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

Apartment Building, Residential

Gardiner, ME – Sprinkler system activated for fire in apartment building; No injuries reported

A small fire that started in a Maine Avenue apartment Monday shortly before 5 a.m. was put out by the building’s sprinkler system.

Gardiner Fire Chief Rick Sieberg said the tenant in the third-floor apartment apparently knocked into a stove, turning on a burner that ignited some nearby paper products and caused a small fire up the wall, which activated the sprinkler head.

The Maine Office of State Fire Marshal is investigating the fire.

“Having that sprinkler system is like having the fire department in your apartment 24/7,” Sieberg said. “The amount of property and lives that can be saved by that sprinkler system is enormous.”

Sieberg said the Gardiner firefighters who responded turned off the sprinkler.

This is the third time in the last decade the sprinkler system has extinguished a fire in that building, which is located several hundred feet from the site of a fire in July 2015 that destroyed 235 Water St. and damaged buildings on either side of it.

Sieberg said damage to the unit was minor, and no other unit was affected. No one was hurt.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

New Philadelphia, OH – Sprinkler system activated for kitchen fire at Burger King; No injuries reported

A kitchen fire has temporarily closed the Burger King at 110 Blue Bell Dr. NW.

Firefighters from multiple municipalities responded at 5:26 a.m. The fire was accidental, according to Capt. Jim Shultz of the New Philadelphia Fire Department.

“We can’t rule out electrical or grease. Initially, an employee turned on the fryers and the hood vent, went back to get food from the freezers and upon returning saw fire coming out from behind the fryer. Their extinguishing system tripped, and the sprinkler system then went off and held the fire in check until our guys could put it out. It had extended up into the ceiling.”

Employees from Burger King could be seen loading up a rental vehicle with food to be transferred to other locations.

A woman, who identified herself as the store manager but would not give her name, said employee were being moved to other nearby Burger King locations, estimating this location could be shut down for months.

A corporate representative from Burger King on scene declined to comment on the situation.

Firefighters from New Philadelphia, Dover, Uhrichsville and medics from Smith Ambulance all responded.

No injuries were reported.

Apartment Building, Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Somerville, MA – Sprinkler systems activated for two separate fires

Sprinkler systems in two Somerville buildings prevented serious fires this past week during the early morning hours while occupants were asleep, accoding to Somerville Fire Department’s Chief Engineer Charles Breen Jr.

On Friday, Oct. 28t at 4:25 a.m. the Somerville Fire Department was notified of a fire alarm activation via a building alarm system which was directly connected to the city fire alarm box system.

Firefighters were dispatched to 32 Kent Street, a 40 unit, four story wood frame apartment building. Firefighters encountered smoke on the fourth floor and forced entry into a 4th floor apartment. They found a man on the floor inside and removed him to safety. He was taken to the hospital.

Sprinklers confined the fire to one room in the apartment and firefighters completed extinguishment. Due to water damage, the building was evacuated and all occupants were temporarily displaced. The cause of the fire was determined to be accidental due to smoking.

On Sunday, Oct. 30, the department was notified of a fire alarm activation from an alarm monitoring company at 4:09 a.m.

Firefighters were dispatched to an address on Lake Street and arrived to find a sprinkler head operating in a ground level garage in a row of three story town houses.

One sprinkler head confined the fire to a very limited area in the garage and, after verifying that the fire was out, crews were able to clear the scene in 15 minutes.

The cause of the fire was determined to be an unattended candle that had ignited nearby combustible items.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Wilbraham, MA – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire at nursing home; No injuries reported

Emergency crews were called to a fire at a Wilbraham nursing home Monday morning.

Wilbraham Fire Chief Michael Andrews said that a 911 calls came in around 6:10 a.m. Monday for a kitchen fire at Vantage Nursing Home on Maple Street.

Firefighters arrived four minutes later and found heavy smoke coming from the kitchen area and that the facility’s sprinkler system activated and extinguished the fire.

Residents of the nursing home were told to shelter-in-place while crews worked to ventilate the smoke from that area of the building.

