Tag Archives: Illinois

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Harrisburg, IL – Sprinkler system contains overnight fire at Walmart; No injuries reported

 The Walmart in Harrisburg, Illinois is closed after an overnight fire.

Captain Rick Mallady with the Harrisburg Fire Department says they were called around 11:30 p.m. on report of a fire inside the Walmart.

When they got there, they found the building full of smoke.

A fire was inside the store, but the sprinkler system had contained it.

Firefighters did have to put out the remaining fire.

The fire was near the rear of the store near car seats.

Everyone had been evacuated from the store and no one was injured.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

We reached out to Walmart who had this to say.

Apartment Building, Residential

Evanston, IL – Functional sprinkler system keeps apartment fire from spreading or causing harm

A quick response from firefighters, a functional sprinkler system and working alarms kept a fire in an apartment building from causing any harm or spreading beyond a single bedroom, according to the Evanston Fire Department.

“The fire alarm and sprinkler system worked exactly as designed, saving both lives and property,” Chief Brian Scott said in a release.

Fire crews arrived at a three-story apartment building at the corner of Barton Avenue and Cleveland Street shortly after 3:15 p.m. on Sunday, according to the release.

The first firefighters to arrive could hear fire alarms going off and see residents evacuating from inside, it said. The crew from Engine 24 went inside and headed down a hallway filled with smoke to the burning bedroom.

A sprinkler had been spraying water on the fire, keeping it in check and allowing the firefighters to extinguish the remaining fire without any further loss of property.

Every new apartment and condo building built in Evanston must include an audible alarm and a sprinkler protection system, according to the release.

The rehabbed five-unit brick building was built in 1928, according to a listing for the property, which was offered for sale for $975,000 in October 2015.

The management company of the more than nine-decade-old apartment building retrofitted it with sprinklers, according to the fire department, bringing it up to code with current city ordinances.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Moline, IL – Fire caused by incense left burning in shopping mall put out by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

Incense that was left burning inside a store at SouthPark Mall has caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages, according to Moline’s fire marshal.

The fire started just after 11 a.m. on Monday, December 16.  The mall was evacuated as the halls filled with smoke.

According to Fire Marshal Jerry Spiegel, the fire started inside the Fig Tree bookstore.  He said incense had been left burning with the ashes falling into a cardboard box; that’s what ultimately caused the fire.

Spiegel said the fire was contained within minutes.  Four sprinklers went off and helped put out most of the flames before crews arrived, but smoke continued to filter through the mall hallways.

Damage to the Fig Tree has been estimated at about $50,000, said Spiegel.  That combined with the smoke damage to other stores adds up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Spiegel said the biggest challenge for crews was getting the smoke out of the building.  TMI came to help activate the mall’s ventilation system to get the smoke out.

There were no injuries.

The inside of the mall was set to remain closed for Monday.  The anchor stores, JCPenney, Dillards and Von Maur opened from the outside, according to mall management.

Apartment Building, Residential

Peoria, IL – Accidental apartment cooking fire put out by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Three apartment units are heavily damaged by water due to an accidental fire on Friday.

At approximately 6 p.m. firefighters responded to a structure fire at Woodsage Apartments located at 9012 N. Scrimshaw Dr. Once crews arrived on the scene, the fire was already put out due to the sprinkler system.

The fire started in apartment 303 caused by an occupant cooking on the stove. The fire extended to the microwave and cabinets.

Two other apartments below apartment 303 were also affected because of the sprinkler suppression system.

No injuries were reported.

Adult Care/Rehab Center, Hospital/Care Facility

La Grange Park, IL – Malfunctioning furnace fire controlled by fire sprinklers at rehabilitation center; No injuries reported

No one was injured and no one had to be evacuated when a furnace malfunction started a fire Thursday morning at The Grove of La Grange Park rehabilitation center, fire officials reported.

An automatic fire alarm at the facility, 701 N. La Grange Road, sounded at 9:05 a.m. Nov. 21, Fire Chief Dean Maggos said.

A furnace in a sub-basement mechanical room malfunctioned, causing flames from the furnace burners to reach insulation below some ducts, Maggos said. A fire sprinkler located only a few feet away activated, controlled the fire and sounded an alarm. Water from the sprinkler limited the fire and heat damage to the immediate area.

