Tag Archives: Kansas

Office Building, Other Business

Overland Park, KS – Fire in loading dock area of office building held in check by sprinkler system

No injuries were reported after an electrical fire Monday morning at the Black and Veatch building. Crews from Overland Park and Leawood fire departments were called just after 8 a.m. Monday to the 114th block of Lamar Avenue. First units on the scene reported light smoke in the loading dock area. Building maintenance reported a fire in one of the building’s electrical control panels located on the first floor. The building was later evacuated. It took crews about 90 minutes to bring the fire under control.

Because the fire sprinkler system was keeping the fire in check, crews were able to isolate power to the effected panel. Black and Veatch sent their employees home for the day while they work to access damage to the electrical systems. The exact cause of the fire is under investigation.

Apartment Building, Residential

Wichita, KS – Sprinkler system holds apartment fire in check until crews arrive

A fire damaged some apartments in downtown Wichita Tuesday. It happened around 8:30 a.m. near 3rd and St. Francis.  Authorities said the fire was contained to one apartment. Fire caused damage to the kitchen area. “We had on sprinkler head go off, and it kept the fire in check. We had the smoke alarm going off notifying the people that could hear it as well,” said Fire Marshal Stuart Bevis, Wichita Fire Department.  The cause of the fire is under investigation. It is believed to be accidental.  Water and smoke caused some damage to nearby apartments.

Hotel / Motel

Manhattan, KS – Laundry fire at Hilton Garden Inn held in check by automatic sprinkler system; No injuries

Manhattan fire crews responded to a fire at Hilton Garden Inn early Saturday morning at 410 S. Third St., at about 6:40 a.m. and found a fire in the laundry room. The blaze started accidentally in a commercial dryer unit, according to a report from the fire department. The building’s sprinkler system had activated and kept it contained.  General manager Brad Everett said the guests were evacuated safely, and no one was injured. Sixteen firefighters responded on six fire vehicles, with the last units clearing at around 8:00 am.

Food Processing, Manufacturing

Salina, KS – Fire in mixing room at food supply company suppressed with help from sprinkler system; No injuries

A fire inside a mixing room at a Salina food supply company leads to over $200,000 in loss and damages.  Fire Marshal Troy Long with SFD tells KSAL News that the fire sprinkler system at McShares Food Supply & Equipment saved the company from further losses after a fire ignited just before 10:30pm Tuesday evening.

Long says smoke began pouring out of a mixing machine and auger. A handful of employees cleared the room before a small explosion and fireball triggered the sprinkler heads inside the facility at 1835 E. North Street. Fire crews used fans to clear the smoke out of the building. No one was injuredhttps://www.ksal.com/fireball-triggers-sprinklers-at-salina-plant/.

McShares supplies flour mixes for the food and baking industries.

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

Manhattan, KS – Dormitory fire at Kansas State University extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A fire at a Kansas State dormitory displaced about two dozen students. University officials say the fire early Friday started on the fourth floor of Wefald Hall. All students were evacuated for about three hours. No injuries were reported. Sprinklers extinguished the fire before firefighters arrived.

Manhattan officials say the fire apparently was caused by a faulty fan. University officials say the fire caused $5,000 of damage to the building and $3,500 of damage to contents. The coeducational dorm houses 540 students. It was built in 2016 on the west side of the Manhattan campus.

UPDATE: Students were allowed to return to their rooms after an early morning fire at Wefald Hall on the K-State Manhattan campus. The fire was first reported at 6:26 a.m. on the fourth floor of the Wefald residence hall, according to K-State Police.

MANHATTAN — No injuries were reported in a Friday morning fire at Wefald Hall on Kansas State University’s Manhattan campus. The fire was extinguished by the hall’s suppression system, according to the K-State Police Department. Students were evacuated from the hall and relocated to Kramer Dining Center. Denison Avenue between Claflin Avenue and Platt Street is closed for emergency vehicles.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential High Rise

Topeka, KS – Sprinkler system keeps senior high rise fire under control until firefighters arrive

Residents of a west Topeka senior high-rise apartment building were awakened by the sound of smoke alarms early Wednesday after a trash fire inside their building, authorities said.  The residents either made it outside safely or sheltered in place as Topeka Fire Department crews extinguished the blaze.

Authorities said the fire was reported shortly after 12:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Plaza West Apartments, a seven-story building at 5620 S.W. 22nd.  Upon their arrival, firefighters found light smoke on the first-floor of the building.  Crews searched and found a small fire in a trash bin. Officials said the bin was located in the trash room of the complex.

