Tag Archives: Evening (6pm-9pm)

Residential, Single Family Home

Santa Maria, CA – Sprinkler system contains house fire to bedroom, according to firefighters

A fire sprinkler system helped contain a blaze in a Santa Maria residence on Wednesday night.  At 8:40 p.m., personnel from the Santa Maria Fire and Police departments and American Medical Response were dispatched to the 200 block of East Inger Drive for a structure fire.  The blaze was kept in check by the fire sprinkler system, with the flames contained to a bedroom, according to firefighters.  One person was being evaluated medically by AMR paramedics, firefighters said.  Additional details were not immediately available.

College/University (on campus)

Tempe, AZ – Computer monitor fire in classroom building at Arizona State University contained by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A small electrical fire stemming from a computer monitor in ASU’s Brickyard complex occurred on Sunday evening, according to a spokeswoman from Tempe Fire Medical Rescue Department.  There were no reported injuries at the time of publication.  “The fire was in an actual computer monitor,” interim Assistant Chief and Fire Marshal Andrea Glass said.

The building sprinkler system was activated and contained the fire’s location until firefighters arrived to the scene, Glass said. The cause for the fire is still undetermined, but the department will conduct an investigation to determine the cause.

“There was extensive work done by the fire crew to protect the computer systems that were located on the second floor from the water damage,” Glass said.  The Brickyard, located on Mill Avenue, houses several Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering labs and classrooms, as well as the ASU Art Museum Ceramics Research Center, the School of Arts, Media and Engineering and multiple research centers.

Students working in the labs said they immediately evacuated the building upon hearing the fire alarm.  Aditya Prasad Mishra, a masters student studying computer science, was working in his lab at the time of the incident.  “I was a bit worried when I smelled the smoke coming outside,” Mishra said.  Once the fire was contained, the fire department started letting people back into their offices to get their belongings before continuing the investigation.

 

Apartment Building, Residential

Victoria, BC, Canada – Sprinkler system activates; Helps control fire at low-income apartment building

Victoria Fire Department crews were called to a building on Swift Street and Store Street near Fisgard on Wednesday night after reports of a fire.  Upon arrival around 6:50 p.m., crews investigated and found a grease fire in one of the units at 467 Swift, a building operated by Victoria’s Cool Aid Society.  Fire officials say the flames were quickly extinguished.  The lone occupant of the suite suffered a minor burn to one hand and was examined by BC Ambulance Paramedics.

The incident did trigger the sprinkler system and fire crews remained on scene to deal with water issues in the affected suite and elsewhere in the building.  The cause is believed to be accidental. The Victoria Fire Department estimates the cost of the water damage to the first and third floors to be approximately $100,000. All tenants except the one living in the affected unit are expected to be able to return home Wednesday night.

Other - Manufacturing

Stamford, CT – Fire in basement of industrial building held in check by sprinkler system

A fire in the basement of a Glenbrook industrial building that houses business was contained to that area, allowing upstairs occupants to return to the building on Wednesday. The fire started around 8:30 p.m. last Tuesday at 652 Glenbrook Road in the industrial complex, said Stamford Deputy Fire Chief Thomas Gloersen. First arriving units reported smoke coming from the basement of the large, re-purposed industrial building. The fire which was extinguished by hose lines was held in check by the building’s sprinkler system, he added. Stamford units received assistance from the Glenbrook and Belltown fire departments. No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Baton Rouge, LA – Mall fire extinguished with help from sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Emergency officials responded to reports of the smell of smoke and a possible fire at the Mall of Louisiana around 7 p.m. Monday night.

An official with the St. George Fire Department says they discovered a small fire in the interior of a wall in Vivos, which set off a sprinkler, getting people’s attention. The fire department was able to put out the fire with a hand extinguisher and did not have to run a hose into the building. The fire reportedly started in the bathroom of the store.

A fire investigator is en route to determine the cause of the fire.

Sources report that areas of the mall were evacuated by mall security as a precaution. No injuries were reported. The all clear was given around 8 p.m. and patrons were allowed back inside.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Fresno, CA – Arson fire extinguished with help from sprinkler system; No injuries reported

The Fresno Fire Department is asking for help Tuesday identifying whoever set fire to a Fresno elementary school classroom on Saturday night.

Around 7:45 p.m., a fire burned inside a classroom of Edith B. Storey Elementary School at 5250 E. Church Avenue.

The fire caused major fire and smoke damage.

The sprinkler system helped extinguish the fire, but it caused water damage to the classroom and to the teacher’s supplies and books.

The suspect(s) used an object to smash a small window on the door of the classroom and made entry into the classroom, the Fire Department said. While inside the classroom the suspect(s) set multiple fires that caused the damage.

The fire Saturday was the second arson fire at the location within 24 hours, the Fire Department said.

