Tag Archives: Evening (6pm-9pm)

Other-Government/Military

Yuma, AZ – Sprinklers knock down fire at Department of Transportation garage

On Wednesday, just after 8:30 pm, the smell of smoke was reported in the 2100 block of east Gila Ridge Road. Yuma Fire Department personnel arrived in the area and began to search for the source. A short time later smoke was found to be coming from a garage in the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) yard at 2165 east Gila Ridge Road.

Firefighters gained access to the locked garage and found an ADOT utility truck on fire inside. The fire had mostly been knocked down by the fire suppression sprinkler system inside the garage. Firefighters extinguished the remaining fire and confirmed it had not spread further. Damage was limited to the vehicle and to sections of the garage directly above the truck. Several other vehicles, as well as additional tools and equipment, were undamaged. Fire investigators believe the fire originated in some equipment on the utility truck. The fire is not considered to have been intentionally set.

Fire sprinkler systems can keep fires from spreading and can also extinguish them. Fire spreads quickly and can double in size every minute. Even small fires can cause significant damage to personal property and endanger those nearby. Contrary to many Hollywood portrayals, only sprinkler heads directly exposed to the heat (155 degrees for a residential sprinkler) activate, not those in the rest of the room, building, or complex.

Office Building, Other Business

Stamford, CT – Fire in records room at office building put out by sprinkler system

A fire suppression sprinkler system did what it was supposed to do and quickly put out a small fire in an Atlantic Street office building that broke out after hours. Firefighters were called to 1 Atlantic St. in response to an automatic fire alarm in the building Thursday at about 7 p.m., and found the sprinkler activated and smoke on the fourth floor of the building, according to a statement from Stamford Fire Department.

The fire started in a records room, it was determined, where firefighters found damage from fire, smoke and water, the statement said. They also found that just one sprinkler head of the automatic system had activated, and that it alone was able to control the fire. A total of five engines, one truck, one rescue and the deputy chief responded to the alarm arriving within three minutes. There were no injuries reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the City Fire Marshal’s Office.

Apartment Building, Residential

Palo Alto, CA – Sprinkler system contains apartment fire started by teenager cooking hash oil

A teenager who police said was cooking hash oil in his Palo Alto apartment was arrested Thursday night after he started a fire that displaced several residents in the apartment complex.

The 17-year-old male, whose identity is not being released because he is a juvenile, was reportedly trying to make hash oil in the kitchen at around 8:40 p.m. Police said he was using the kitchen stove and liquid butane to make the liquid substance, a concentrated form of cannabis that can be smoked or ingested. The teenager briefly left the stove unattended and a fire started, triggering the building’s sprinkler system, police said.

The Palo Alto Fire Department received calls from several residents about the fire, but when police officers and firefighters arrived on scene they found that the fire had already been extinguished by the sprinkler system, according to police.

The fire damaged the kitchen but was otherwise contained, police said. Yet both the teenager’s apartment and two neighboring apartments sustained major water damage and were deemed uninhabitable for the night. American Red Cross workers helped the residents in the neighboring apartments obtain shelter for the night, police said.

In investigating the fire, police said they determined that once the fire was extinguished, the teen tossed the butane canisters down a nearby trash chute and tried to flush down the toilet a “substantial amount of marijuana.”

After paramedics treated him for a burn on his arm, the teenager was cited for one felony count of manufacturing hash oil and one misdemeanor count of destruction of evidence. He was released into the custody of a parent, police said.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the department’s 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be emailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to 650-383-8984.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Portland, OR – Kitchen fire at senior apartment building extinguished by sprinkler system

Fire sprinklers extinguished a kitchen fire at a Southeast Portland senior housing building, and one resident was treated for smoke inhalation.

The Portland Fire Bureau called to Sacred Heart Villa at 3911 S.E. Milwaukie Ave. at 7:19 p.m. on Saturday, and an incident commander mobilized more crews after learning a potential fire threatened an apartment building. But by the time crews arrived, the fire had been extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system.

 

 

Other Business, Recycling / Waste Facility

Springfield, MA – Recycling center fire kept from spreading by sprinkler system

City firefighters quickly extinguished a blaze at a Waste Management facility in East Springfield Thursday night. There were no injuries or major damage tied to the fire, which was reported at 8:17 p.m. at the automated material handling recycling center at 203 Tremont St.

“It ends up being a giant trash fire,” said Dennis G. Leger, executive aide to Springfield Fire Commissioner Joseph A. Conant. The facility’s sprinkler system kept the fire from spreading until crews arrived to extinguish the blaze, he said.

The fire wasn’t suspicious. It apparently began when a spark from a shredding operation at the recycling center ignited a bale of trash, Leger said.

Hospital/Care Facility, Other - Hospital/Medical

Brainerd, MN – Sprinklers activate to help control intentionally set fire at behavior health center

A subject allegedly lit her bed on fire and ran away from the behavioral health inpatient unit – also known as the grace unit – at Essentia Health-St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Brainerd, leaving hospital staff scrambling to make sure patients were safe.

Brainerd police and fire personnel were dispatched to a fire alarm at 7 p.m. Monday at the hospital, 523 North Third St., Brainerd. While en route to the alarm, it was reported a bed was lit on fire and it appeared the fire was intentionally set to facilitate an escape from the locked unit at the hospital.

Dr. Pete Henry, chief medical officer of the central region and an emergency room physician at Essentia Health-St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Brainerd, said hospital staff immediately contained the fire and ensured patients’ safety. The locked unit was closed down and 12 patients were moved to other parts of the hospital. Thirteen patients on the telemetry unit and 13 patients from the surgery unit also were moved to different locations to ensure their safety.

