Tag Archives: Evening (6pm-9pm)
Lynchburg, VA – Sprinkler system activated for fire at nursing home
At around 7:45, Lynchburg Fire crews were dispatched to a reported structure fire at the facility in the 2000 block of Langhorne Road.
LFD says a fire had started in one of the rooms of the single-story structure and was being contained by the sprinkler system. Responding fire crews quickly finished extinguishing the blaze, but smoke from the fire spread and forced the evacuation of the rest of the facility.
Two residents were taken to Lynchburg General Hospital for treatment of minor smoke inhalation. There is no update on their condition yet.
LFD said there were over 70 patients who had to be evacuated during the ordeal.
Lynchburg Fire said that eventually all residents were allowed back inside, but five rooms are uninhabitable due to the fire and smoke damage.
Due to the potential size of the incident, LFD says Concord Rescue Squad was called in to fill Station 2 while several of Lynchburg’s medic units were tied up at the scene of the fire.
The Lynchburg Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating and the cause of the fire is unknown at this time.
This story will be updated as more information is provided.
Swift Current, SK, Canada – Sprinkler system activated for fire at multi-tenant building
The Swift Current Fire Department was called into action at 8:30 p.m. as alarms were ringing on the 300 block of 2nd Avenue Northwest.
Fire crews arrived to evacuation already underway but assisted two occupants from the building to safety.
Light smoke was seen coming from the building with the sprinkler system activated.
“They’ve been shown time and time again that they’re effective and they really help contain a fire until we get there,” Swift Current Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief Dean Diguer said.
Structural and content damage was noted but Diguer chalked that up mostly to water damage, not the fire itself.
The cause of the fire is unknown and is under investigation.
Oak Creek, WI – Sprinkler system activated for fire at power plant; No injuries reported
When crews arrived at the scene, they found smoke visible from the exterior of the dust collector. Fire companies entered the facility and confirmed that a fire had been extinguished by the sprinkler system.
There was no extension of the fire to any other part of the structure.
There were no reported injuries to We Energies employees or fire personnel. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.
Auburn, CA – Sprinkler system activated for fire at low-income community; No injuries reported
Firefighters extinguished a fire at the Mercy North Auburn at Rock Creek complex on Sunday night.
CAL FIRE/Placer County firefighters responded to the multifamily structure on First Street before 9 p.m. According to CAL FIRE, first arriving personnel reported smoke showing from the third floor of the three-story complex.
Placer County Sheriff’s deputies evacuated 10 adjacent apartments on both sides of the fire. CAL FIRE reported the affected unit was fully charged with smoke, with a fire in the back corner and an active fire sprinkler.
“The modern building construction and sprinkler systems held the fire in check for the short time prior to firefighters extinguishing the fire,” CAL FIRE reported on its Facebook on Monday afternoon.
CAL FIRE confirmed the fire was extinguished 10 minutes after dispatch and three apartments sustained major fire and water damage. CAL FIRE also replaced the sprinkler and recharged the system.
There were no injuries due to the fire. The cause remains under investigation.
Mercy North Auburn at Rock Creek is a community of 79 homes for low-income and special-needs families. Located on 3 acres of county-owned property on First Street at the Placer County Government Center, Mercy North Auburn at Rock Creek includes 32 two-bedroom apartments, 25 three-bedroom apartments and 22 one-bedroom apartments.
Residents began moving in Jan. 24, 2022, and a ceremony was held in mid May 2022, which included a ribbon cutting and speeches with several area officials attending.
Doug Shoemaker, president of Mercy Housing California, said that day all 79 homes were occupied by working people and about 20 others who were homeless at one time. They were to pay 30 percent of their income toward rent. A few residents stood outside their new homes watching the ceremony.
Baton Rouge, LA – Sprinkler system activated for fire at Dollar Tree store
The Central Fire Department posted pictures of the fire’s aftermath Sunday. Officials said the operational sprinkler system inside the store prevented the fire from spreading, and the scene was under control shortly after the firefighters’ arrival.
There was no immediate known cause of the fire, but the CFD encouraged anyone with information about the fire to contact the Baton Rouge Fire Department.
