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

Office Building, Other Business

Franklin, TN – Extension cord fire at office building stopped by fire sprinklers

An automatic fire sprinkler system protected a five-story Cool Springs office building from fire Tuesday morning. 

According to Franklin Fire Investigator Lt. Bill Almon, the fire started around 6:30 a.m. in a first-floor office at 127 International Dr. A single fire sprinkler head activated and controlled the fire prior to the Franklin Fire Department’s arrival, protecting the 142,000-square-foot building, which includes IRS offices.  

Upon arrival, firefighters completed extinguishment and assisted with the sprinkler system, clean-up and smoke removal.

Almon said resistance heating created by a piece of furniture placed on an extension cord that was powering a printer allowed heat to build up and appeared to have ignited the fire.

He estimated fire and water damage at $20,000.  

Office Building, Other Business

Waianae, HI – Sprinkler system helps stop arson attack on office; No injuries reported

Megale Cole is counting his blessings. He said, he is thankful no one was hurt in the early morning attack on his HI Royalty Records office in Waianae.

He was picking up the pieces of charred mementos that survived the firebomb less then 12 hours prior.

He held up an old photo of himself in his army uniform from basic training more than two decades earlier, the edges charred.

“It’s one of the few pictures I have leftover from those days. I don’t have many of these. It means a lot to me,” he said, holding the partially burned photograph.

The Army veteran said, his military training kicked in as soon as the firebomb exploded through his office door just before 3 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 22.

“I think my army training is what saved me today. That’s the truth,” Cole said, matter-of-factly.

Cole said, he was working late and stopped to take a break when he heard a crackling noise outside. He said, it sounded like fire so he stood up to check it out.

“I see the crackling through the door. I see the fire, the flames. I see an individual that’s short through the crack in the door,” Cole said. “Next thing I know, I hear the flame, it hits the door and it goes through. lt hits the wall and flame shot off the wall.”

He said, the flames spread to the couch.

“So I hurried up, got my army gear, and put out the fire to the couch. I came back over here and start putting the fire out,” Cole explained as he pointed to the wall above his desk.

That is when the sprinkler system kicked on, helping to put out the fire and minimizing the damage to his office.

“I had a lot of past pictures of my family on the wall so some of that got burnt off. So there’s water damage, computer damage, furniture damage and the carpets of course, it’s a lot of water to drain out.”

But he knows things could have been much worse. Police found evidence from a gasoline bomb once they arrived.

“It was a brick metal Molotov Cocktail bottle. The bottle they used, the Coke bottle, was found here (as he pointed to his desk). It was a metal pipe they used to project it through (the door). We found evidence outside — two pieces of evidence outside,” he said.

Cole got emotional as he talked about the attack he believes may have been racially motivated.

“This was an attack on me as a soldier, as a part-time recruiter, as a veteran, as a father. And again, if this can happen to me here, this can happen to anyone… I don’t hate the person who did this, but I want the world to see this. I wasn’t doing anything wrong but this is our country. This is where it’s at,” Cole said, choking back tears.

Cole said, he spoke to the Honolulu Police Department and the FBI. The investigation is ongoing, according to police.

Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic

Boone County, WV – Hospital sprinkler system contains fire; No injuries reported

A small fire broke out in Boone Memorial Hospital early Tuesday morning.

A press release from Boone Memorial Hospital says the fire started in an unoccupied room on the first floor.

The fire was quickly contained by the Hospital’s fire safety sprinkler protection system.

There were no injuries or evacuations involved in the fire. The cause is under investigation by the West Virginia Office of the State Fire Marshal.

Madison, Danville, and Van Volunteer Fire Departments responded to the scene.

Department Store, Retail

Wausau, WI – Fire at Fleet Farm contained by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

No one was injured Saturday morning after a fire broke out at Fleet Farm in Wausau and the store is expected to reopen later in the day. 

The Wausau Fire Department received a call around 5:45 a.m. Saturday about a fire in the store at 1811 Badger Ave., Battalion Chief Jeremy Kopp said. Employees at the store noticed the fire, called 911 and evacuated the store. 

The store’s sprinkler system put out most of the fire before the fire department arrived, but firefighters did have to extinguish fire in the walls of the store, Kopp said. The fire was contained to a section of the store. After that, the department remained at the store to help with cleanup. 

Kopp said without the sprinkler system at the store, the damage from the fire “could have been a lot worse.” 

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, Kopp said, but it does not appear to be suspicious. 

The store is expected to reopen sometime Saturday, according to a post on the Wausau Fleet Farm Facebook page. Customers should check the Facebook page throughout the day for updates. 

Other - Retail, Retail

Oxnard, CA – Fire at auto parts business helps stop fire; No injuries reported

The sprinkler system at an auto parts business was credited with assisting firefighters in saving a commercial structure in Oxnard on Monday morning.  

The Oxnard Fire Department responded to a sprinkler activation in the 200 block of south Oxnard Boulevard on Monday at 5:56 a.m.

Upon arrival, fire personnel observed smoke leaving a single-story commercial structure. The first engine company entered the building, found the fire and was able to extinguish the it within 15 minutes.

Although Oxnard battalion chief Steve Reyes added that the business’ sprinkler system played a big role in saving the business.

“I would say the sprinkler system assisted in keeping the fire in check,” said Reyes.

No injuries were reported and no damage estimate was available, although two businesses sustained “major” water, smoke and fire damage, according to Reyes.

