Tag Archives: Evening (6pm-9pm)

Government Office, Government/Military

Washington, D.C. – Attic fire at Russell Senate Office Building extinguished by sprinkler system

The Russell Senate Office Building was evacuated last Saturday night as Washington emergency crews responded to a small fire in the attic, according to the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department’s Twitter account.  “Box Alarm Russell Senate Office Building. #DCsBravest on scene with small fire in attic extinguished by sprinklers,” the tweet said. “Light smoke in several areas of building. Building has been evacuated.”  Department spokesman Vito Maggiolo said personnel responded at 6:10 p.m. to the fire, which was extinguished by the sprinkler system.  Maggiolo said the incident is now under control, and the cause of the fire will be investigated.

Apartment Building, Residential

Frederick, MD – Laundry fire at apartment building put out with help from sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Three people were displaced last Wednesday evening after a clothes dryer caught fire in an apartment in the Francis Scott Key apartment building, officials said.  Just after 6 p.m., multiple fire departments responded to the apartment at 31 W. Patrick St. in downtown Frederick, and the fire was quickly put out with the help of the building’s sprinkler system.  No injuries were reported, according to Deputy Chief Jerry Dorsey with United Fire Co.  The fourth-floor apartment sustained significant water damage, as well as the two apartments directly below it on the third and second floors, Dorsey said.  The American Red Cross was called to assist the three displaced residents. Dorsey said two of the residents went to stay with family.  Independent Hose Co., Westview Fire Station, Junior Fire Co., Fort Detrick Fire Department and Spring Ridge Fire Station also assisted in putting out the blaze.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Olean, NY – Machinery fire at cutlery manufacturer controlled with help from sprinkler system

No injuries were reported after the Olean Fire Department responded to a machinery fire at Cutco Tuesday night.  The initial response was made at 7:30 p.m. to a fire alarm at the main building of the cutlery manufacturer’s East State Street campus. According to Olean Fire Chief Robert Bell, the blaze, which occurred in a polishing room, was under control within approximately 15 minutes. A call indicating the alarm system had been reset came over the emergency scanner at 8:17 p.m.  “The employees at Cutco controlled the fire with a dry chemical fire extinguisher,” Bell said, adding sprinkler heads also helped contain the flames. “We showed up, we made entry, knocked down the remaining bits of the fire, and then helped with the mop-up.”  According to communications over the scanner, some material in the polishing room caught on fire when a buffer wheel ignited.  Bell said the damage was limited to that polishing machine, but the cost of the damage was unknown. He added that Cutco had two other polishing machines, so their operations would likely not be greatly affected.

Residential, Single Family Home

Redmond, WA – House fire extinguished with help from sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Firefighters from Redmond, Kirkland and Woodinville extinguished the fire with help from sprinklers.

Redmond, Kirkland and Woodinville firefighters extinguished a Redmond house fire on the evening of Nov. 27, with no reported injuries.

Firefighters responded to a home off Northeast 114th Way in Redmond to find heavy smoke coming from the garage with a car on fire.

“Incoming crews were able to rapidly extinguish the fire with no reported injuries,” said Todd Short, a Redmond fire marshal in a press release.

Fire personnel also received help from the home’s sprinkler system.

“With the automatic activation of the residential fire sprinkler system, this fire event was quickly and successfully contained to the garage,” Short said in the release. “It is estimated that in this case the sprinkler system kept the fire damage from being more extensive and saved over $100,000 in additional fire damage. This is a great example of the benefits of residential fire sprinklers and the reason that Redmond adopted a requirement for fire sprinklers in all newly built homes since 2007.”

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Martinsburg, WV – Sprinkler system contains fire at Macy’s fulfillment center; No injuries reported

Macy’s officials do not know when the company’s fulfillment center north of Martinsburg will reopen, following a fire Saturday night.

The retailer had a limited crew at the 333 Caperton Blvd. facility Sunday, looking at the safety of the site and equipment, Macy’s spokeswoman Andrea Schwartz wrote in an email.

No one was hurt in the fire, but the blaze damaged about 2 percent of the materials in the 2 million-square-foot facility, Hedgesville Volunteer Fire Capt. Brian Mulligan said.

The fire remained under investigation by the West Virginia State Fire Marshal’s Office. Additional investigative work needs to be done before a cause is determined, Assistant State Fire Marshal George Harms wrote in an email late Sunday afternoon.

The fulfillment center employs approximately 5,000 people, 980 of whom were evacuated Saturday night, Schwartz wrote.

The volume at the Martinsburg-area facility was shifted to other “mega” fulfillment centers to serve customers, she wrote.

The holiday season is a busy time for the 24-hour fulfillment center.

The temperature outside was in the low 40s when workers were evacuated. Mulligan said he wasn’t sure how long people stood around before being sent home.

“It could have been worse. Everybody did an excellent job,” Mulligan said.

Company officials are thankful all the employees are “safe and accounted for, with no injuries,” Schwartz wrote.

The retailer is supporting fire officials with the investigation, she wrote.

The fire was reported at 7:39 p.m. Saturday, a Berkeley County 911 dispatcher said.

The sprinkler system activated, along with the fire alarm, and did a good job, Mulligan said.

“It kept it contained. Thank God,” Mulligan said.

The building is fine, but the fire extended up racks of packages three stories high, Mulligan said.

An estimated 60 firefighters responded from Hedgesville, Martinsburg, Bedington, Baker Heights, the West Virginia Air National Guard and Back Creek Valley. The rehab unit from Washington County also responded.