Winnipeg, MB, Canada – Sprinkler system activated for fire at condo building; No injuries reported
No one was injured following a fire Monday evening in a Leila North condo building.
The fire broke out just after 8 p.m. in a four-storey condo building in the 1200 block of Leila Avenue.
The condo’s sprinkler system knocked out most of the fire before crews arrived. Firefighters finished putting out the fire and it was declared under control about an hour later.
Residents took shelter in the lobby while crews put the fire out. No one was injured.
It’s believed the fire was accidental, related to lithium-ion batteries.
Berkeley, CA – Sprinkler system activated for lithium-ion battery fire at supportive housing facility
Battalion Chief Brian Harryman of the Berkeley Fire Department credited the Hope Center’s fire sprinkler system with putting out the blaze before it spread.
“It probably saved the whole building,” he said.
The Hope Center, which opened in 2022 on the site of a former city parking lot, has 53 supportive housing units while Berkeley Way Apartments, part of the same complex, has 89 affordable units and services for low-income families.
Firefighters were dispatched to the Hope Center, at 2012 Berkeley Way, just before 8:30 p.m. Monday for a report of smoke on the third floor.
“We’re getting reports of somebody blowing up their room, unknown what that means,” a dispatcher told the Berkeley Fire Department as the call came in.
Thanks to proximity, Berkeley firefighters arrived at the Hope Center in under a minute, Harryman said: BFD’s Station 2 is just across the street about 100 feet away.
Inside the apartment, firefighters found scooters and lithium-ion batteries that had been charging unattended.
The fire was out quickly thanks to the sprinkler system, but the water caused “considerable damage” to the apartment where the batteries were charging.
Several adjacent units saw minimal damage due to water that got in beneath the doors.
Firefighters had to manually turn off the sprinklers to control the flow.
“There’s a considerable amount of water damage,” a firefighter said over the radio just before 8:40 p.m., adding: “We’re going to need squeegees and manpower.”
All of the residents were able to return to their rooms aside from the unit where the fire happened.
Fortunately, Harryman said, a friend in the building offered that resident a place to stay.
“We checked around and all the shelters were full. All the hotels were full,” he said. “We really didn’t have a place to send him.”
Harryman noted that some of the scooter rental companies pay people to charge lithium-ion batteries for them. But he said he did not know if that had been the case on Berkeley Way.
BFD strongly discourages anyone from charging lithium-ion batteries inside their homes, he added. Even outside, they should not be left unattended.
“Don’t plug them in and leave for the day or leave them for the weekend,” he said. “These things are overcharging, heating up and causing fires. If you are going to charge it, remain home with it and don’t charge it inside.”
Last year, the city of Berkeley announced in June that six recent fires had been caused by unattended lithium battery charging.
“These local battery fires — involving e-skateboards, e-scooters, and at least one e-bike — have also been seen around the region and nation,” the city wrote.
The city also noted that fires could “occur spontaneously while charging” and advised anyone noticing signs of fire, such as smoke, gas and sparks, to evacuate the area and immediately call 911.
Lithium battery safety tips from the city of Berkeley:
- Only use the original manufacturers’ chargers, batteries and replacements
- Charge only until the battery is full, then disconnect
- Keep the battery away from heat, cold and flammable items while charging and storing
- Discard distressed batteries (those that are swollen, dented or otherwise damaged) at a drop-off site — not in your garbage can
Learn more from the city of Berkeley about fire risks related to lithium-ion batteries.
Baton Rouge, LA – Sprinkler system activated for arson fire at Walmart; No injuries reported
Just before 8 p.m. Sunday, the department was called to the store and found it had been evacuated. They were told the fire broke out in the middle of the building and “many sprinkler heads had been activated.”
Crews were able to find the fire and put it out within minutes, the department said. No one was injured.
The fire, smoke and sprinklers caused enough damage to close the store indefinitely, the department said.
Winnipeg, MB, Canada – Sprinkler system contains fire at industrial building; No injuries reported
When crews arrived to the scene, they found smoke coming from the structure. The fire was quickly brought under control, having been contained by the building’s sprinkler system.
There were no occupants in the building at the time of the fire. No injuries were reported.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. The building sustained smoke, fire, and water damage. Damage estimates are not available at this time.
