Tag Archives: Kansas

Apartment Building, Residential

Wichita, KS – Sprinkler system keeps fire at apartment complex from spreading

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Fire crews have knocked out a fire at an apartment complex in Wichita. The fire started around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at an apartment complex located at 324 N. Emporia. Fire crews say the sprinkler system helped get the fire out and keep it from spreading.

Upon arrival, fire crews discovered the fire on 3rd floor of the building. Residents had self-evacuated. So far, there is no cause of fire. Some residents are being displaced and Westar Enegry is also shutting down power for time being as well.

Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic

Wichita, KS – Sprinklers keep fire from spreading at hospital

(** Blog Note – Sprinklers do not activate by smoke; Only the substantial heat from a significant fire **)  Fire crews responded to Via Christi St. Francis hospital Sunday evening after smoke from a trash dumpster fire caused sprinklers to go off at the facility.  Dispatch reported smoke on the south side of the hospital where the trash dumpster is located. The fire did not spread to the building. 

Wichita Police provided traffic control near the scene. Roads were not closed, but part of Santa Fe was partially blocked near the hospital. 

Other / Not Specified

Leavenworth, KS – Fire at community center is fully extinguished by sprinkler system

Investigators are trying to determine what caused a small fire Monday night at the Riverfront Community Center, a Leavenworth Fire Department official said. The fire was reported at 10:31 p.m. Monday at the community center, 123 S. Esplanade St.

Assistant Fire Chief Mark Nietzke said the fire was contained to a storage room on the main floor of the community center. Nietzke said the fire was extinguished by water from a sprinkler system. The fire was already out when Leavenworth firefighters arrived on scene.

“The fire was contained to a pretty small area,” Nietzke said. Nietzke said fire investigators are in the process of eliminating other possible causes to determine what led to Monday night’s fire. “It’s taking us a little while to get through everything,” he said. The Riverfront Community Center is owned by the city of Leavenworth. City spokeswoman Melissa Bower said employees will be doing cleanup work this week, but the fire will not result in the cancellation of any events at the Riverfront Community Center.

Apartment Building, Residential

Salina, KS – Loft apartment fire brought under control with help from sprinkler system

Firefighters had a fire that started in a loft apartment above Laura’s Antiques in the 100 block of South Santa Fe Avenue in downtown Salina under control within about 40 minutes Tuesday night, said Salina Fire Marshal Roger Williams.

Williams said the fire was initially seen in a patio area of the loft apartment above Laura’s Antiques, 109 S. Santa Fe. He said it might have spread into the loft apartment above That 1 Bar, 111 S. Santa Fe, which is protected by an automatic sprinkler system. “It (the sprinkler system) did activate, and that definitely helped our operation,” Williams said.

Williams said there were no people in either loft apartment, and a small number of people in the bar were safely evacuated. There was smoke visible at the scene, but no flames.

The loft above Laura’s Antiques was being renovated. During that work in early March, some plaster was removed from what had been the exterior wall of 111 S. Santa Fe to reveal a sign painted on the wall from Salina’s earliest days.

The black-and-white sign was for “G. Sauer, Boots and Shoes,” a company that opened in 1870 and had closed by 1885. About 20,000 pounds of plaster was removed from the walls during renovation.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Hays, KS – Laundry fire at Holiday Inn Express extinguished by sprinkler system

At 10:04 p.m. Saturday, the Hays Fire Department, assisted by the Hays Police Department, was dispatched to an automatic fire alarm at the Holiday Inn Express, 4650 Roth.  First arriving police officers reported there was a fire in the building and that occupants were evacuating. At the same time, Holiday Inn Express staff called 911 to report a fire in the laundry room. At that time, additional fire crews and Ellis County EMS were alerted to respond.

Police officers immediately began assisting with the evacuation of the building. Ellis County EMS assisted one guest with limited mobility in evacuating the hotel. There were no injuries as a result of the fire.

Firefighters advanced one attack hose line to the laundry room and found the fire had been extinguished by two automatic fire sprinklers. After confirming that the fire was extinguished, firefighters worked to clear the smoke and shut down the fire sprinkler system.

The laundry room suffered fire, smoke and water damage. The lobby area and portions of the first floor of the building suffered water and smoke damage. The most probable cause of the fire was the spontaneous combustion of laundry inside a clothes dryer. Five fire trucks and 18 firefighters responded. The last fire crew left the scene at 12:31 a.m. Sunday.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Kansas City, KS – Sprinklers help extinguish oil fire at GM Fairfax plant

A Wednesday night fire at the General Motors Fairfax plant caused an estimated $600,000 in damage, according to the Kansas City, Kan., Fire Department.

Sparks from a welding torch ignited lubricating oil stored inside a paint shop at the plant in the 3200 block of Fairfax Trafficway, according to the fire department.

The building’s sprinkler system doused most of the flames. Firefighters extinguished burning oil on the surface of standing water from the sprinklers.

The fire department reported about $100,000 in damage to the structure and $500,000 in damage to its contents.

No injuries were reported.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Lawrence, KS – Sprinkler system activates to help limit fire spread at downtown restaurant; No injuries

Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical crews battled flames at Bigg’s on Mass, 719 Massachusetts St., Tuesday afternoon.  Division Chief Eve Tolefree said fire sprinkler activation inside the restaurant aided in preventing the fire from spreading farther than it did.

Shortly after 2:30 p.m., crews reported the situation “under control.” Around 3 p.m., they began ventilating the restaurant and surrounding businesses.

Damage estimates for the affected businesses were not available Tuesday evening. Investigators remained on the scene as of 5 p.m.  Bigg’s owner Doug Holiday said he would like to reopen his restaurant as early as Saturday.  “We hope to reopen this weekend, if not, as soon as possible,” Bigg’s posted to its Facebook page Tuesday evening. “Thank you to everyone who has sent kind words our way.”

Apartment Building, Residential

Sprinkler system extinguishes apartment cooking fire (Leavenworth, KS)

A Leavenworth Fire Department official says a fire at an apartment Monday night could have been a lot more serious if it hadn’t been for a sprinkler system. Water from the sprinklers extinguished the flames from a cooking fire at Abernathy Lofts before firefighters arrived. It also was reported that a woman who had fallen asleep in the apartment was awakened when the sprinklers went off, according to Assistant Fire Chief Mark Nietzke. “This is a good example of what a sprinkler system can do,” he said.