Water damage was minimal, as the staff and firefighters kept the water in the mechanical room where it drained through floor drains, the Fire Department reported.

Apartment Building, Residential

Aurora, IL – Single fire sprinkler keeps apartment fire from spreading to other rooms

An apartment fire in downtown Aurora caused $35,000 worth of damage early Sunday morning.

Aurora firefighters responded to a fire alarm in an apartment building around 1:30 a.m. on the 100 block of East Downer Place, fire officials said in a news release.

Firefighters saw smoke on the upper floors and located the source in an apartment on the second floor where a sprinkler head activated and extinguished a fire in the living room area, officials said.

The fire was contained to the apartment but adjacent units sustained water damage. The resident living in the apartment was displaced and assisted by victim services to find temporary housing.

Apartment Building, Residential

Wheaton, IL – Apartment fire stopped by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

Fire officials say a faulty dryer may have been to blame for a blaze that broke out in a Wheaton apartment building Wednesday evening. The incident took place around 9 p.m. in the 100 block of North Cross, according to a press release.

When fire crews got to the scene and found a dryer on fire in a fifth-floor apartment. They say the unit’s fire sprinkler system brought the blaze under control, but that smoke and water damage left it uninhabitable.

No other units were affected and no injuries were reported, fire officials say.

According to the Wheaton Fire Department, the cause of the fire appears to be accidental.

Apartment Building, Residential

Champaign, IL – Accidental cooking fire extinguished by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

An accidental cooking fire has displaced the resident of an apartment on Champaign’s west side.

Fire department spokesman Randy Smith said crews were called to the 2000 block of West White Street around 2:25 a.m. Friday for a report of a stovetop fire.

Smith said the flames were contained to the kitchen and were controlled and extinguished by the apartment’s sprinkler system.

He said firefighters ventilated the residence.

Smith said there was minor fire, smoke and water damage to the kitchen. Damages are estimated at $5,000.

There were no injuries.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

South Elgin, IL -Fire at manufacturing plant controlled by fire sprinkler activation; No injuries reported

A fire at a manufacturing plant in South Elgin caused no injuries and did not involve hazardous chemicals, fire officials said.

The South Elgin & Countryside Fire Protection District responded at 8:27 p.m. Tuesday to a report of a structure fire at Marble Works, 1601 N. La Fox St., Assistant Fire Chief Mike Rothecker said in a news release Wednesday.

Firefighters were met by two employees outside the 15,000-square-foot building who said there was a large fire inside the manufacturing plant. The employees said there were some hazardous chemicals near the fire, the release said.

Firefighters entered, saw heavy smoke and requested additional help. Fire departments from Elgin, Bartlett, Fox River Fire, Pingree Grove and Elburn assisted at the scene. Departments from Hanover Park, Geneva, Hampshire and West Dundee filled in at the South Elgin fire stations.

The fire was in the warehouse area of the manufacturing plant building, Rothecker said. The building’s fire sprinkler system was activated by the fire and contained the flames until firefighters extinguished it in about 40 minutes.

Members of the South Elgin fire district’s hazardous materials team determined there were no hazardous chemicals involved in the fire, officials said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Hotel / Restaurant, Office Building, Other Business, Restaurant

Chicago, IL – Fire at high-rise contained by fire sprinklers; no injuries reported

No one was injured Thursday when a fire broke out at a Starbucks along the Chicago River in the West Loop.

Firefighters were called about 12:20 p.m. for a fire in the coffee shop in the lobby of the high-rise at 150 N. Riverside Plaza, according to Chicago Fire Dept. spokesman Larry Langford.

“The fire was contained to the Starbucks, and it looks like everything is under control,” Langford said. He said the sprinkler system was engaged and the fire was put out within the hour.

A preliminary investigation indicates the fire may have started in the brewing machine or dishwasher, Langford said.

Several ambulances and fire engines were called to the site as a precaution, and crews remained on scene after the fire was extinguished to douse the burned area, Langford said.

Employees in the building were ordered to shelter in their offices, since evacuating a building so large would be unnecessary in this case, Langford said. Some people, however, evacuated on their own.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, Langford said.