Tag Archives: Illinois

Sterling, IL – (Fire Dept. Reported) Bathroom fire in loft apartment building extinguished by single sprinkler

** No Media Coverage – Fire Department Reported **

Date: September 13, 2018
Time: 20:53
Location: 218 First Avenue, Sterling, Illinois
Property: Lawrence Lofts – 5 story residential structure
Sprinklers Activated: 1

Event details:
Dispatched to a water flow alarm at five-story residential structure. Upon investigation, found a fire had occurred in a bathroom in a 4th floor unit.   Fire had been extinguished by the sprinkler system.

This is a 20-unit apartment building with 5 floors above the Whiteside County East Courthouse.  Two courtrooms all open for business the next day.  “If not for sprinkler, life and property would have been lost.”

*Reported by Gary Cook, Fire Chief, Sterling, IL

 

Peoria, IL – Oven fire at Sam’s Club prompts sprinkler system to activate; No injuries reported

A kitchen fire temporarily closed Sam’s Club on Monday afternoon and caused a damage estimate of $1 million in products on the store’s shelves.

At about 3:30 p.m., Peoria firefighters responded to a fire in the deli area at 4100 W. Willow Knolls Road.

Once inside, they found a small fire in a rotisserie oven, which was put out with a water extinguisher, Acting Battalion Chief Robert Lundholm said in a news release.

One sprinkler head was activated and kept the fire in check before they arrived, he said.

Firefighters remained on scene after the fire was out to shut down the sprinklers and ventilate the building.

No injuries were reported. All employees and customers were evacuated and accounted for, and the store was closed.

Chicago, IL – No injuries after sprinkler system puts out fire in CPS elementary school gymnasium

A flash fire damaged a Chicago public school this weekend on the North Side, just two weeks before the first day of class. The fire broke out in the third-floor gym of Burley Elementary School, 1630 W. Barry Ave., on Saturday in the Lakeview neighborhood. In an email to parents, the principal of Burley said, “We are still unsure of exactly what and how it happened, but what I do know is that no one was on that floor when it happened and no one was injured.”

The sprinkler system put out the fire but also caused collateral water damage throughout building. Families and staff pitched in Monday to paint and do a number of projects. Portable generators, makeshift ventilation and restoration teams are racing against the clock. The principal gave credit to firefighters and CPS for efforts in the past two days, but CPS is caught in a time crunch.

CPS is left unable to answer how long cleanup will take, or if school will begin on time on Sept. 4 at Burley and if there are safety issues surrounding not only the water damage, but how the fire began with no one in that area.  The principal asked parents to “please be patient with me as we let the experts do what they are best at and know that Burley is in great hands.

In a statement, CPS said that it anticipates the school will be repaired for the first day but is creating a contingency plan. They said they’re waiting on investigators to determine how the fire began.

Danville, IL – Sprinkler system keeps machinery fire at recycling facility from spreading

A machinery error started a fire in a recycling business Thursday night, firefighters say.

They say they found smoke pouring from Mervis Recycling, located at 14 S. Henning Road in Danville, after 8:30 p.m. Finding the exact fire proved difficult because of the smoke.

Crews say the call came in as a sprinkler system alarm. That system kept the fire from spreading.

Firefighters remained on the scene until after midnight.

The fire caused about $15,000 in damage. Firefighters say they can’t give an exact cause of the fire because the machinery responsible is too advanced.

La Grange Park, IL – Fire in laser cutting area of manufacturing facility extinguished by single sprinkler

***Fire Department Release *** At 10:31 a.m. on Thursday morning, the La Grange Park Fire  Department was dispatched to an activated fire alarm at a manufacturing facility located at 1245 Barnsdale Rd. No call was received from the facility. Upon the fire department’s arrival at 10:37 a.m., the building’s fire alarm was sounding, the building was partially evacuated, and smoke was coming from overhead dock doors. Upon further investigation, it was noted that a fire had occurred in a laser cutting area. Employees in the area initially attempted to fight the fire with fire extinguishers, and then a single fire sprinkler operated and completely extinguished the fire. Firefighters checked for fire extension, cut electricity to the affected area, and shut down the fire sprinkler system. One employee who was in the area where the fire started and who helped to initially fight the fire, was treated by paramedics and transported to Adventist La Grange Hospital. The fire appears to have started when plastic being cut by a laser overheated, and plastic dust and hoses in the ventilation system ignited. The building and contents are valued at several million dollars, but damage at this time appears to be limited to $5,000.00. The employees should be commended for their initial actions, and the limited amount of damage to the overall business can be directly attributed to a properly operating fire sprinkler system,” according to Fire Chief Dean J. Maggos. Further damage to equipment in the immediate area is still being assessed. La Grange Firefighters assisted by La Grange Park Firefighters at the incident.

Itasca, IL – (Fire Dept. Reported) Industrial facility fire caused by oily rags is contained by sprinkler system

*** Fire Department Release *** At approximately 3:10 am on July 31st, the Roselle Fire Department received a report of an activated fire alarm on Norwood Ave. in Itasca. Upon arrival nothing was noted, and a visual inspection was done around the building and from the roof.  Once entry was gained, smoke was noted in the warehouse. Investigation revealed two plastic carts that were full of dirty rags and wood stain that had ignited. Two sprinkler heads activated and controlled this fire.   Had the sprinkler system not operated as designed, it is highly probable that this would have been a major fire as there were two barrels of flammable liquids nearby in this woodworking business.  Crews were on the scene for less than two hours doing ventilation, and the business was open that morning.

Elgin, IL – Fire in building storing large quantities of chemicals at water treatment facility extinguished by sprinkler system

A fire Friday night in a building with large quantities of chemicals at the city of Elgin’s water treatment facility was likely caused by an electrical motor failure, Elgin fire officials said.  The fire happened around 9 p.m. in a building at 375 W. River Road and was upgraded to include hazardous materials technicians from Elgin and South Elgin fire departments, according to an Elgin fire department news release. Firefighters entered the building and discovered the fire was extinguished by an automatic sprinkler system, the release stated. There was minimal chemical involvement, it stated.  Two employees were able to evacuate, the release stated. No injuries to civilians or firefighters were reported, according to the release. There was no impact to the city’s water treatment operations or to the public, fire officials said.

Mount Prospect, IL – Sprinkler system contains fire in industrial building

Fire broke out Monday afternoon in a vacant industrial building in Mount Prospect, filling the space with smoke but causing no injuries or significant damage, authorities said.

Mount Prospect firefighters responded to the blaze in the 400 block of Lakeview Court at 1:52 p.m. and had the fire under control within about 10 minutes, Chief Brian Lambel said.

The fire began when roof repair work being done as part of a renovation led to sparks falling onto insulation inside the building, Lambel said. A fire sprinkler helped contain the blaze before firefighters arrived.

Vernon Hills, IL – Sprinkler system extinguishes fourth floor apartment fire

Nobody was injured in a Vernon Hills apartment fire Saturday afternoon, officials said.

Crews from the Countryside Fire Protection District were called to the apartment on the 1200 block of N. Museum Boulevard just before 3 p.m., according to a news release. When they arrived, residents were evacuating, and water was coming from a unit on the fourth floor, officials said. The fire already had been extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system.

Investigators determined that the fire was caused by hot cigarettes put in cardboard box inside a closet.