Anyone with information should call the Fire Department Arson Hotline at 559-621-2776.

Department Store, Retail

Chillicothe, OH – Suspicious fire at Hobby Lobby store knocked down by sprinkler system

A fire suppression system at Hobby Lobby is being lauded for dousing a fire quickly on Thursday night.  The fire was reported not long after 7 p.m. and when Chillicothe firefighters arrived, everyone had gotten out safely and the fire was mostly out, said Capt. Noel Akers.  “The sprinkler system did its job and knocked down the majority of it,” he said.

The fire was in the clothing section of the store in the back left where damage mostly was limited to some clothing and housing items, Akers said. A witness said flames were 7- to 8-feet tall, and estimated there were a dozen or two customers in the store when the fire broke out.  Fire investigators are reviewing the scene and cameras from the store. While an official cause isn’t expected to be released until Friday, Akers referred to the fire as suspicious.

“There’s some suspicious things, so we’ll let the investigators make a determination on that,” he said.  Asst. Chief Steve Gallagher said while fire inspections may sometimes be a bother for businesses, the fire at Hobby Lobby is a prime example of the value of ensuring the fire suppression system is in good shape.  “There’s some water damage but it’s not nearly what could’ve happened if (the fire) had a head start on us … It’s the different between a store closing and re-opening,” Gallagher said.

Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business

Allentown, PA – Sprinkler system knocks down pretzel oven fire at Coca-Cola Park

Allentown firefighters were dispatched to Coca-Cola Park on the city’s East Side on Wednesday evening on a report of a smoky fire touched off by a pretzel oven that was left unattended.

As firetrucks arrived about 6:10 p.m., the smoke was thick but the fire was out, fire officials said. No one was injured.

“When we got there, in one of the storage rooms, there was a heavy smoke condition,” fire Capt. John Christopher said. “What it was, was a pretzel oven. It remained plugged in, it overheated and bags on top of the oven caught fire.

“The sprinkler system kicked in, two sprinkler heads went off and the fire was out when we got there,” he said. “That’s what knocked the fire out. We didn’t have to do anything.”

Christopher said he didn’t know why the pretzel oven was on. He didn’t know of any event going on at the park at the time. He said officials ruled it an accident.

The oven fire reached into a wall, he said. Firefighters checked the walls for hot spots to make sure any hidden fire was extinguished.

Activation of the water sprinklers automatically set off the fire-alarm horns at the stadium, which serves the Lehigh Valley IronPigs baseball team. It took several minutes to shut off the noise.

Just before 10 p.m., firefighters were called back to the stadium on another alarm, but there was no new fire. Workers were resetting the alarm system when it erroneously signaled another emergency.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Stockton, CA – Sprinkler system keeps semitrailer fire from spreading into warehouse at packaging company

The cause and origin of a two-alarm fire Sunday night that burned two semitrailers, a train car and the roof of a nearby packaging warehouse in east Stockton remains under investigation today, according to the Stockton Fire Department.

The fire was called in at 8:17 p.m. as a warehouse fire, but when crews arrived they observed two semitrailers fully involved with flames extending to the nearby warehouse operated by Pflug Packaging at 1203 N. Gertrude Ave. in an industrial area north of East Fremont Street. A boxcar on a rail siding just west of the trailers also burned.

A Pflug spokeswoman said the impact of the fire on operations was “minimal.” No one but security personnel were on site at the time, the fire affected an empty corner of the large warehouse and the structure’s sprinkler system kept flames from spreading to palletized boxes inside.

Firefighters had the blaze under control within 30 minutes, the Fire Department reported. Department spokesman Jeff Whitlock said six engines, two truck companies, two battalion chiefs and the chief’s operator responded to the scene. The last unit remained for mop-up until about 10:45 p.m. No injuries were reported.

Government/Military, Prison / Jail

LaSalle Parish, LA – Arson fire set by inmate controlled by sprinkler system

The Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal has arrested a jail inmate for setting a cell mattress on fire.

Ulises Garrido-Zamudo, 21, was arrested on Monday, Sept. 17, on one count of Aggravated Arson. He was transferred from the detention center he was being held in at the time of the fire to the LaSalle Parish Jail for booking.

In the evening hours of Sunday, September 16, the Jena Fire Department contacted the LAOSFM to assist with determining the origin and cause of a fire in an isolation dorm unit at the LaSalle I.C.E. Processing Center located on Pine Hill Road in Jena.

Garrido-Zamudo had been in the isolation cell where the fire occurred due to discipline issues.

The fire alarm and sprinkler system alerted staff to the fire, however, investigators learned Garrido-Zamudo refused to exit the cell for staff to attempt further extinguishing efforts. He had to be taken to an area hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation as a result.

Following his release from the hospital, Garrido-Zamudo confessed to investigators in an interview that he set the fire due to being upset with a family situation and “the devil tells him what to do.”