Food Processing, Manufacturing Russell, KS – Grain dust fire at gluten plant extinguished with help from sprinkler system January 1, 2017 viking210 A minor explosion and small fire occurred early Wednesday afternoon at White Energy’s gluten plant in Russell. Russell City Firefighters responded to the fire at about 12:45 PM Wednesday. The Russell Police Department also responded for traffic control. According to Fire Chief Shane Preston, the blaze was mostly extinguished by the facility’s sprinkler system, but firefighters had to put out a few hot embers. Preston said the fire started when a piece of equipment in a grain bin overheated. It caught some grain on fire, the fire mixed with grain dust and caused a flash fire, which was the explosion. The blaze was contained to the grain bin. The incident is still under investigation. There were no injuries.
Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse Salina, KS – Sprinkler system helps put out fire at Advance Auto Parts distribution center October 1, 2016 viking210 Advance Auto Parts Distribution Center, 3633 S. Ninth, was temporarily shut down Tuesday afternoon after a fire that started when a 5-pound bucket of solvent on a pallet dropped from a forklift. The fire was reported shortly before 4 p.m. Tuesday. Saline County Undersheriff Roger Soldan said there was no damage estimate, but the north side of the building sustained fire, smoke and water damage. Firefighters from Saline County Rural Fire District No. 2 responded to the fire. Soldan said the building’s fire suppression sprinkler system also activated. The distribution center was in operation Wednesday.
Apartment Building, Residential Topeka, KS – Sprinkler system activates to help limit damage in apartment fire September 30, 2016 viking210 Topeka Fire Department crews put out a small trash fire early Tuesday at a downtown apartment building. An automatic alarm was activated shortly after 5 a.m. on the second floor of the Santa Fe Place Apartments, a five-story brick building at 600 S.E. Madison. Crews arrived to find a small fire on the second floor, where sprinklers had activated. Fire officials at the scene said there was no major damage associated with the fire, which was believed to have started as a result of improper disposal of smoking materials. However, water from the sprinkler system ran down the elevator shaft and into at least one apartment. It took about 30 minutes to get the sprinkler system shut off. No injuries were reported.
Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant Wichita, KS – Cooking fire at high-rise hotel extinguished by sprinkler system September 22, 2016 viking210 The Wichita Fire Department was busy early Tuesday evening. Fire crews were called out to a high-rise building fire at the Value Place Hotel in the 3400 hundred block of N. Great Plains, near K-96 and Oliver around 6:45 p.m. According to dispatch, it was a cooking fire in a 4th floor room that caused the sprinkler system to activate and extinguish the fire. As a result, crews had to deal with heavy smoke and took several minutes to shut the sprinklers off. Water was found in several rooms on the 3rd flood, and also the elevator shaft near the 3rd floor. Only one person was treated with smoke inhalation.
According to dispatch, it was a cooking fire in a 4th floor room that caused the sprinkler system to activate and extinguish the fire. As a result, crews had to deal with heavy smoke and took several minutes to shut the sprinklers off. Water was found in several rooms on the 3rd flood, and also the elevator shaft near the 3rd floor. Only one person was treated with smoke inhalation.
Food Processing, Manufacturing Kansas City, KS – Sprinklers activate in blaze at Kellogg plant after oven malfunction July 12, 2016 viking210 Three firefighters were treated for heat-related illness after fighting a fire July 6 at the Kellogg plant at 801 Sunshine Road in the Fairfax area of Kansas City, Kan. Damage to the plant and its product were estimated at $1.5 million, the Kansas City, Kan., Fire Department spokesman said. The building was valued at $60 million before the fire. There were no injuries to the plant workers when the fire broke out, according to the Fire Department spokesman. The plant, which makes Cheez-Its, was in production at the time of the fire. The plant is currently closed while it is being cleaned up, according to the Fire Department, and it is estimated to be closed for several days to a week. Health officials will need to inspect it before it reopens. The plant’s workers were in the process of being evacuated when firefighters arrived, the spokesman said. The call came in around 9:01 p.m. Wednesday, with the first firefighters arriving about 3 minutes later. The Fire Department spokesman said the fire started in one of the ovens at the plant that malfunctioned. The plant has four ovens, around 400 feet long, with a conveyor belt through them. The sprinkler system activated during the fire. The fire was near the end of one of the ovens, and the product was burning there, the spokesman said. The Fire Department spokesman estimated that the firefighters faced temperatures of 120 to 130 degrees inside the building during the fire. It was also hot outdoors.