Henry said water from the sprinkler system damaged three floors below the behavioral health inpatient unit: the telemetry unit, inpatient surgery unit and the outpatient cardiovascular unit. Henry said the sprinkler system also was damaged during the incident and was repaired about an hour later.

Henry did not know what the estimated cost was from the fire and water damage from the sprinkler system. “It’s too soon to tell,” he said. Henry said all the service areas damaged Monday night at the hospital are up and running, except the inpatient care in the grace unit. Henry hopes the unit will be up and running as soon as possible, but he could not say an exact date. Henry said the dozen patients were moved to another location at the hospital or to another mental health facility in the state.

Essentia Health has two locations for its psychiatry patients, one on the fourth floor at the hospital and another at the Brainerd clinic. The clinic provides outpatient psychiatry services, including psychotherapy, medication management and electroconvulsive therapy services for children, adolescents and adults. “In the meantime we won’t be accepting any new patients,” Henry said of the behavioral health inpatient unit.

Brainerd police received additional information about a suspect and learned the suspect and potentially two accomplices had fled the area in a vehicle. The information about the suspects and a vehicle description was sent out in a state-wide alert. At about 11 p.m., authorities learned police in Becker had located the vehicle and three occupants were taken into custody without incident.

One of the parties involved was identified as a 17-year-old juvenile female from Brainerd. She was arrested and transported to a juvenile detention center in Grand Rapids. The two other individuals were identified as Raegan Sjolund, 18, and Jonathn Erickson, 24. Sjolund and Erickson were brought to the Sherburne County Jail where they are awaiting transfer to the Crow Wing County Jail.

Brainerd police report the juvenile and Sjolund were each arrested for damaging property, escaping from custody and first-degree arson. Erickson was arrested for damaging property and first-degree arson.

This incident will be referred to the Crow Wing County Attorney’s Office for review pending formal charges. The investigation remains ongoing and anyone with additional information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Brainerd Police Department at 218-829-2805.

Other - Retail, Retail

Kent, WA – Sprinkler system stops fire at car audio business

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A business’s sprinkler system stopped a fire from spreading and limited damage in the 25900 block of 104 Avenue Southeast, the Kent Fire Department RFA reported.

The car audio business was closed when the initial call came in for a sprinkler water flow alarm at 7:36 p.m. When the first engine from Kent Fire arrived, they found water and smoke coming from the business, which was at the end of a strip mall.

Firefighters entered the building and found a small fire that had been extinguished by the sprinkler system. It was the water coming from the sprinkler heads that set off the alarm. The presence of the sprinkler system kept the fire from causing more damage or spreading to adjacent businesses. A small amount of water was found in the next business, which had seeped from the affected area.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. There were no injuries.

Office Building, Other Business

Herndon, VA – Sprinkler helps contain high-rise fire to room of origin

There were no injuries in a fire in a high-rise office building near Dulles Airport on Tuesday, which started in a first-floor “battery room,” according to the Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department. A security guard in the 10-story building called 911 after hearing an explosion.

Arriving on the scene at about 7:45 p.m., firefighters and rescue personnel found an electrical transformer on fire outside the building, the fire department said.

The building at 13820 Sunrise Valley Drive is the headquarters of Time-Warner, according to media reports. It is just south of the interchange of Route 28 and the Dulles Toll Road near Herndon.

The firefighters also encountered heavy smoke coming from the lower level of the building, with flames coming from the battery room.

The incident commander sounded a second alarm, bringing more than 60 firefighters to the scene, the fire department said. There were about 50 employees in the building when the fire broke out, and the firefighters ensured all occupants got out.

The firefighters contained the blaze to the battery room and the transformer; it didn’t spread to other parts of the building, the fire department said. The building’s automatic fire alarm activated, as well as one sprinkler head, which helped contain the blaze.

The fire department estimated that damage to the building totals $2 million. According to fire investigators, the blaze was accidental. They traced the cause to an “electrical event” in the control module of the building’s power supply.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Tallahassee, FL – Restaurant fire caused by malfunctioning burner halted by sprinkler system

A popular Midtown restaurant is closed as a result of a fire.

The Front Porch opened its Thomasville Road location in early 2013. The restaurant, known for its locally-sourced seafood dishes in an upscale atmosphere, posted a Facebook message to its customers on Monday morning.

“We are very sad to announce that our beautiful restaurant suffered a small fire last week and we will be temporarily closed until further notice. Please continue to check back, as our Facebook page will be updated when we have a re-opening day in sight. We appreciate your loyal patronage and can’t wait to serve you all again soon!”

Restaurant owners could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

The Tallahassee Fire Department arrived at 8:52 p.m. May 30 in response to a fire, the incident report states. Investigators estimate damages at $35,000. No one was injured during the fire and the building was already evacuated by the time firefighters arrived.

The internal sprinkler system went off as a result of a malfunctioning Butane burner, according to employee statements in the report.

“The burning fuel from the burner was enough heat to activate the sprinkler head directly above it,” the report said. Investigators believe the fire was caused by a leak in the burner’s gas bottle.

The report stated no actual fire damage to the building, and all content and structure damage was caused by the water from the sprinkler system.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Henderson, NV – Sprinklers activate to help control fire at Vons grocery store

** Note – Sprinklers are not activated by smoke – Only the substantial heat from a serious fire **

A Vons grocery store in Henderson caught fire Thursday and had to close for the night, according to a city of Henderson news release. The Henderson Fire Department responded to the store at 2667 E. Windmill Parkway, near Pecos Road, shortly after 8 p.m. The fire was in the roof where construction was recently done, the release said. The sprinkler system was activated by smoke in the rear of the store.

The grocery store was evacuated and closed for repairs. The store reopened Friday morning. There were no injuries. The cause of the fire was deemed accidental, but an estimated cost of damage could not be determined until Vons can inventory the lost food products, the release said.