An activated sprinkler system in the Comfort Inn hotel, 2175 Touhy Ave., Des Plaines, last Friday helped keep a fire in a basement storage room from spreading, which could have caused more damage and possibly injuries, according to Des Plaines Fire Chief Alan Wax.
Firefighters who were called to the scene at 6:15 p.m. were able to extinguish the blaze within 15 minutes and after the building was ventilated, occupants were able to return to their rooms about 90 minutes later.
Shortly after firefighters arrived on the scene, they found smoke throughout the basement with “extremely heavy smoke and some fire” in the storage room. At the same time, fire personnel went from room-to-room on all of the hotel’s floors confirming that no one was present as hallways were also filling with smoke.
According to Wax, one sprinkler head had activated over the fire. This contained the blaze. It also activated the automatic alarm signal that summoned the fire department. The fire caused considerable damage to stored tables, chairs and other items in the storage room as well as electrical equipment. There was little structural damage and no injuries were reported. The hotel remained open after the incident.
Cause of the fire, investigators determined, was arcing from a large electrical feed. “This was another great save by an automatic fire sprinkler system,” said Wax.
Incense that was lit and unattended was found to be the cause of a closet fire that occurred at about 7:15 p.m. on the fifth floor, room 5G, in Stevenson Hall Thursday. The Charleston Fire Department responded to the fire at 7:31 p.m.
Mark Hudson, the director of university Housing and Dining, said the heat from the fire, which damaged a corner of the closet, activated the sprinkler system and “quickly” doused the flames. Having candles, incense and any other open flames goes against housing policy, Hudson said.
“There is minor damage to the room from the fire, but the water sprinklers going on caused additional issues in the building,” said Hudson.
Hudson said other suites got wet from the system but were cleaned by the building service workers, and electricians came to replace smoke detectors in the room with fire damage and others affected by water. Those who lived in the room affected by the fire were all moved to a different suite within the building.
Hudson said the student who caused the fire came forward, but he was not able to release the student’s name yet because of everything still being a part of the overall investigation.
The student responsible for the fire will face disciplinary action from the university. “It’s a very serious situation because it’s safety violation; they went against the rules of the building in terms of its fire safety,” Hudson said.
Hudson said the damage cost of the fire and water was uncertain, but the building is fully open to students except for the room where the fire occurred.
Students that were evacuated from the building were not allowed to enter until 10:45 p.m. and those who were eating during the time of the fire were given meal credit, said Hudson.
The DeKalb Fire Department responded to an apartment fire at 832 Ridge Drive in DeKalb at 11:09 a.m. Saturday. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, said Jeff McMaster, deputy fire chief, later that afternoon.
“When firefighters got there, there was a light smoke coming from the bathroom,” McMaster said. “When they got in, the sprinklers were on.” The sprinkler system had kept the flames contained and the firefighters were able to put the rest out upon arrival, McMaster said.
No one was home at the time, McMaster said. A neighbor had seen the smoke, heard the apartment’s fire alarm and made the call. There were no injuries, McMaster said. He estimated the damage at about $5,000.
The fire marshal said the cause of a fire in a research building on Champaign’s north side was accidental. John Koller said firefighters were called to Obiter Research, 2809 Gemini Court, at 3:07 p.m. Monday.
The company specializes in custom contract chemical research and manufacturing of difficult or complex chemical compounds. “When we got to the building, there wasn’t any fire showing,” Koller said. “The sprinkler system kept the fire in check. We soon found a small amount of fire and mostly smoke.”
Koller said the smoke was limited to one lab room that was walled off from the rest of the building. “There was an alcohol-based substance in the lab that a spark got to and ignited it,” he said.
He said firefighters had the blaze under control within minutes. “There was no structural damage to the building,” he said. All employees were evacuated.
“We had worked with them on an emergency plan in the past, and the employees effectively carried it out,” Koller said.
According to Koller, one man who was in the room where the spark ignited was “shaken up” and checked by paramedics at the scene, but the man did not need to go to the hospital. No firefighters were injured, he said.
A working sprinkler system is credited for preventing further damage at the Village Links Golf Course following a fire on Saturday. FIrefighters responded to the maintenance building at the golf course, which is owned and operated by the village of Glen Ellyn, at 12:37 p.m. on Saturday, according to a Glen Ellyn Volunteer Fire Company press release.
When they arrived, they reported a light haze showing. The fire had already been extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system and was contained to the area where it started, according to the news release. No one was injured in the blaze. Damage costs are not currently available but fire officials reported minimal fire and water damage.
There are 750 buildings in Glen Ellyn that are equipped with fire sprinklers. And there are currently over 500 new homes that added fire sprinklers since the village of Glen Ellyn passed a fire sprinkler ordinance, according to fire officials. In large structure fires, sprinklers operated 91 percent of the time and were effective in 87 percent of those fires, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
“Nationwide, sprinklers are credited with saving countless lives and property,” according to the news release. The cause of the fire at the Village Links Golf Course, 485 Winchell Way, remains under investigation.
Reporting on lives and property saved by fire sprinklers
