Tag Archives: Illinois

Apartment Building, Residential

Decatur, IL – Apartment kitchen fire put out by automatic sprinkler system

… While responding to the incident on 22nd Street, firefighters also were sent to a second fire at 1145 W. Arbor. They found that a sprinkler system had already put out a fire in the facility’s kitchen, so that building suffered minimal damage, the department said.

The following is additional informal narrative from Decatur FD (not reported in media)

This alarm came in at 01:40 as a fire in the kitchen at the Primrose retirement Village. There are apprx. 68 apartments in this upscale senior retirement complex. A service cart with folded linen caught fire and was quickly extinguished by a single sprinkler head activation. Part of this building is assisted living and the other part senior retirement. The fire doors were closed upon our arrival and kept all the smoke in the Dining Hall. This was a great save by the sprinkler system!

Apartment Building, Residential

Champaign, IL – Early morning apartment fire limited by sprinkler system; No injuries and no residents displaced

An early-morning fire last Wednesday on the exterior of an apartment building on the west side of the city could have been much worse if not for a sprinkler system, Champaign Fire Department Battalion Chief Tyler Funk said Thursday. Firefighters were called to 1313 Mariner Way around 4:30 a.m. when a deck fire set off a sprinkler and an alarm. Funk said the sprinkler mostly controlled the fire. The occupants were sleeping. Other than some melted siding, Funk said, there was no smoke or fire damage to the interior. There were no injuries and no residents will be displaced. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Other Business

Crystal Lake, IL – Firefighters; Sprinkler system control potentially dangerous fire at chemical supply company

A fire last Friday night inside a Crystal Lake chemical supply company caused about $35,000 in damage and required a large emergency response. Crystal Lake firefighters responded to an activated fire alarm about 6:50 p.m. at the Rita Corporation, 850 S. Route 31 in Crystal Lake, according to a news release from the Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department. When crews arrived, they noticed smoke inside the building, but the building’s sprinkler system helped control the spread of any flames. Firefighters extinguished the blaze. It was limited to one office and its contents, the release stated. The fire’s cause was under investigation as of Saturday morning. No one was injured in the incident.

Crews from Algonquin-Lake in the Hills, McHenry, Cary and Nunda also responded to assist Crystal Lake firefighters in fighting the fire and investigating its cause. An individual from the Illinois State Fire Marshal’s Office also responded to investigate.

Other Business, Recycling / Waste Facility

Morris, IL – Fire at electronics recycling facility suppressed by sprinkler system

There were no injuries reported Monday afternoon at a fire on Armstrong Street in Morris. Fire crews received a call about a sprinkler activation at 4:34 p.m. at First America Metal, Morris Deputy Chief Bob Wills said. “The sprinkler system did exactly what it was supposed to,” Wills said. The fire began in an area where the facility stores the crushed remains of electronics before being recycled. Wills said it seemed that a battery had gotten into one of the boxes and ignited. About 10,000 pounds of the recyclable material were destroyed, Wills said. Although the fire was contained, the building filled with smoke. A ventilation truck from Lyons had to be called in to help clear the smoke out of the building.

“It’s a very large fan that pressurizes the building,” Wills said, blowing the smoke out. Fire crews from Morris, Minooka, Channahon and Dwight responded to the fire and Lisbon-Seward crews manned the Morris station. Crews were on scene until about 7:15 p.m. The business opened up again Tuesday.

Other - Retail, Other Business

Plainfield, IL – (No Media Coverage) Bathroom fire at auto repair business extinguished by single sprinkler; Business remains open

** No Media Coverage – Fire Dept Reported **
“On 4-3-18 at 12:21 pm the Plainfield Fire Protection District responded to an alarm at the Merlin Muffler Shop, 14120 S. Route 30 in Plainfield, IL. Fireworks had started a fire within a restroom at this business and 1 fire sprinkler head extinguished the fire. It is estimated that $350,000 was saved due to the fire sprinkler system extinguishing the fire and making it possible for the business to remain open.  “The fire sprinkler system prevented the fire from spreading and causing extensive damage to the building and its contents as well as preventing anyone from getting injured by the fire. The business was able to open the same day.”

