Tag Archives: Georgia

Food Processing, Manufacturing

Cornelia, GA – Sprinkler system activated for fire at processing plant

An in-house sprinkler system, backed up by efforts from local firefighters, pevented a potentially disastrous situation for Habersham County’s largest employer. A fire broke out early Sunday inside Fieldale Farm’s main processing plant on Industrial Boulevard in Cornelia.

Around 4:39 a.m. on May 8, firefighters from Cornelia, Demorest, and Baldwin responded to the report of an alarm sounding and smoke coming from inside the plant. Habersham County Emergency Services also responded to the commercial fire.

When firefighters arrived, they found light smoke coming from inside the main plant. No one was working inside the plant at the time of the fire, says Cornelia Fire Marshal Josh Hazle.

A four-person crew of firefighters entered the plant from the main parking lot side to begin locating the source of the smoke as other firefighters looked around the outside of the building. Within approximately five minutes, Hazel says the inside crew found a small fire on a conveyor belt in the plant’s poultry processing area.

“Five sprinkler heads had activated and most of the fire was out,” says Hazle.

After Fieldale maintenance arrived and turned off the sprinkler system and electricity, fire personnel finished the job. They extinguished the small remaining fire with an extinguisher.

“Damage was contained to the one piece of equipment and the control wires above it thanks to the sprinkler system,” says Hazle. “The smoke dissipated quickly after the fire was extinguished, and no ventilation was needed.”

Fieldale maintenance and sub-contractors immediately began working to repair the damage so that normal plant operations could resume Monday.

Firefighters determined the fire was caused by a short in a light fixture located about the conveyor belt.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Macon, GA – Sprinkler system activated for fire at business; No injuries reported

Macon-Bibb fire crews responded to a blaze at a South Macon business on Monday.

Fire Chief Shane Edwards says it happened at Down River Load Solutions on Joe Tamplin Blvd.

Firefighters were dispatched around 10:40 a.m.

The first units to get to the scene were told that a machine had caught fire but the building’s sprinkler system extinguished most of it.

Firefighters executed fireground operations and no injuries were reported. The business took minimal damage.

Other - Storage / Warehouse, Storage / Warehouse

Atlanta, GA – Sprinkler system activated for hazmat situation at storage facility; No injuries reported

Fire officials said Tuesday that an early-morning fire call in Marietta actually had been a hazmat situation at a building on Industrial Park Drive that has since been taken care of.

According to Cobb Fire, which assisted the Marietta Fire Department on scene, a sprinkler system went off inside the building around 5:30 a.m.

When they arrived at, they discovered that “a chemical reaction of an organic acid-based compound had generated enough heat to activate the sprinkler system.”

Cobb Fire’s crews and a hazmat response company “assessed the scene and began remediation efforts.”

The fire service said no employees were in the building at the time of the situation, there were no injuries and no surrounding businesses required evacuation.

The incident occurred at 980 Industrial Park Drive, which appears to be an RV storage location ran by the company The RV Loft.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Atlanta, GA – Sprinkler system activated for kitchen fire at school; No injuries reported

Students at Lovett school were promptly evacuated Monday morning after a fire broke out in the kitchen of the Lower School building.

No injuries were reported and sprinkler systems deployed automatically, helping to bring down the flames. 

Lower School students and teachers have since been relocated to the Hendrix-Chenault Theater as fire officials work to identify the cause of the fire.

Atlanta Fire Rescue says they have extinguished a fire in the kitchen of The Lovett School.

In a tweet, they say they are staying on scene for further investigation.

The Atlanta Fire Rescue Department tweeted Monday morning that it was responding to The Lovett School because of “heavy smoke coming from the structure.”

Details are very limited at this time, but Atlanta Fire Rescue says all children at the school have been evacuated as of 9:17 a.m.

CBS46 has a crew on the way to the scene and will provide new information as soon as we get it.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Savannah, GA – Sprinkler system activated for overnight kitchen fire at restaurant

The Savannah Fire Department (SFD) responded to a kitchen fire at a local restaurant overnight.

SFD says the fire happened around 3:30 a.m. Thursday in the 200 block of Stephenson.

Officials say a fire in the kitchen of Ole Times Country Buffet set off the fire alarm and the building’s sprinkler system.

Crews arrived to fully extinguish the fire and ventilate the building.

SFD says the business was closed and no one was in the building at the time of the fire.

WSAV is told the Chatham County Environmental Health inspected the restaurant Thursday. Ole Times Country Buffet is now back open for business.

The cause of the fire has not been released at this time.