Residential, Residential High Rise Hutchinson, KS – Chemical fire in student’s apartment confined by sprinkler system June 24, 2016 viking210 Hutchinson police investigators think a Hutchinson college student was experimenting with mixing chemicals to create an explosion when he caused a fire in his Plaza Towers apartment Tuesday evening. Local authorities also contacted Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation after their investigation revealed the man was sharing his knowledge in chemical bomb making with people in other states, Hutchinson Police Detective Jamie Schoenhoff said. Police arrested Chase Lee Coble, 22, on suspicion of aggravated arson in an occupied building, unlawful possession of explosives in an occupied building, conspiracy to commit use of explosives and felony criminal damage to property. He has not yet made a court appearance and remains jailed on $12,500 bond. Firefighters responded to Coble’s apartment at the Plaza Towers, 17 E. Second Ave., at about 4 p.m. after a fire triggered the building’s sprinkler system. The fire itself was small, said Deputy Fire Chief Doug Hanen, and was confined to the top of an upright freezer. He estimated damage from water to the apartment, however, at $4,000 to $5,000. “After the fire department responded, they discovered numerous chemicals in the apartment they thought might have been meth-lab-related,” Schoenhoff said. “Due to my past history with investigating meth labs, I quickly observed it was not a meth lab but something, in my opinion, more nefarious.” Police called the State Fire Marshal’s Office, which in turn contacted the South Central Region Homeland Security Hazmat Response Team. All of the chemicals were collected and properly disposed of, Schoenhoff said. “Mr. Coble is a student at (Hutchinson Community College) majoring in chemistry,” Schoenhoff said. “He’s attended several colleges in other states, in the same major.” He came to Hutchinson from Salina about a year ago, the detective said. In talking with Coble and finding items throughout the apartment, they identified at least three chemicals that when mixed with others would create an explosion of flash fire, Schoenhoff said. “That created a danger to all the occupants of the building,” he said. The 12-story building has 63 apartments. There also were indications in the apartment that there had been previous fires or explosions there, Schoenhoff said, though none resulted in firefighters responding or significant damage. “Of equal concern, he’d been communicating with individuals in other states with reference to giving advice and detailing how to make chemical explosives,” he said. At least one such contact was in Minnesota. That information, he said, led investigators to contact the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the FBI. Investigators seized at least 10 computer servers from the apartment, though all “went through the sprinkler system shower,” he said. “Right now, we’re handling it at the state level, but everyone is interested in the computer analysis.” The chemicals, for the most part, Schoenhoff said, are items anyone can purchase and none was illegal in itself to own. The problem, he said, is in mixing them, and Coble admitted to attempting to create explosives. “He knew his stuff, as far as chemicals and reactions,” Schoenhoff said. “He gave different reasons, some legitimate reasons, as to why he was trying to experiment.” Police arrested Coble last month on suspicion of driving under the influence and battery on a law enforcement officer, Schoenhoff said.
Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant Olathe, KS – Early morning fire at Residence Inn extinguished by sprinkler system February 26, 2016 viking210 Guests at the Residence Inn on South Strang Line Road were temporarily forced out Thursday morning after light smoke filled the lobby. The Olathe Fire Department was called to the hotel about 5:45 a.m. Firefighters said an overheated furnace caused an air filter to catch fire. The sprinkler system put out the fire. The Fire Department said there is minor damage. Guests were able to stay warm in their cars. They were allowed back in after about an hour.
Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant Salina, KS – Compressor fire at cabinet manufacturer put out by sprinkler system February 4, 2016 viking210 A fire in the compressor room at Crestwood caused employees to be evacuated Monday morning and shut down the cabinet-making plant for half the day.Capt. Roger Soldan said firefighters with Rural Fire Department No. 2 responded to the call about 9:10 a.m. at the plant at 601 E. Water Well. Crestwood president Mike Junk said the bearings in the motor of one of three air compressors went out, sparking the fire, which was put out right away by an automatic sprinkler system. Junk said firefighters came through to check for flames and hot spots, and the electricity was shut off while the system was assessed for damage. Junk said the plant was back up and running Monday afternoon, with just the other two air compressors. He said parts have been ordered to repair the third compressor
Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail Shawnee, KS – Sprinkler system helps minimize damage in fire at Hy-Vee store December 27, 2015 viking210 Shortly before 7 a.m. Saturday, a fire broke out in the deli kitchen area of the Shawnee Hy-Vee. Firefighters say workers were setting up for the morning buffet, when a hot steno lighter was put in storage. It spilled and caught fire. Employees tried to extinguish the fire and a sprinkler inside the store did activate. Fire Marshall Cory Sands says the fire was put out fairly quickly, but there is extensive smoke damage throughout the store. Sands says all opened food will be thrown out, with a value of about $300,000. A quick staff response – and sprinkler activation – helped save over $1 million in food and items. The store was evacuated, and no injuries were reported. The Department of Agriculture has been called. They will have to inspect the store before it re-opens. Sands says he expects the store will be able to re-open this afternoon.
Residential, Single Family Home McPherson, KS – House fire extinguished by sprinkler system; Damage contained to bedroom November 18, 2015 viking210 No one was injured in a structure fire that broke out Sunday night in the 200 block of South Hickory Street. The fire was contained to the bedroom in which it started and exterminated by the building’s sprinkler system. The fire is still under investigation, and the amount of damage is unknown.
