Tag Archives: Evening (6pm-9pm)

Apartment Building, Residential

Grand Forks, ND – Sprinkler system saves apartment building following cooking fire

An apartment sprinkler system saved a building in Grand Forks after a cooking fire got out of control Friday night. Firefighters say overheated cooking oil was to blame for the fire. Emergency personnel quickly shut off the water to minimize damage. One person was treated for minor injuries.

The full press release can be seen below:  Grand Forks, ND – A fire sprinkler system saved a building at 8 1/2 S. 3rd Street from extensive damage due to overheated cooking oil that caught fire, activating the sprinkler system.

At approximately 8:50pm December 14th, 17 firefighters responded to a fire alarm activation with the report of water flowing in the building. Firefighters arrived on scene to find a sprinkler head had activated over a cooking fire in an apartment unit on the second floor. Firefighters quickly controlled the flow of water and tried to minimize water damage to the apartment and other tenants located in the building.

The apartment occupant sustained some minor injuries related to the cooking fire. There were no reported injuries to firefighters.  Grand Forks Police Department and Altru Ambulance were also on scene assisting.

Other - Manufacturing, Other Business

Monroe, MI – Fire at packaging business knocked down by sprinkler system

A Monroe business sustained some damage after fire broke out Saturday.  Firefighters were called to Complete Packaging Inc., 633 Detroit Ave., around 6:15 p.m.  Monroe Fire Chief Robert Wight said a sprinkler system helped to save the structure. Some products inside the facility were damaged due to the blaze.  “They knocked it down pretty fast,” the chief said. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Apartment Building, Residential

Silver Spring, MD – Apartment fire caused by smoking in bed is extinguished by sprinkler system

When a Montgomery County man went to check on his wife last week, she was in the bedroom, on a bed, and the bed was on fire, according to a report from the county fire department.  A smoke alarm and a sprinkler were credited by the department with averting possible tragedy.  The man had been in another room when he heard the alarm, the fire department said. According to the department, he went to the bedroom, and found the fire “on the mattress by the pillows with his wife still on the bed.”

The incident occurred around 6:45 p.m. Wednesday at a senior independent living facility on Old Columbia Pike, the fire department said. The building was identified by the department as Arbor Crest, in the Fairland/Calverton area, in the 12800 block of the pike.  In a statement issued Sunday, the fire department said the woman had been smoking cigarettes, and “at some point fell asleep.”

Once in the bedroom, her husband was able to rouse her, the statement said. Then, it said, he tried to put out the fire. After making numerous attempt to put it out, the statement said, the couple left the apartment. No one was injured, and damage was estimated at $30,000, the department said in its statement.

When fire fighters arrived, the department said, the fire “was mostly out.” In the meantime, some residents had been evacuated and others sheltered in place, the department said.  Neither the man nor the woman was identified. Their ages were not given. A cat was rescued from their apartment, the fire department said.

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.