Apartment Building, Residential

Atlanta, GA – Sprinkler system contains apartment fire; No injuries reported

Firefighters have put out a blaze at a building on Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta.

Officials say crews found a small fire inside the roof of an apartment building on the 30 block of Peachtree Street around 6:30 Thursday morning.

They say a sprinkler system contained the fire and kept it from spreading.

No one was hurt in the fire.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Cumming, GA – Sprinkler system activated for restaurant fire on Mother’s Day

Authorities say several dozens of people, including patrons and employees, had to evacuate from a popular Korean restaurant on Mother’s Day, after an outside fire.

Forsyth County Division Fire Chief Jason Shivers said damage was significantly limited thanks to all systems working properly and keeping an external fire at Q Korean Steakhouse from causing any significant damage inside.

Those systems included smoke alarms and the sprinkler system which both activated around 6:45 p.m. when the fire started. 

However, they also included a third element – an off-duty Alpharetta firefighter who immediately used three dry chemical fire extinguishers to help control the flames until local crews could arrive.

At this point, the fire’s cause is considered accidental, however, the specific cause hasn’t yet been determined. It’s unclear how long, at this point, repairs will take or when the restaurant intends to reopen.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Atlanta, GA – Sprinkler system activated for fire on 5th floor of senior living community; No injuries reported

Atlanta firefighters evacuated the fifth floor of a senior living community Thursday morning after a fire broke out inside an apartment, officials said.

The fire occurred at the Lakewood Christian Manor off Springdale Road in southwest Atlanta, battalion Chief Tony Terrell said at the scene.

“The sprinkler system kept it in check,” and firefighters were able to get inside and extinguish the blaze, Terrell said, but crews were forced to evacuate residents on that floor because of water damage.

Fire officials said it appears the small blaze began inside a closet.

“We had a basket of clothes and laundry burning inside the closet,” Terrell said, adding that the fifth floor of the high-rise sustained water damage from the apartment’s sprinkler system. No injuries were reported, but seven residents have been displaced.

While fires at senior living complexes aren’t common, Terrell said the biggest challenge is evacuating residents who are unable to get out on their own. The building is nine stories tall and houses hundreds of residents, most of whom are older or disabled.

“The rest of the residents were allowed to shelter in place because we only had smoke in the hallway where we had the fire,” he said.

Volunteers from the American Red Cross responded to the scene and are offering temporary assistance to seven residents from six units that were damaged, agency spokeswoman Sherry Nicholson said. In addition, a company was called in to remove the water from the fifth floor.

“They’re going to have to wait until all the water is cleaned up before they can return to their apartments,” Terrell said.

The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Monroe, GA – Supermarket sprinkler system stops bathroom fire

A sprinkler system averted would could have been a major fire damage at John’s Supermarket.

The Monroe Fire Department and Walton County Fire Rescue were dispatched to a commercial fire at the grocer, at 416 S. Broad St., shortly before 9:15 a.m. Monday.

Monroe fire Battalion Chief Jack Armstrong said the first units to arrive found a fire in a restroom extinguished by the sprinkler system.

“This was a fantastic example of how important fire sprinklers are,” Armstrong said. “What could have been millions in a loss only caused a few hundred dollars of damage.”

He said a faulty motor in the bathroom’s exhaust fan was the cause of the fire.

Armstrong said the store reopened after the danger eased.

John’s recently opened a major renovation of the store, which has been in Monroe for more than 50 years. The grocer opened an in-store restaurant, Bistro South, and added 8,500 square feet.

There are six loft apartments as well.

Apartment Building, Residential

Austell, GA – Fire sprinklers extinguish apartment fire after woman sets boyfriends closet

A Cobb County woman is charged with arson after authorities said she set fire to a bedroom closet during a fight with her boyfriend over the weekend.

Nioyca Nicole Lusega, 40, was arrested Saturday morning, less than three hours after firefighters responded to a blaze at the couple’s Austell apartment, investigators said.

Crews were called to the Lake Crossing Apartments along Riverside Parkway about 6 a.m. after the fire began during a domestic dispute, Cobb fire’s chief investigator Brian Beaty told AJC.com.

“The fire suppression system extinguished the fire, fortunately. But that did not negate the intent or the endangerment part,” Beaty said. “It was a multi-family dwelling, and that’s where it gets a little more complicated than just setting your boyfriend’s stuff on fire.”

Though the apartment’s sprinkler system extinguished the fire before crews arrived, several of Lusega’s neighbors suffered water damage in their units, authorities said.

Lusega, who faces one count of first-degree arson, remains held in the Cobb County Jail on a $27,720 bond, online records show.