Tag Archives: Evening (6pm-9pm)

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Fresno, CA – Sprinkler system douses fire at senior apartment complex; No injuries reported

A stovetop fire in a senior apartment building in downtown Fresno displaced multiple people Thursday night, according to the Fresno Fire Department.

The fire began around 7 p.m. on the fourth floor of the Masten Towers on Broadway Plaza and Fresno Street, across from the Crest Theatre. The 11-story building houses low-income seniors and adults with mobility impairments.

No one was hurt in the fire.

The sprinkler system turned on and doused the flames, and firefighters were primarily working on salvaging the other apartments around it from water damage, according to Battalion Chief Thomas Cope.

Six to eight units were not in livable condition, and Cope believes only one person lived in each unit. Those people are being moved by management to other units in the building.

Several people self-evacuated after firefighters were called. The person who lived in the apartment where the fire started was not home at the time, Cope said.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Regina, SK, Canada – Boy sets fire to paper towel aisle at superstore, fire sprinklers keep fire at bay; No injuries reported

A 12-year-old boy is scheduled to appear in court Thursday in connection with a fire that started in the paper towel aisle of the Rochdale Walmart in Regina’s north end.

The boy has been charged with arson, the Regina Police Service said.

Police and fire trucks rushed to the store around 8:30 p.m. CST on Tuesday, after smoke was reported in the building. Staff and shoppers were evacuated from the building.

“The building was filled with a really thick, bad-smelling smoke,” said Jordan Blodgett, who was at a Tim Hortons near the store and saw the fire response.

Taylor Deis was at Walmart at the time and confirmed the fire was coming from the paper towel aisle. She captured a quick video before staff and customers had to leave.

Fellow shopper Michelle Morrow never saw the source of the fire, nor did she hear a fire alarm.

Her only indication that something was wrong, aside from the smoke, was a man speaking unclearly over the intercom telling people to “get out.”

Morrow said she wasn’t impressed by the evacuation methods.

Blodgett took video of the scene outdoors, showing a smokey haze floating from the Walmart entrance and red fire truck lights flashing.

Regina police say firefighters put out the fire and cleared the building. Fire Marshal Randy Ryba said investigators were on scene until about 1 a.m. assessing the situation. 

He confirmed the fire was started in the paper towel section of the store. The building’s sprinkler system kept the fire at bay until fire crews arrived on the scene, he said.

“I’m not sure if it was a lighter or match, but that’s all it took,” Ryba said. “It did cause a great deal of smoke and water damage throughout the store.”

Ryba said Walmart is assessing the damage and said it would be “a great deal of time” before the store can reopen.

When contacted by CBC News, Walmart said once the necessary clean-up and repair work is completed, the store will reopen. In the meantime, staff at the Rochdale location will be working in nearby stores.

Police say no one was injured.

Police said the investigation was assisted by management and security staff at the store, who made surveillance video available.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Tecumseh, ON, Canada – Sprinkler system puts out fire caused by piece of machinery

An industrial building in Tecumseh had to be evacuated after a piece of machinery caught fire.

The Tecumseh fire department reported the blaze at 5245 Burke St. shortly before 6 p.m. on Friday and said firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke inside. Fire officials said the sprinkler system activated and quickly put out the fire.

Fire crews remained on scene at around 7 p.m. to clear smoke from the production area of the plant.

The production shift has been cancelled, fire officials said.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Grand Rapids, MI – Kitchen grease fire at downtown restaurant quickly extinguished by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

A kitchen grease fire at The B.O.B. in downtown Grand Rapids caused minor damage late Tuesday, Nov. 26.

The fire happened at about 8:20 p.m. and caused a sprinkler system to activate, Grand Rapids fire officials said.

The fire, on the first floor, was quickly extinguished and no one was injured. Firefighters also quickly shut off the sprinkler system.

It wasn’t immediately clear if any operations at The B.O.B. would be disrupted because of the fire.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Manhattan, KS – Fire sprinklers extinguish unattended kitchen fire

The Manhattan Fire Department responded to a reported structure fire at the Flint Hills Job Corps Center, located 4620 Eureka Drive, on Saturday evening around 7:30 p.m. Upon arrival, crews found that thankfully the building was equipped with a fire sprinkler system that had extinguished the fire leaving $2500 in damage. Without the fire sprinkler system, the damage could have been much worse. The cause was found to be an unattended pan of grease catching fire on the stove, a fire cause that firefighters in Manhattan know all too well.

