Tag Archives: Evening (6pm-9pm)

Apartment Building, Residential

McKinney, TX – Apartment kitchen fire controlled by single automatic sprinkler, limiting fire damage

Firefighters were called to the Magnolia Ranch Apartments, 3191 Medical Center Dr., at 6:21 p.m. last night for a water flow alarm. They arrived to find that a cooking fire in the kitchen had been extinguished by an overhead fire sprinkler. The single sprinkler is credited for the limited fire damage and shines a light on the value of having fire sprinkler systems installed. The resident was treated for smoke inhalation.   According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), kitchen fires account for about half of all home fires and fire injuries. Unattended cooking was a factor in 33 percent of all kitchen fires.  “This demonstrates the effectiveness of automatic fire sprinkler systems. A kitchen fire like this could spread quickly in an apartment building environment,” says McKinney Fire Marshal Mike Smith. “Without the sprinkler system, the outcome could have been much worse.

Other - Retail, Retail

Belmont, MA – Sprinkler system controls fire affecting three businesses

A building’s sprinkler system did its job preventing a fire from spreading and allowed the Belmont Fire Department to extinguish a one-alarm blaze that damaged three businesses in Cushing Square around 8 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 14.

A fire alarm was activated at 8:23 p.m. at 448 Common St. in what is called The Spirited Gourmet Building, said Belmont Fire Chief David L. Frizzell at the scene. When fire equipment arrived two minutes later, the fire control panel indicated a blaze in Pilgrim Shoe Repair.

Upon gaining access, crews discovered the store full of smoke and small fire in the back corner of the operation.

“The sprinkler’s worked controlling the fire long enough for our personnel to knock it down,” said Frizzell. Fire crews spent nearly two hours searching for “hot spots” in the walls and ceiling. Besides the Pilgrim, water damage was reported in The Spirited Gourmet and the Fred Astaire Dance Studio.

An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway.

Apartment Building, Residential

Lexington, KY – Sprinkler system extinguishes apartment fire originating in water heater

About 10 people were displaced by a fire at a Lexington apartment building Sunday evening, according to the Lexington Fire Department.

The blaze was at a building in the 1700 block of Augusta Court on the north side of Lexington. No one was injured.

The fire was in a water heater and was extinguished by the sprinkler system, said Maj. Maria Roberts.

Occupants of two apartments were displaced. The landlord found other places for the people to stay, Roberts said.

Apartment Building, Residential

Chilliwack, BC, Canada – Sprinkler system contains apartment fire caused by cooking illegal drugs

Cooking illegal drugs led to an explosion in a unit at a downtown Chilliwack apartment building Sunday evening.

The two occupants of the suite escaped without injury, but at least two units in the New Mark are damaged after the incident just after 7 p.m.

“We are just fortunate that nobody was injured,” RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Mike Rail said Monday.

The Chilliwack Fire Department (CFD) and Mounties were called to the scene after the report of an explosion in the Yale building of the New Mark condo complex.

Fire Chief Ian Josephson said that upon arrival they found a sprinkler head had activated extinguishing the fire.

“[The] majority of the damage in the unit was related to the vapour explosion with minor fire, smoke and water damage contained to the kitchen,” according to a CFD press release.

And while some residents on social media reported a drug lab exploded, or the incident was caused by a methamphetamine operation, Rail said it was a minor incident and not a meth lab.

Rail said an investigation is underway but no one was arrested Sunday evening.

The CFD said the fire was caused by the cooking of illegal drugs on the stove using a flammable gas.

Many of the residents of the New Mark were forced out on the street Sunday night, and some said there was a bad smell coming from the unit.

One resident who attended the unit after the explosion said the “kitchen was blown apart and there’s a huge hole in the wall.”

A photo posted on Facebook shows exposed beams of a wall inside one unit in the apartment.

A resident who said she lives below the unit in question said much of her property is seriously damaged by water after the fire was put out.

Speculation on social media quickly went towards the fire’s cause coming from illegal drug cooking of some kind in the apartment.

“[It’s] definitely really suspicious as the guy in the unit was saying something was on the stove and then the explosion happened but the female from the unit said they were just cooking spaghetti,” one neighbour said.