The fire remains under investigation.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Las Vegas, NV – Sprinkler system helps put out fire in hotel room; No injuries reported

Crews responded to a small fire that sparked inside an unoccupied room at the South Point Hotel Casino on Friday.

The Clark County Fire Department was dispatched around 5:25 a.m. for a fire signal activation at the casino-hotel on S. Las Vegas Boulevard, Deputy Chief Thomas Touchstone said in an email.

Firefighters arrived and learned from security officers that there was smoke on the third floor, the entirety of which is unoccupied, Touchstone said.

They searched the floor and found some light smoke in the third floor’s stairwell and hallway, he said. They located a small fire in one of the rooms, with the sprinkler system already putting most of it out.

There was some moderate damage to the room, according to Touchstone. No injuries were reported, and CCFD crews remained on scene to remove smoke from the building.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Las Vegas, NV – Fire contained to storage room at hotel thanks to fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

The Clark County Fire Department responded to a fire at The Linq on Saturday morning.

A High Rise Response was initiated with 6 Engines, 2 Trucks, 2 Rescues, and 2 Battalion Chiefs.

Upon arrival, personnel ascended to the fire floor where they found smoke in the hallway and water from the sprinkler system.

A Second Alarm was requested and an additional 5 Engines, 2 Trucks, 4 Rescues, and 2 Battalion Chiefs responded. Firefighters made an offensive attack and were able to knock the fire down at 00:48 am.

A primary life safety search was being conducted at the same time and no occupants were found in the area. The fire was contained to a storage room and is under investigation for the cause.

At this time there is not an estimate on damages.

No injuries were reported at the incident.

A total of 77 personnel responded to the call.

Uncategorized

Appleton, WI – Sprinkler system contains fire in machinery; No injuries reported

A fire in machinery caused about $10,000 in Appleton early Tuesday morning.

Appleton Fire says it was dispatched to a business in the 2600 block of W. Second Street for a report of a water flow alarm shortly after 5 a.m.

While en route, fire crews were updated that there was smoke in the building and a suspected fire.

When crews arrived, Appleton Fire says they found a fire in a piece of machinery that had traveled through a duct to another room.

The automatic fire sprinkler system in the building was controlling the fire, according to Appleton Fire. Crews were able to quickly extinguish the fire and turned off the sprinkler system.

No injuries were reported and the business will be able to open on Tuesday because of the properly functioning sprinkler and alarm systems.

Appleton fire says the cause of the fire is due to a process malfunction.

Apartment Building, Residential

Austell, GA – Fire sprinklers extinguish apartment fire after woman sets boyfriends closet

A Cobb County woman is charged with arson after authorities said she set fire to a bedroom closet during a fight with her boyfriend over the weekend.

Nioyca Nicole Lusega, 40, was arrested Saturday morning, less than three hours after firefighters responded to a blaze at the couple’s Austell apartment, investigators said.

Crews were called to the Lake Crossing Apartments along Riverside Parkway about 6 a.m. after the fire began during a domestic dispute, Cobb fire’s chief investigator Brian Beaty told AJC.com.

“The fire suppression system extinguished the fire, fortunately. But that did not negate the intent or the endangerment part,” Beaty said. “It was a multi-family dwelling, and that’s where it gets a little more complicated than just setting your boyfriend’s stuff on fire.”

Though the apartment’s sprinkler system extinguished the fire before crews arrived, several of Lusega’s neighbors suffered water damage in their units, authorities said.

Lusega, who faces one count of first-degree arson, remains held in the Cobb County Jail on a $27,720 bond, online records show.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Santa Monica, CA – Hotel room fire controlled by sprinkler system after microwave caught on fire

A small fire broke out inside a Santa Maria hotel room Tuesday morning, injuring one man and causing significant flooding from the sprinkler system, according to a spokesman. 

Crews received an alert for a fire inside a second-story room of the Hampton Inn and Suites located at the corner of North Broadway and Preisker Lane shortly before 5 a.m., according to Santa Maria Deputy Fire Chief Todd Tuggle. 

The blaze initially triggered a smoke alarm and was quickly followed by a water flow alarm, which is connected to the alarm company and alerted the Fire Department. The Department sent two engines, a truck and a battalion chief to the scene. 

Upon arriving, firefighters noted smoke and located the hotel room with the fire, which was kept in check by the sprinkler system but was eventually put out by crews. 

Additionally, firefighters found a man in his 30s in the hotel lobby who was pulled out of the smoke-filled room by a bystander awakened by the alarms, Tuggle said. 

The man was treated by firefighters for smoke inhalation, abrasions and minor lacerations, then transported to Marian Regional Medical Center via American Medical Response ambulance for further treatment and released. 

An investigation revealed that the room was being rented out by a good Samaritan for a homeless veteran, who was microwaving something and lost track of time, according to Tuggle, causing the microwave to burst into flames and catch the desk on fire. 

The man became trapped in the hotel room and tried to escape out of the window, suffering lacerations in the process. 

Tuggle said the sprinkler system caused significant damage to the room, with the adjacent room and downstairs lobby also suffering significant water damage. 

Two more Santa Maria Fire engines and an investigator and a Santa Barbara County District Attorney arson task force investigator also responded to the scene, Tuggle said. 

“We are currently understaffed in our investigations divisions,” Tuggle said, adding that the District Attorney’s investigator assists with fires that cause significant damage and start under suspicious circumstances.