Tag Archives: Evening (6pm-9pm)

Restaurant

McKinney, TX – Sprinkler system keeps restaurant dumpster fire from spreading

The McKinney Fire Department (MFD) responded to an incident at 8 p.m. Thursday at Spring Creek Barbeque, 1993 U.S. 75, where first responders saw smoke and heard the fire alarm upon arrival.

An investigation revealed the fire sprinkler system had activated and suppressed a fire within the dumpster. A single sprinkler head is credited for the minimal fire damage and reinforced the value of fire sprinkler systems in commercial structures.

Twenty five MFD personnel and investigators from the fire marshal’s office responded to the fire. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire was determined to disposal of ashes into the dumpster.

“This successful sprinkler save continues to demonstrates the effectiveness of automatic fire sprinkler systems in a commercial environment. Had a fire sprinkler system not been present, the outcome may have been very different,” said Deputy Fire Marshal Andrew Barr.

For additional information on fire protection systems, code requirements or other fire prevention topics, visit mckinneyfire.org or call 972-547-2862.

Other Business

Camarillo, CA – Sprinklers assist firefighters in controlling fire at electrical parts supplier

A Camarillo business is recovering after a brief fire Friday night. According to Engineer Steve Swindle with the Ventura County Fire Department, the blaze was reported Nov. 17 at electronic parts supplier Advanced Motion Controls, 3805 Calle Tecate. Firefighters arrived around 6:45 p.m. and the fire was out in 30 minutes, Swindle said. Dan Mayer, vice president of finance at AMC, said the fire’s cause is under investigation but it looks to be an electrical fire that damaged manufacturing equipment. Swindle said the department helped remove smoke and clean up water from the sprinkler system as well. “They had already knocked the fire down pretty quickly, but it was a large concrete building full of smoke,” Swindle said.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Marlborough, MA – Sprinkler system activates; Assists firefighters in controlling hotel fire

Firefighters made quick work out of a fire in a fourth-floor apartment at the MacDonald Hotel Wednesday night that forced Main Street to be closed for several hours. There were no injuries from the fire that broke out around 8:30 p.m., but 30 to 40 residents were displaced from the 276 Main St. building, according to Battalion Chief David D’Amico. The Red Cross arrived to lend a hand. “The first engine company went up to investigate and they found smoke …. on the fourth floor,” D’Amico said. “They found the apartment where the fire was.” The fire, contained to one apartment, was under control within a half-hour, but crews remained on hand for several hours to make sure it didn’t reignite, D’Amico said. Firefighters don’t know what sparked the blaze Wednesday night. The state Fire Marshal’s inspector was called to the building.

“Right now, we are in the investigation stage,” he said. D’Amico said it’s unknown how long the building will be uninhabitable. “The sprinkler system did activate. The water damage throughout the building still has to be checked,” he said. “We still have to get into all these apartments.” Because of frequent false alarm, many people refused to evacuate, which became a challenge for firefighters. “Getting into this building while people are coming out that is always a challenge,” D’Amico said. Around 25 residents gathered in the nearby Marlborough House of Pizza to stay warm and wait for news from the department. Fire Chief Kevin Breen told the residents they would be able to enter the building to retrieve medications and personal belongings, but would not be allowed to stay the night.

“I was sleeping and I heard a small explosion,” said Andy Alley, who has lived on the third floor of the building for five years. “When I opened the door the smoke was floor to ceiling. This is the second fire since I’ve lived here.” Another resident said several people tried to put out the blaze with a fire extinguisher. Southborough and Northborough Fire Departments also sent crews to help with the two-alarm fire.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Winston-Salem, NC – Fire crews credit sprinkler system with containing warehouse fire

A warehouse in Winston-Salem caught fire on Tuesday, but nobody was hurt.  Crews were called to a Waste Management facility at 280 Business Park Drive shortly after 6 p.m., according to the Winston-Salem Fire Department.  Thirty-one firefighters had the fire under control in about 35 minutes. Smoke was showing as crews arrived. Firefighters credit the building sprinkler system for helping keep the fire from spreading. A cause has not been released.