Mutual aid from Ludlow, Palmer, Hampden, and Westover was called in to assist.

Andrews noted that the cause of the fire remains under investigation, but it is not considered suspicious.

No injuries were reported.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Summerville, SC – Sprinkler system activated for kitchen fire at restaurant; No injuries reported

Summerville Fire officials say a local restaurant sustained extensive heat and water damage Tuesday morning after a fire broke out in the kitchen.

No injuries were reported.

Crews were dispatched to Mad Fish restaurant at 1580 Trolley Rd. around 5:30 a.m. for reports of smoke in the area.

Upon arrival, smoke was observed coming from the restaurant and crews upgraded the call to a structure fire.

Firefighters forced entry into the building and found fire in the kitchen had activated the sprinkler system.

In addition to damage to Mad Fish, smoke spread to adjoining businesses.

Fire crews are expected to be on scene Tuesday morning with one lane of Trolley Road closed.

The cause will be investigated, fire officials said.

Mad Fish is located in the Ridgeway Plaza.

Office Building, Other Business

San Diego, CA – Sprinkler system extinguished early morning laboratory fire; No injuries reported

A fire early Wednesday in a second-floor laboratory in a Qualcomm building in Sorrento Valley was put out by sprinklers before firefighters arrived, San Diego Fire-Rescue officials said.

The fire was reported around 6:40 a.m. in a four-story building on McKellar Court off Pacific Center Boulevard called the Qualcomm Pacific Center Campus. When crews arrived, they didn’t see any smoke or fire showing from the outside the building but when they got inside, they found a fire that had been extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system.

After searching the building to check for any spread of the fire, crews worked to ensure the fire didn’t reignite. Just under 50 firefighters from San Diego and Chula Vista had responded to the fire.

No injuries were reported. No damage estimate was immediately available. A cause of the fire also wasn’t reported.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Rochester, MN – Cooktop fire in hotel room extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A cooktop fire in a hotel room Wednesday morning caused fire and water damage from the sprinkler system.

At 6:48 a.m., the Rochester Fire Department responded to a structure fire call at the Days Inn Hotel at 3595 Commercial Drive Southwest. Firefighters on scene found smoke coming from a third story window in the back of the building.

The hotel has an automatic fire sprinkler system, which extinguished the fire in the third floor hotel room by the time firefighters arrived, according to the fire department’s press release. No occupants were found in the room or adjacent rooms.

The sprinkler system limited the fire damage to only the room of origin. An investigation determined that the fire started on a cooktop range. The department said the occupant of the room left the hotel and possibly left a burner on the stove.

Guests were evacuated from the hotel when crews arrived. No injuries were reported.

Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service and Rochester Police Department also responded to the fire.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Spring Lake, MI – Small school fire extinguished by sprinkler system

Emergency crews responded to a fire alarm at Holmes Elementary School in Spring Lake Thursday morning.

The Spring Lake Fire Department (SLFD) says units arrived at the school after 6 a.m. to find no signs of fire from the outside. Subsequent investigations revealed a small fire that had been put out by a sprinkler inside one of the classrooms, officials explain.

We’re told firefighters remained on scene to help clear out smoke and assist with the school’s cleanup efforts.

SLFD says the incident is an example of how sprinkler systems minimize fire damage and overall risks to public safety.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Vancouver, WA – Sprinkler system activated for fire at former restaurant

The Vancouver Fire Department battled a fire at the former Joe’s Crab Shack along the waterfront early Monday morning.

At about 5:41 a.m., crews were called out to a fire at the former seafood restaurant, located at 101 East Columbia Way. The restaurant closed for good in May 2020.

Crews arrived to the scene and found fire outside of the building, spreading to the inside. Vancouver Fire said the flames were initially knocked down in about 10 minutes, but the fire wasn’t fully under control until 50 minutes into the operation.

The building’s sprinkler system was activated which helped firefighters control the fire, according to Vancouver Fire.

In total, 20 firefighters were on scene, along with the Vancouver Fire Marshal’s Office. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Columbia Way was shut down due to the response. People were asked to avoid the area while fire crews were on scene.