“The leading of cause of residential fires in Manhattan and across the nation continues to be from unattended cooking,” said Manhattan Fire Chief Scott French. “It only takes a second to leave the kitchen to check on something in another room, and when you come back your stove and kitchen cabinets are on fire.”

Thanksgiving is the day that has the highest number of home cooking fires nationally, followed by Christmas Day, with unattended cooking being the leading factor according to the National Fire Protection Agency.

Apartment Building, Residential

Peoria, IL – Accidental apartment cooking fire put out by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Three apartment units are heavily damaged by water due to an accidental fire on Friday.

At approximately 6 p.m. firefighters responded to a structure fire at Woodsage Apartments located at 9012 N. Scrimshaw Dr. Once crews arrived on the scene, the fire was already put out due to the sprinkler system.

The fire started in apartment 303 caused by an occupant cooking on the stove. The fire extended to the microwave and cabinets.

Two other apartments below apartment 303 were also affected because of the sprinkler suppression system.

No injuries were reported.

Apartment Building, Residential

Greenville, NC – Dryer fire at student apartment complex contained by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

Authorities say a fire at a student living apartment complex began in a dryer.

Greenville Fire/ Rescue says the fire broke out at The Landing apartments just after 8 p.m. Monday night.

They say the sprinkler system helped reduce the amount of damage, but people in at least two apartment units are displaced.

No injuries were reported.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Chehalis, WA – Restaurant sprinkler system keeps fire from spreading to other businesses

A fire Tuesday night at a restaurant in Chehalis’ Twin City Town Center left one business with fire damage and two more with water damage, but Chehalis Fire Department Chief Ken Cardinale said it could have been a different story altogether.

“The sprinkler system actually kept the fire in check,” he said. “If it wasn’t for the sprinkler system, the damage would have been far, far worse. … It would have most likely spread to the adjacent businesses.”

Fire crews responded at 8:22 p.m. Tuesday to a report of a fire alarm activation at the Twin City Town Center on Northwest Louisiana Avenue in Chehalis, according to Lewis County 911 records. 

While firefighters were on the way, they started getting reports of water flowing out of the affected business, then smoke.

“Just prior to arriving they saw a column coming up which bumped it up to a second alarm response,” Cardinale said. 

Fire crews from Napavine to Thurston County responded, he said, and entered the Kobo Teriyaki building to find an active fire. The sprinkler system had kept the fire controlled, and firefighters quickly extinguished what remained. Crews were on site until about 11:45 p.m.

This is a huge point,” Cardinale said. 

While builders might cringe at the added cost of a fire suppression system, Cardinale said, it doesn’t cost as much as they might think, and can potentially save a building in the event of a fire. 

“Actually on residential new construction it only adds an additional 50 cents per square foot for a home,” he said. “The advantages of a sprinkler system is over 90 percent of the time if an occupancy has a sprinkler system and the fire does occur it will keep the fire in its incipient stage, or small stage, until firefighters arrive.”

Kobo Teriyaki’s building was damaged by the fire and smoke, and neighboring Rue 21 and PetSense both suffered water damage. 

Cardinale said investigators were on the scene Wednesday morning, and that the preliminary investigation points to the fire being electrical in nature. 

The fire likely caused $30,000 to $50,000 in damage, he added. 

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Mt. Pleasant, MI – Hotel sprinkler system extinguishes fire in guest room before firefighters arrived; No injuries reported

The Mt. Pleasant Fire Department (MPFD) was dispatched on November 15th, at 7:29 p.m., to a structure fire at the Fairfield Inn on 2525 S. University Park Drive.

Firefighters arrived on the scene and observed heavy smoke coming from a heating unit in Room 218. The room was unoccupied at the time and the sprinkler system within the room extinguished the fire before the firefighters arrived.

The entire building evacuated the premises after the building’s fire alarm went off. There are no reported injuries among the hotel guests, staff, or firefighters.

The MPFD escorted hotel guests to gather their belongings and all guests are being relocated to other properties.

The building’s lobby suffered water damage and Room 218 suffered extensive fire and smoke damage. The cause of the fire remains under investigation at this time.

The Mt Pleasant Fire Department was assisted by the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Fire Department, the Shepherd Tri-Township Fire Department and Mobile Medical Response.