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

Residential, Residential High Rise

San Jose, CA – Early morning fire in high-rise apartment building held in check by sprinkler system

Roughly 40 to 60 residents in a 12-story high-rise apartment building in downtown San Jose are without a home for at least a week after a Sunday morning fire, San Jose fire officials said.  A faulty light fixture sparked the blaze at 4:22 a.m., immediately activating the building’s sprinkler system, San Jose Fire Department Captain Mitch Matlow said.

“The sprinkler system did it’s job,” Matlow said.

The fire, which was reported at Sixth and East Santa Clara streets, was extinguished quickly, but cleaning up the water damage will keep residents out of the building for at least a week, according to Matlow. “The people were sheltered in a VTA bus for a while, then they had to go back in and get their belongings because it’s going to be about a week before these people can come back to their homes,” Matlow said. “They have to dry the building out and make sure all the electrical is working before they can reoccupy the building.”

The American Red Cross will temporarily house and feed the displaced residents, according to Demetrious McCarthy from the Red Cross. That shelter is up and running at Burnett Middle School in San Jose, the Red Cross said.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Gibsons, BC, Canada – Early morning fire at assisted living complex doused by sprinkler system

Eighty-five residents of Christenson Village in Gibsons had to be evacuated early Saturday morning after a fire in one of the units.

The Gibsons and District Fire Department said a toaster was left on a stove top, which was accidentally turned on. Fire officials said the building’s sprinkler system kicked in and quickly doused the fire.

Julie Williams of the Good Samaritan Society, which runs Christenson Village, said the damage is still being assessed and they can’t say when the person who lives in the unit where the fire broke out will be able to return.

Williams adds that the Society is thankful for the quick actions of its staff and the local fire department in dealing with the incident.

Residential

Maple Valley, WA – Residential garage fire extinguished by single sprinkler

On Thursday June 30, 2016 just before 7:00 am in the 25600 block of SE 224th Street; Maple Valley firefighters responded to a residential garage fire. Upon arrival crews found light smoke coming from the garage door. Firefighters entered the structure and found the interior mostly clear. The building was equipped with an automatic fire sprinkler system and a single sprinkler head had extinguished the fire. Fire damage was limited to the point of origin and there was minimal water damage. Loss was estimated at $1,000. The cause of the fire was accidental.

 

Residential, Single Family Home

Battle Creek, MI – Early morning arson fire in home is extinguished by sprinkler system

Battle Creek firefighters and Battle Creek police are investigating a break-in and arson at a home. Firefighters were called to 141 Green St. at 6:21 a.m. Wednesday, according to Fire Marshal Quincy Jones. Jones said it appeared someone forced open a back door and set a fire in the kitchen in the rear of the two-story, wood-frame home. Jones said a home sprinkler system extinguished the fire and damage from the fire and water was minimal. A fire alarm alerted neighbors and they called 911, Jones said. The rental home was vacant at the time of the fire. Both fire officials and detectives from the Battle Creek Police Department are investigating.

Other Business, Recycling / Waste Facility

Chandler, AZ – Sprinkler system helps contain early morning fire at recycling plant

Firefighters from Chandler and Gilbert were battling an early-morning fire at an East Valley recycling plant.

An employee at the plant at 1100 N. Hamilton St.noticed fire in a pile of materials outside the facility but on plant property.

Reverse 911 was used to notify the surrounding neighborhood of the fire.

A sprinkler system activated and helped contain the fire.

Dense smoke blanketed the area. No one was hurt.

Once it’s safe to move in closer, investigators will try to determine what triggered the fire.

As of 7:30 a.m., the westbound lanes of Ray Road between Hamilton and Arizona avenues were closed.