Other Business, Recycling / Waste Facility

Duncan, OK – Sprinkler system assists firefighters in controlling potentially dangerous blaze at waste facility

A small fire broke out at approximately 7 p.m. Wednesday at Waste Connections, apparently caused by a chemical reaction in a pile of trash workers had recently dumped at the site. Duncan Fire Chief Dayton Burnside said Oakridge Volunteer Fire Department (OVFD) was first on the scene and reacted quickly to extinguish the flaming trash heap. “They were first on scene, we just got a call to help them with a fire in Waste Connections’ main building,” Burnside said. “[The fire] was in the trash piles — it was all compacted up, the structure was saved but all [of] the contents of the pile was gone, it was put out in about 45 minutes.”

According to Jeff Bruehl, an officer for OVFD, firefighters weren’t alerted to the blaze in the traditional way with a call — in fact, they saw the flames themselves. “— We actually never got the call, we called them, we saw smoke coming from the building because we were next door working on a fire truck,” said Bruehl. “Then, somewhere in between that time and when we got there, two or three other people had called. When we got there, [the fire] was just in the transfer station — they had dumped, looked like a pile of mattresses and bedding and — it was burning in that section. — The sprinkler system activated about the same time we got there and was helping us put it out.”

Bruehl said though the exact cause of the blaze hasn’t been determined, it’s likely that the fire was caused by a chemical reaction or some sort of discarded material that shouldn’t have been thrown in a dumpster to begin with.

“Most likely, it was discarded either when they loaded it or unloaded it, [it could be] friction or a chemical reaction, some kind of chemicals in it. I mean, it’s trash, so it’s kind of hard to pinpoint it. We looked at all of the different items in the trash, but we couldn’t find any particular items. It could have been anything from a cigarette discarded to a chemical reaction from something.”

Minimal damage was caused by the fire, according to Bruehl, and no equipment was harmed, but Bruehl did have some tips for the community about what should and shouldn’t be thrown into a trash receptacle. Advice he hopes can help prevent fires like these from happening in the future.

“— Be careful what you throw away, no chemicals — are supposed to be put in the trash dumpsters,” he said. “—It can cause chemical reactions. Paint thinner, oil, bleach even. — A lot of people don’t know it, but [a] bleach and motor oil combination can, it takes an hour or two, it gets hotter and hotter and then bursts into flames if they get mixed together. — An empty bleach bottle still has some residue in it and the right combinations, temperature and the wind — can set off a chemical reaction.”

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Tomah, WI – Fire at assisted-living facility put out with help from sprinkler system

Thirteen people were displaced after a fire damaged an assisted-living facility in Tomah.  The Tomah Fire Department was dispatched shortly before 7 p.m. to Cranberry Country assisted living facility, where staff was evacuating the building upon arrival of firefighters. No injuries were reported. Tomah Fire Chief Tim Adler said there was heavy smoke throughout the building and that entry was made with a hand line to extinguish the blaze. 

Adler said the fire was located inside of one of the bedrooms and that the building’s sprinkler system was activated due to the temperature of the fire. He said the fire was contained to the bedroom. The building’s owner, Krista Witt, said the fire likely was started by an electric appliance − “something somebody plugged in,” she said.

The building sustained heavy smoke and water damage, but Witt hopes to bring residents back into the rooms within a week. She said two residents are staying with family members, two more were moved to empty rooms in a part of the facility that wasn’t damaged, and others are staying in nearby assisted living centers.

She said staff members got everyone out of the building quickly and that other employees who weren’t scheduled to work dropped what they were doing to help.

“The staff worked their butts off,” Witt said. “This is the first time I realized, wow, there are some really good people who work here.”

Adler said 20 firefighters were on the scene for 2½ hours.

“The fire department was awesome,” Witt said. “The whole community stepped up. It was, ‘What can I do to help?’”

Assisting the fire department were Fort McCoy Ambulance Service and Monroe County 911 Communication Center.

Adler said the cause of the fire remains under investigation. It marked the second time in four days the department was called to a structure fire. A structure on Jefferson Street was left uninhabitable Friday after a fire started in a garage.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Orange, CT – Sprinkler system contains fire at TGI Fridays during busy Saturday night

A fire Saturday night at TGI Fridays was accidental and started in a kitchen exhaust hood, likely because of a malfunction, Fire Marshal Tim Smith said Sunday.

“It had nothing to do with cooking,” Smith said.  An alarm at the restaurant set off by the sprinklers being activated came into fire headquarters just about the same time an astute manager noticed water dripping from the ceiling was discolored, indicating fire, Smith said.

