Tag Archives: Georgia

Manufacturing, Power / Energy Facility

Albany, GA – Early morning fire at biomass energy plant contained by sprinkler system

Albany fire crews responded to a small fire at the Albany Green Energy biomass plant next to Procter and Gamble. At least four fire trucks responded to the plant around 3 a.m. Thursday. Batallion Chief Kelly Harcrow said there was a small fire in a hydraulic tank in the building. Crews quickly contained the fire and let it burn itself out, shortly after 7 a. m. AFD put firefighters in the factory with a hose, ready to make sure everything went ok.

Harcrow said the fire burned on the surface of the tank. One fire truck and its crew will stay here for the day to monitor everything. A spokesperson for the company said, “the fire resulted from an equipment failure.”

The sprinkler system inside the building helped in this emergency. “It is not actually putting the fire out, but it is keeping it contained into the one area, which is an advantage to us and that allows the product to consume itself and not spread throughout the plant. So it’s doing what it was designed to do,” explained Harcrow.

One ambulance also responded, but Dougherty County EMS Supervisor Phillip Jackson said they have not had to transport anyone. Harcrow said people were inside at the time but no one was injured and everyone made it out safely.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Woodstock, GA – Afternoon fire at video game store put out by sprinkler system

A video game store suffered interior damage following a fire reported late Friday morning in Woodstock. Firefighters with Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services and Woodstock Fire & Rescue were dispatched to Max Video Games at 6424 Bells Ferry Road around 11:30 a.m. Jan. 12.  Firefighters arrived at the shopping mall located across from Walmart to find “light smoke coming out of the back” of the video store’s building, Cherokee County Fire said in a press release.

Those firefighters ventured inside the building to find the sprinkler system had been activated, which put out the fire, the agency added. Cherokee fire investigator Shane Daniel said the building suffered interior damage due to fire, smoke and water. There were no injuries, and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

Max Video Games is the company that bought out Play N Trade and relocated its operations from 2290 Towne Lake Parkway to the shopping center at the corner of Bells Ferry Road and Eagle Drive, according to a September 2014 post on its Facebook page.

As Patch readers recall, Play N Trade suffered a serious blow in September 2013 when a fire set during an armed robbery gutted a good portion of that business while it was housed at 2290 Eagle Drive. Play N Trade’s owner, Troy Brazelton, suffered second- and third-degree burns on his extremities due to the fire. Police offered a reward and interviewed witnesses related to that incident, but have not made an arrest in the case.  Return to Patch for updates.

 

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Augusta, GA – Sprinkler system keeps grass fire from spreading indoors at assisted living facility

A fire forced the Homestead Assisted Living Center in Augusta to be evacuated. It happened around noon Monday. 

The Augusta Department of  Public Safety told KSN News they determined that the fire began as a grass fire outside the facility.  A sprinkler went off and contained the fire inside the building.

Thirty residents were evacuated by staff for about an hour before they were allowed to return to the facility. No injuries were reported.

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

Kennesaw, GA – Fire in on-campus residence hall extinguished by sprinkler system

*** No Media Coverage ***  On 11/9/17 – A fire in a residence hall room at Kennesaw State University was extinguished by an automatic sprinkler head.  The fire started from a vape e- cigarette battery and damage from the fire was contained to one room in a two bedroom suite.   This large residence hall includes 485 two- or four-bedroom suites.

Apartment Building, Residential

Gwinnett, GA – Apartment sprinkler system puts out intentionally-set fire before fire department arrives

A Duluth woman is in jail after officials said she intentionally set her bed on fire in what is believed to be a domestic-related incident, fire officials said.

Eunok Yu, 38, was found lying “intoxicated” in the middle of Satellite Boulevard by a Gwinnett County battalion chief during the investigation, fire Capt. Tommy Rutledge said. She had soot on her clothes and hands.

Yu was booked into the Gwinnett County jail on a pedestrian under the influence in the roadway charge. She was later charged with first degree arson once investigators discovered she’d set her bed on fire, Rutledge said. She also has an Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold.

Authorities arrived to the Bridgewater Apartments in the 1500 block of Ridge Brook Trail about 11:20 a.m. Thursday after a call about an apartment fire in Building 400. No one was inside the unit at the time of the fire.

The sprinkler system put out the fire by the time authorities arrived, Rutledge said.

Officials were asked to remain on the scene due to the suspicious nature of the blaze.That’s when fire officials found Yu in the middle of the street and arrested her near the apartment complex. Police later determined Yu lived at the apartment with her husband, who was not home when she allegedly set the fire.

Yu admitted she set the same bed on fire in the same apartment a month ago, but Rutledge said fire investigators found no record of responding to the incident. They are investigating the claims.

 

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Atlanta, GA – Sprinkler system puts out flames after teens light fireworks display on fire

Police are offering a reward of $10,000 for the arrest and conviction of two teens accused of setting off a fireworks display at a southwest Atlanta grocery store.

The Publix on Camp Creek Parkway was evacuated. The sprinkler system inside put out the flames, but the fire left a huge mess. Authorities said one minor injury was reported.

Fire investigators say two teens caught on surveillance took a lighter to the display. They say the boys actually helped a woman get a watermelon into her grocery cart before igniting the display, sparking a large fire and mayhem.

“It sounded like gunshots. Of course, everyone is freaking out. Everyone was so scared and frantic. They ran through the back room and knocked my whole buggy of beer down,” said Josh Butler, a beer vendor who was inside the store when it happened.

Investigators say it took the teens two attempts with the lighter before the display ignited. “It lasted for, like, 30 minutes so I knew it wasn’t a gunshot,” Butler said.