Apartment Building, Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Battle Creek, MI – Kitchen fire at senior apartment complex controlled with help from sprinkler system

NORTH POINTE WOODS FIRE: Damage was estimated at $20,000 after a fire at North Pointe Woods at 700 North Ave. Battle Creek firefighters were called at 6:43 a.m. Monday, the city reported in a news release on Thursday. Firefighters said the fire began on the stove when a stove burner was left on. The fire activated the sprinkler system. A second-floor apartment was damaged with smoke and water and a first floor apartment below had water damage. A hallway on the first floor also filled with water. Residents remained in their apartments as firefighters used ventilators to remove smoke from the hallways.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Tulsa, OK – Oven fire at manufacturing business suppressed by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A Tulsa business was briefly evacuated Thursday morning after a fire inside an oven. Firefighters got the call before 7 a.m. to Sonoco Products in the 10000 block of East 52nd Street. 

Plant manager Lynn Ratliff told News On 6, a fire broke out in an oven in the company’s quality control room. An employee tried to use a fire extinguisher, but when that failed they evacuated the building and called 911.  The fire department said the sprinkler system put out the fire.  They said the fire was contained to just one room. 

Ratliff says the company makes paper tubing mostly for the film industry. No injuries were reported.

Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic

Spencer, IA – Laundry room fire at hospital contained by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

No patients or staff had to be removed from Spencer Hospital Saturday when the Spencer Fire Department responded to an early morning fire at the local medical facility. At 6:08 a.m., Spencer Fire and Rescue personnel were dispatched to Spencer Municipal Hospital following the report of a fire in the laundry room.

While responding, firefighters were notified that the fire had been put out in the area when the sprinkler heads in the room were activated. There was still smoke in the area and Spencer fire crews were on site for approximately one hour working with Spencer Hospital staff and Spencer Police.

The fire originated in the laundry area but the cause remains undetermined at this time. There was flame damage to the laundry room with some smoke entering the hallway and stairwell adjacent to the third floor. Fans were used to remove the smoke.

No injuries were reported. The sprinkler system contained the fire and the smoke was contained by the closure of fire doors through the activation of the fire alarm system.

Apartment Building, Residential High Rise

Macon, GA – Arson fire at high-rise apartments contained with help from sprinkler system

Fire alarms and sprinklers went off again Monday morning at St. Paul Apartments, a high-rise at 1330 Forsyth St. plagued by recent arsons.  Macon-Bibb County fire investigator Sgt. Steve Wesson said several fires have been reported at the building in the past three or four weeks. 

“A resident was setting something on fire and throwing it down the trash chute, causing the Dumpster to catch on fire,” Wesson said before leaving the apartments Monday morning.

About 5:30 a.m., Macon-Bibb firefighters responded to a small fire in room 904, a vacant apartment that was being used for storage, Macon-Bibb fire investigator Lt. Ben Gleaton said.

The room had been burglarized, some tools stolen and a fire set, Wesson said.  “I hope you get whoever. This is crazy,” fourth-floor resident Brigitte Gramke told the investigators as she walked her dog outside the brick building near downtown Macon. “It’s really bad.”

A Bibb County deputy arrested Robert Walter Hutchens, 75, who lives in room 901 at St. Paul Apartments.  Hutchens was charged with burglary, according to Bibb County jail records, and stolen tools were recovered.

Additional charges are pending if Hutchens is found responsible for the fire.  The sprinkler system caused water damage in some of the building, Gleaton said.

“It has to cost a fortune and usually it’s arson,” Gramke said of the multiple fires.  The St. Paul Apartments manager declined to comment Monday morning.

Apartment Building, Residential

Rochester, MN – Early morning apartment fire suppressed by sprinkler system

Around 7 a.m. Wednesday morning the Rochester Fire Department responded to a fire alarm at the Boulder Apartments in southeast Rochester. When crews arrived they found water running from under the doorway and could smell smoke.  No one answered the door so firefighters broke through the locked door and discovered a small fire in the corner of the living room that had started moving up the wall and ceiling.  The sprinkler system had activated, suppressing the fire.

Firefighters were able to shut off the sprinkler system however there is extensive water damage to the third floor apartments as well as the apartments directly below on the 1st and 2nd floors. Damage is estimated at $20,000.  The City of Rochester’s Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the fire, so far it appears to be unintentional.  No one was in the apartment at the time of the fire but fire crews did rescue a young cat which they turned over to Animal Control until the occupant could be located and notified.