Topeka Fire Department officials said the sprinkler system activated properly and kept the fire under control until firefighters could arrive.  Firefighters then removed the trash bin from the building and finished extinguishing the blaze.

Damage was confined to the trash bin and the surrounding trash-chute system. A Topeka Fire Department investigator responded to the scene to determine the origin and cause of the fire. A preliminary investigation indicated the cause of the fire was undetermined, pending further investigation.

The estimated dollar loss was $500 to the structure. There was no content loss. Three engine companies, two truck Companies, two battalion chiefs and an investigator responded to the incident. No injuries were reported.

Apartment Building, Residential

Lawrence, KS – Early morning apartment fire suppressed by sprinkler system

One person was rescued from an apartment that caught fire early Saturday in downtown Lawrence, authorities said. The blaze was reported at 5:16 a.m. Saturday at 800 New Hampshire Street. The first firefighter arrived on the scene at 5:18 a.m. and reported nothing was showing from the five-story apartment building, said Division Chief Justin Temple, of Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical.

Crews then located a fire in Apartment 302 of the building. Fire crews located, then rescued, a resident from the apartment. Temple said the building’s fire alarm system activated and alerted all residents. He added that the fire sprinkler system in apartment 302 activated and helped control the fire until crews could extinguish the blaze, which was declared under control by 5:49 a.m. Other residents of the building were displaced and were assisted in a temporary move to 888 New Hampshire by representatives of First Management. All displaced residents were later allowed to return to their apartments.

Temple said the resident from apartment 302 was treated at the scene, then taken to Lawrence Memorial Hospital. The person’s name and condition weren’t immediately available. No other injuries were reported. Fire department investigators were called to the scene to determine the fire’s cause. An estimated dollar loss wasn’t immediately available.

Apartment Building, Residential

Lawrence, KS – Kitchen fire in loft apartment limited by automatic sprinkler system

Two apartments in the Poehler Lofts, 619 E. Eighth St., were damaged Sunday afternoon as a result of a kitchen fire.  Division Chief Doug Green, of Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical, said the department responded at about 3 p.m. Sunday to a fire at the Poehler Lofts. Additionally, the lofts’ fire suppression sprinkler system activated in the unit where the fire started. 

At the scene about 90 minutes after the fire was reported, Green said he did not yet know if the residents of the two damaged apartments would be able to return to the units on Sunday. The other residents of the Poehler Lofts were able to return their apartments after a temporary evacuation, he said.

Residential, Residential High Rise

Hutchinson, KS – Fire in residential high rise contained to kitchen area by sprinkler system

A Hutchinson man “narrowly escaped the smoky conditions” of a kitchen fire late Friday night on the 11th floor of the Plaza Towers that caused other residents to flee their apartments in the 12-story building, the Hutchinson Fire Department stated.

The man used a stove burner to heat the apartment when other material on the stove ignited, according to a press release. A single sprinkler went off, and the man made his way through the dense smoke and out of the apartment. The sprinkler helped contain the fire to the kitchen area. Firefighters found the blaze spread to the kitchen cabinets when they arrived after 11:45 p.m.

Firefighters used thermal-imaging equipment to locate the fire, the release said, while other firefighters evacuated the 11th and 12th floors of the apartment building at 17 E. Second Ave. Approximately 45 apartments are being rented, the fire department said.

The man was the only one in the apartment at the time, fire Chief Steve Beer said. He was treated on site by Reno County EMS and is being assisted by the American Red Cross. Beer said the man and his son were the only residents displaced by the fire

Apartment Building, Residential

Hutchinson, KS – Sprinkler system activates to help contain apartment fire; No injuries reported

Dozens of residents at the Tierra Verde Apartments waited for an American Red Cross overnight shelter Wednesday after a third story apartment fire caused the building to be evacuated. Hutchinson Fire Department Deputy Chief Doug Hanen said calls came in at 5:23 p.m. and firefighters were able to contain the fire to the living room of the apartment within 20 minutes of arriving. He didn’t believe anyone was in the apartment when the fire started. Hanen said no one was one was injured, but water damage caused by the sprinkler system and the fire hose affected most apartments in the 28-apartment complex on Avenue A.

“There’s a lot of people going to be displaced tonight,” Hanen said. He did not have a count at the time. The cause of the fire was still under investigation. Hanen said the department responded with six fire engines, two trucks and a total of 28 personnel. “We had everybody,” he said. The Tierra Verde Apartments were built in 2008. The two-bedroom apartments are part of New Beginnings.