 

Apartment Building, Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Prior Lake, MN – Sprinkler system stops fire at senior apartment building; No injuries reported

The Prior Lake Fire Department responded to a cooking fire at the Grainwood Apartments building Tuesday night. With temperatures dipping below zero degrees around 7:15 p.m., when firefighters responded to the scene, 5119 Gateway St. SE, Fire Chief Rick Steinhaus said he was happy that a sprinkler system within the building extinguished the fire almost immediately.

“It did what it was supposed to do,” he said.

The building was evacuated due to the fire and three units were displaced due to “extensive water damage” from the sprinkler system, Steinhaus said. There was very little fire damage, the chief said. Steinhaus said Tuesday night’s fire is a good example of why the state of Minnesota has been fighting for sprinkler systems in all commercial buildings. “It’s considered a sprinkler save,” he said of the fire.

The Grainwood Apartment complex held its grand opening in August. The building includes 168 living units plus community areas, which include a kitchen, craft room, salon, fitness area, theater and underground heated parking. The building is for adults age 55 and up.

Apartment Building, Residential

Burton, SC – Apartment kitchen fire caused by unattended cooking extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Just after 6 p.m. Thursday, Burton and MCAS firefighters responded to an alarm activation at Magnolia Park Apartments on Laurel Bay Road. When they got there, they found the residents evacuating and smoke was coming from a second-floor apartment. Upon investigation, crews learned the resident fell asleep while cooking. The unattended food ignited, and the growing flames spread to the cabinets activating the fire alarm as well as a single fire sprinkler head which extingui9shed the fire before the first firetruck arrived. That sprinkler system saved Christmas for 16 families in the apartment complex. No injuries were reported.

Fire crews say cooking is the leading cause of fires, and with the holidays approaching, Burton Fire officials are urging citizens to be extra careful when at the stove, and to place fire extinguishers where they can be seen, quickly accessed, and used.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Houston, TX – Sprinkler system contains workplace fire to one room; No injuries reported

On Dec. 18 at approximately 8:00 p.m. Cy-Fair Fire Department requested HCFMO investigators assist with a fire in the 11900 block of FM 529, Houston, TX. Investigators determined the fire started due to an electrical failure of a universal battery charger that was left on a desk.

“The building’s fire sprinkler system activated and contained the fire to one room,” said Public Information Officer Rachel Moreno. “Only one sprinkler head activated, minimizing fire damage and saving the building.”

Employees were in the building at the time of the fire. All fire protection systems operated as designed and limited damage. Investigators estimate the fire caused approximately $20,000 in damage.

The Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office Investigations Division is responsible for fire, arson, and explosion investigations in unincorporated Harris County.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Colorado Springs, CO – Hotel sprinkler system activates in response to dumpster fire started outside

A man was arrested Sunday for allegedly setting several dumpsters on fire and vandalizing cars in downtown Colorado Springs.

Police responded about 7 p.m. to a call about a man starting dumpster fires and damaging cars. One fire was so big that it triggered the sprinkler system at a local hotel. Witnesses followed the suspect, later identified as Steven Roche, 51, to East Bijou and North Tejon streets.

Police say Roche became difficult when they tried to contact him. Police said Roche apparently used a rock to damage several cars.

He was arrested on suspicion of felony criminal mischief as well as resisting arrest and two counts of fourth-degree arson, all misdemeanors.

Residential, Single Family Home

Joppa, MD – Residential sprinkler system keeps kitchen fire from spreading; No injuries

Crews were called to a kitchen fire in Joppa Saturday night. The sprinkler system that was in place had put out the blaze by the time crews arrived, according to the Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company.

Firefighters were dispatched at 6:19 p.m. to a house in the 800 block of Wingsail Court, officials said.

The residential sprinkler system had stopped the fire from spreading, according to the fire company, which reported the damage was contained to the kitchen.

Nobody was injured in the blaze, Joppa-Magnolia said.

College/University (on campus), Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential, School / University

Durham, NC – Dorm room fire at Duke University extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A dorm room was damaged in a fire at Duke University on Saturday evening, officials said. The fire was reported at 7:48 p.m. at 420 Chapel Drive, according to Durham fire officials. “Firefighters found the sprinkler system had activated and extinguished a small fire in a dorm room,” Chris Iannuzzi, deputy chief of the Durham Fire Department said in a news release. Iannuzzi said the fire broke out in House HH at Few Quad on the Duke campus. The student who lived in the dorm room needed to be moved to a different room, Iannuzzi said. All students were later allowed back into the dormitory. No one was injured. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, officials said. “But it is not believed to be intentional,” the news release said.