Smith said that because it is a wooden building, the restaurant at 348 Boston Post has sprinklers above and below the ceiling, as required by law.  He said that while the fire was contained to the ceiling area and extinguished quickly between sprinklers and firefighters, there is extensive smoke damage to the entire restaurant, the electricity had to be cut off and the food can’t be kept, so there is no saying when the business will reopen, Smith said.

 It was a busy Saturday night and all customers and employees evacuated safely, as employees handled the event well, he said. “If that building didn’t have sprinklers, it would have been a different outcome now,” Smith said. He said even if not required by code, sprinklers are a great idea.

Fire agencies from Orange, Woodbridge and West Haven responded to the call that came in at 8:44 p.m., Smith said.

Although the sprinkler system worked as it should have, firefighters had to open the roof up to locate the fire and assure the fire was out.

Smith said cleanup by a restoration company is underway.

Food Processing, Manufacturing

Lawrence, MA – Sprinkler system helps stop fire at food distribution center

Prompt action by firefighters Wednesday evening saved a former mill building that now houses two food distribution companies, according to fire Chief Brian Moriarty.

One firefighter suffered minor injuries but is expected to fully recover, the chief said. No civilians were hurt.

A working fire in the building at 85 Manchester St. was reported by telephone at 6 p.m. Engine 7, based at the nearby Park Street firehouse, was the first to respond. The second alarm brought all Lawrence engines to the scene, plus crews from Salem, New Hampshire, and Andover.

Ladder 4 sprayed water on the roof while other engines attacked the fire from different positions.

Engine 5, connected to a hydrant on Broadway, pumped water to the other trucks through about 1,000 feet of 6-inch hose.

Damage was contained to the roof, Moriarty said. The roof, with an old-fashioned sawtooth style, proved to be a challenge, he added.

The thick roof, measuring at least 6 inches and constructed of planks and rubber, was “a very tough area,” Moriarty said.

A sprinkler head in the building helped bring the fire under control, he said. Firefighters began leaving the scene by 8 p.m.

The two food distribution companies are Bulk Services and Dragon Joy. City health inspectors were assessing the building Wednesday night to determine whether employees can report for work Thursday, Deputy Chief John McInnis said.

The employees of the nearby Microsemi Corp., 6 Lake St., were evacuated. Police blocked Broadway between Park and Manchester streets while firefighters suppressed the blaze.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Riverbank, CA – Sprinkler system assists firefighters in controlling restaurant fire

Cool Hand Luke’s in Riverbank is expected to stay closed for about a week after a fire last Tuesday night.  The fire broke out at the restaurant on Patterson Road at about 7 p.m., setting off the sprinkler system in the kitchen and prompting the evacuation of dozens of diners.  The fire was accidental, said Lt. Dave Hutchison, supervisor of the Fire Investigation Unit.  It started on a stove in the kitchen, got into the heating and air conditioning system and spread into the attic.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Silver City, NM – Electrical fire at crowded Denny’s restaurant put out by sprinkler system

An electrical fire in the ceiling above the kitchen at Denny’s sent customers and staff scrambling out into the parking lot Tuesday night, leaving their pancakes and burgers behind. The Silver City Fire Department got called out at 8:21 p.m. said Capt. Nathan Schwarz, but when firefighters arrived, the fire was already out.  “There was an electrical short in the back over the kitchen and the sprinkler system did its job and put the fire out,” he said.

Fifty to 60 customers were in the restaurant at the time, along with 20 employees, said Jennifer Noperil, one of Denny’s managers. One Denny’s employee said they heard a pop.  “I was cooking and I looked to the left and smelled smoke,” said cook Tyler Yarbrough.  Another employee popped the ceiling tile up to find where the smoke was coming from. He said he then saw flames in the ceiling.

“He tried putting it out with a fire extinguisher but it was just too much,” said cook Daniel Murillo.

That’s when staff called 911 and told the customers to evacuate the restaurant.

Customer Miguel Alvarado said he was sitting near the kitchen and had just gotten his meal when he heard the alarm go off and then the sprinkler went off.

People left the restaurant in a mostly calm fashion but some of the kids were crying, an employee said.

An ambulance had been dispatched to the restaurant minutes earlier for an unrelated medical call, Schwarz said. Employees had the restaurant completely evacuated by the time firefighters arrived. The fire was completely contained to the attic above the kitchen, Schwarz said. Six firefighters worked to pull soggy, burned insulation from the ceiling.

“Denny’s is going to be closed down for a few days until they can get an electrician in here and make repairs to the ceiling,” he said.