution requires either destruction by something like burning, or a safe way to let the material cure without cumulating heat. For home and small commercial shops, the easiest way is to spread the rags in a single layer so heat dissipates while the material cures. Then, depending on local regulations, the materials can be safely disposed of, either in hazardous waste collection sites, or in the general landfill, the press release said.