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Edwardsville, IL – Sprinkler system assists firefighters in controlling warehouse storage fire

The Edwardsville Fire Department spent five hours attacking a fire and its aftermath at a redistribution center located near I-255 Wednesday afternoon. Fire Chief Rick Welle said the call came to the station from the D.B. Schanker redistribution center, located at 3049 Westway Drive, at around 2:18 p.m. Thursday for a direct alarm call. Those calls come from buildings – mostly commercial – with sprinkler systems. The fire department is notified when the sprinklers come into action. Welle said that alarm was followed by a 911 call from within the building alerting his department to an active fire.

When firefighters arrived at the scene, Welle said they found several pallets of feminine hygiene products aflame. Mutual aid on the scene was provided by both the Wood River and Glen Carbon Fire Departments, and the Glen Carbon and Collinsville Fire Departments had EMS to back-fill the Edwardsville station.

No injuries were reported from the fire, despite and ambulance being on scene, Welle said. The cause of that fire is still under investigation. Welle said he could not estimate the amount of product lost to the blaze, but said his department worked with workers within the building, using forklifts and skid-steers to take the product outside for ventilation.

Besides fire, lots of water and smoke damage was done within the southern part of the building, but little to no damage was done to the building itself. Welle said the redistribution center was able to quarantine the rest of the building from the southern portion, ensuring the rest of the products stored within were not damaged by fire, smoke or water. The fire department is working with the company itself to determine exact losses. A ventilation fan was brought from the Fairview Heights Fire Department to ensure the building had been properly and thoroughly ventilated. Welle said firefighters stayed on the scene until around 7:00 p.m. Thursday to assist with that ventilation and cleanup.

Other Business

Wheeling, IL – Fire at commercial laundry business controlled by sprinkler system

A fire at Crothall Laundry in Wheeling was put out within 15 minutes of starting at around 9:01 a.m. Wednesday. Wheeling Fire Chief Keith MacIsaac said there were no injuries sustained, no damage to the building and minimal damage to equipment at the business. However, Hintz Road was shut down for about 30 minutes while hoses were connected to a nearby fire hydrant. According to MacIsaac, the fire was contained to a large, industrial clothes dryer about the size of a semi-trailer. Crothall, located at 45 W. Hintz Rd., serves several local hospitals washing and dying linens and other materials by the ton.

“We’ve had a lot of fires over there,” said MacIsaac. Due to housekeeping issues related to the large machinery, the department responds to similar fires several times a year, he added. Before crews arrived at 9:05 a.m. to battle heavy smoke from the flames, the building’s sprinkler system kept the blaze controlled. All employees were safely evacuated. Damage estimates were not immediately available Wednesday morning

Restaurant

Mount Prospect, IL – Early morning fire at Culver’s restaurant contained by sprinkler system

The Mount Prospect Culver’s is temporarily closed after a garbage fire Saturday morning, officials said.  The fire broke out about 6:11 a.m. at the restaurant, 1501 Dempster Street, said Battalion Chief Dane Phenegar of the Mount Prospect Fire Department, but the fire was contained by the restaurant’s sprinkler system.  There were no injuries; no employees were present at the time of the fire, Phenegar said, and he doesn’t believe there was structural damage to the building. No damage estimate was available; the cause is under investigation.

Restaurant

Gurnee Mills, IL – Evening fire at Burger King extinguished by sprinkler system

The Gurnee Fire Department responded to a small kitchen fire at the Burger King in Gurnee Mills Saturday evening, officials said. The restaurant’s fire alarm went off just before 6 p.m., according to Battalion Chief Bob Heraver. The fire had been extinguished by the sprinkler head when firefighters arrived, Heraver said, and investigators determined the fire was caused by a flash from one of the stoves in the kitchen. Firefighters helped clean up the kitchen before turning it over to the Lake County Health Department for health and safety checks. There is not yet a final cost assessment of the water damage, but the restaurant is looking to reopen as soon as possible, according to authorities.