Mulligan said an airboat, on a trailer from Frederick County, Md., was backed up to a loading dock so its large fan could be used to eject smoke from the building. An airboat was similarly used at a Winchester, Va., warehouse fire in the last year or two.

There were a lot of burnt, wet packages at the Macy’s facility, he confirmed.

Macy’s personnel had been on “fire watch” in case the blaze reignited because the fire knocked out the alarm system, Mulligan said Sunday morning.

Firefighters were able to use water-supply hookups in the building, with one stationed every 500 feet.

Other Business

Rochester, MN – Dump truck fire contained by garage sprinkler system

A dump truck caught fire inside a building Friday night.

The Rochester Fire Department says it was called to the 6900 block of 10th Avenue SW around 7:10 pm and found the truck on fire with smoke coming from a garage maintenance area. The structure’s sprinkler system contained the flames to the truck and firefighters extinguished the blaze.

No one was injured in this incident and there was minor smoke and water damage to the building. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office, Rochester police and Gold Cross Ambulance assisted at the scene.

Retail, Storage / Warehouse

Spring Hill, TN – Firefighters contain tire fire at Discount Tire store with help from sprinkler

The Spring Hill Fire Department responded to a fire outbreak at Discount Tire on Main Street Saturday night, which both Spring Hill firefighters and members of the Williamson County Rescue Squad successfully extinguished within a few hours.

“We get the call a little bit after 8 (p.m.), and when we arrive, sprinkler heads are already activated, and we’ve got a heavy fire in the tires and smoke coming out of the roof,” said Spring Hill Fire Chief Terry Hood. “Where the sprinkler wasn’t putting the fire out, we had active fire between some tires. We spent about two to three hours getting it under control.”

According to Hood, the source of the fire has been determined to be a heat gun that was near some cardboard boxes. A heat gun is sometimes used in the tire installation process, specifically for the installation of wheel weights.  “By the rack of tires we found the trash can, and there’s no other possible cause of ignition there,” Hood said. “When the fire attacked the cord [of the heat gun], it melted away, which caused the wires to short [circuit].”

Hood said the performance of both his firefighters and the Williamson County Rescue Squad was “excellent,” especially considering the dangers tire fires can bring. Tire fires are difficult to extinguish, and release dark smoke that contains dangerous chemicals such as cyanide and sulfur dioxide.

The Discount Tire closed at 6 p.m. on Saturday, and the manager reportedly left the business at around 7 p.m., with Spring Hill Fire receiving a call about smoke roughly an hour afterwards.  The manager at the Spring Hill Discount Tire, Joe Stevens, said he immediately returned to the business after hearing reports of a fire, and feared the worst.  “Honestly, I thought the whole thing burned down,” Stevens said. “When I pulled in, there were already fire trucks here and police officers, thank god they were here. I honestly thought the whole building was going to be down.” The Discount Tire is temporarily closed, but will be reopened “within a few days,” according to staff.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Vienna, VA – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire in high school classroom

A fire in a Madison High School classroom forced the cancellation of a drama performance on Friday, Nov. 9. There were no injuries.

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue responded to the fire around 6:49 p.m. Friday. Firefighters arriving on scene found smoke showing from the roof line of the school but found fire sprinklers had put out the blaze in a classroom. The fire was contained to the classroom.

About 125 students and staff had been in the building when the fire occurred. Smoke alarms and sprinklers alerted them to the fire. Most evacuated, while first responders helped others get out safely.

Fire investigators say a malfunctioning kiln left on unattended started the fire. A kiln is an oven for drying ceramics. Damages were estimated to be $3,000.

The school tweeted that the drama performance of “Noises Off” had been cancelled for that day. The play went on as scheduled on Saturday, Nov. 10 and has additional dates on Nov. 16-17 at 7:30 p.m.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Evansville, IN – Structure fire at nail salon contained by sprinkler system

Firefighters were responding to an apparent structure fire at a West side business Saturday evening.

The fire apparently originated at Pretty Nails nail salon, according to scanner traffic. Responders were working to get the building’s sprinkler system turned off, but the fire was stopped.

The call came in around 8:15 p.m. According to scanner traffic, Evansville and Vanderburgh County officers are blocking all east-west on Pearl Drive. Motorists are advised to avoid the area.

The address on the call was 5405 Pearl Drive, which is the location of a strip mall that houses Buffalo Wild Wings. Eye-Mart and Crazy Buffet as well as the nail salon.

According to scanner traffic, multiple fire and rescue units were staging at the AMC Theatre just down the street. The site of the fire was safely evacuated.

Restaurant

Boulder, CO – Sprinkler system contains fire in kitchen area of restaurant; Firefighters fully extinguish blaze

Boulder Fire Rescue responded to a small fire that broke out in the kitchen of Foolish Craig’s in downtown Boulder on Wednesday night.  Battalion Chief Dave Gelderloos said a Boulder police officer called in the fire at about 8:26 p.m. after he heard and alarm and smelled smoke in the area.  A ladder truck, four engines and an ambulance were dispatched to the restaurant at 1611 Pearl St., Gelderloos said.  He said a sprinkler system in the restaurant contained the fire to the kitchen area, and firefighters were able to quickly extinguish a small fire that was still burning. A ladder truck was brought in to check the roof of the building.  The cause of the fire was not immediately known, and Gelderloos said no one was hurt.  Boulder police temporarily shut down Pearl Street between 16th Street and 17th Street, as well as the alley on the northside of the restaurant, while the fire was being extinguished. It was reopened by 10 p.m.