Publix told Channel 2’s Liz Artz that team members from several Publix stores in the area worked all night long to clean up so the store could open on time this morning.

“It looks very good. It looks normal. It’s always clean so it looked very much like I expected it to look,” one customer said.

She said the smell of smoke was faint inside the store.

Police say the two teens who ignited the fireworks face arson charges.

“That’s so sad for them. They’ve got so much to look forward to in life and then go and ruin it at this stage of their life,” the customer said.

Publix says it has no intentions of removing the fireworks displays from any of its stores.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Duluth, GA – Fire at shoe repair shop in Gwinnett Place Mall controlled with help from sprinkler system

Shoppers fled Gwinnett Place Mall on Thursday afternoon after a fire broke out at a shoe repair shop, causing smoke to pour out into the mall’s open spaces.

Gwinnett County fire Capt. Tommy Rutledge said firefighters were called to the mall at 4:54 p.m. because of a fire at the Heel Quick shop. They arrived to find the sprinkler system had gone off, but a moderate amount of smoke was still present in the second floor atrium area between Sears and Mega Mart, where the shoe repair shop was located.

Rutledge said the fire started in an area of the shop where a shoe repair machine was located. “The fire was pretty much being controlled by the sprinkler system,” Rutledge said. “The sprinkler fire suppression system pretty much did its job and kept the fire from spreading. There is extensive water damage in that immediate area and seeping down to the first floor.”

The major fire damage was confined to the area where the machine was located in the Heel Quick shop, and fire investigators were looking into what the exact cause of the fire was. Rutledge said a store employee was using the machine when the fire began, but the employee was able to get away without being injured.

“It appears to have originated in that piece of machinery,” Rutledge said.

He also said no shoppers or employees of other stores in the mall reported any injuries to fire or police officials.

The fire department spokesman added that the sprinkler system’s containment of the fire made it easier for firefighters to get into the store and put the flames out.

“They were able to put the fire completely out with only two water cans off the (fire truck) apparatus,” Rutledge said. “In other words, they didn’t have to pull hose lines into the building.”

The mall was initially evacuated only between Sears and the Mega Mart, but Rutledge said the amount of smoke coming from the store caused them to quickly evacuate the rest of the mall as well.

Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business

Atlanta, GA – Fire in suite area of Georgia Dome during Monster Truck rally extinguished by sprinkler system

A small grease fire in a kitchen at the Georgia Dome forced a brief evacuation during Saturday’s Monster Truck rally, according to the Atlanta Fire Department. The fire occurred in the kitchen on one of the suite levels. The evacuation happened because of the smoke.   By the time firefighters arrived, the fire was out.  The sprinkler system put out the blaze.

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

Athens, GA – Fire in University of Georgia residence hall controlled with help from sprinkler system

UPDATE: University Housing sent a letter to Brumby Hall residents this morning at 8:42 a.m. with a report of the evacuation. The letter said the fire alarms went off due to “a fire in the trash room of Brumby Hall,” causing the sprinkler system to activate. The letter also said no dorms were damaged with smoke or water. No one was injured as a result of the fire, “thanks to the cooperation of residents and the action of housing staff and emergency personnel.”  “Security of residents is our utmost priority,” the email said. “Therefore residents are required to evacuate the building anytime the alarm sounds.”

ORIGINAL: At approximately 7 p.m. Monday night, the fire alarm in Brumby Residence Hall at the University of Georgia sounded. Students were stranded outside for over three hours after two additional fire alarms were sounded following the initial alarm. When students were evacuating once the alarm was sounded, a resident assistant was heard notifying students departing from the emergency exits, “No, it’s not a false alarm.”

Payton Eason, a freshman psychology major from Villa Rica and resident at Brumby, was worried after hearing that the fire alarms were not false. “I thought this was going to be just another false alarm that we have almost weekly at Brumby. Turns out, there’s actually smoke, and the hall is literally on fire. Now, we’ve been here for more than two hours, sitting out here stranded,” Eason said.

Eason explained she was working on homework when the alarm sounded. “I have lots of homework due tonight at 10 p.m…Unfortunately, all my books, notes, and Macbook are up in the dorm so I guess I’m just stuck here until it’s all clear,” Eason said.  By 8:45 p.m., the alarm was off, but students were still stranded outside waiting for the all-clear from authorities to reenter the building.  Taylor Johnson, a freshman biology major from Columbus, heard prior to being cleared to return to the residence halls that the first floor was flooded from trying to extinguish the fire.

“My friend received a message and said that someone threw something in the trash chute that caught fire. It caused the sprinklers to go off and now the first floor is flooded,” Johnson said. As of 10 p.m., students were still not allowed to reenter the residence hall. By around 10:50 p.m., students began making their way back to their dorms in Brumby.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Rome, GA – Overnight restaurant fire extinguished by sprinkler system; Damage minimized

Even though passersby saw smoke and flames at Ryan’s Restaurant, 2305 Shorter Ave., early Saturday morning, a fire official said that when his first engine company arrived, they got inside and saw that the sprinkler system had activated and the fire was out. According to Rome-Floyd County Fire Department Battalion Chief Roger Haggard:

The call came in just before 3 a.m. Saturday. The caller said they could see smoke and flames coming from the roof of the building. The investigation, he said, tentatively points to something sparking flames in the ductwork.  “It burned off dust and some of the ductwork and plastic grills in the ceiling,” Haggard said.  What triggered the fire could not be pinpointed.  “It smoked the building up pretty good,” Haggard said. “Some ceiling tiles did fall to the floor.”  Estimated damages to the structure itself were minimal.  A sign on the door of the restaurant simply indicates the restaurant will be closed indefinitely.