Other Business New Orleans, LA – Fire at nightclub on Bourbon Street is kept from spreading by sprinkler system April 18, 2018 viking210 The Oz nightclub on Bourbon Street caught on fire this afternoon after DJ equipment sparked a blaze. The New Orleans Fire Department arrived at the club just after 12:15 p.m. to see heavy black smoke billowing out of the second floor roof line. The club was open, but no one was in the building other than the manager and the bartender, according to the NOFD. The manager told firefighters he heard popping noises coming from the second floor and saw flames coming from the DJ equipment and attached wires. The building’s sprinkler system was activated and helped keep the fire from spreading, according to the NOFD. Twenty-two NOFD personnel in seven units responded to the fire, which was placed under control by 12:30 p.m. No injuries were reported.
Apartment Building, Residential Baton Rouge, LA – Sprinkler system activates to assist firefighters in apartment blaze March 20, 2018 viking210 The St. George Fire Protection District was called to the Addison Apartments on Tuesday afternoon to battle a kitchen fire. According to Chad Roberson of St. George Fire, a fire alarm was reported around 2 p.m at the Addison Apartments. Firefighters arrived at the building located at 10231 The Grove Blvd and found a fire in the kitchen area of apartment 210. Roberson said, the sprinkler system activated and controlled the fire. There were no injuries reported and the fire was under control 20 minutes after firefighters received the call. Both the first and second floor of the building sustained water damage. East Baton Rouge EMS and the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office assisted St. George Fire at the scene. The fire is still under investigation and further information will be provided when it becomes available.
Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic New Iberia, LA – Late night arson fire at medical center extinguished by sprinkler system August 16, 2017 viking210 A man has been arrested after, fire marshals say, he intentionally set a fire at Iberia Medical Center early Friday morning. Ruddy Romero, Jr., 25, of New Iberia, allegedly set fire to a hospital blanket on a set of chairs in an Intensive Care Unit waiting room on the second floor. Romero set the fire before leaving the hospital, according to Chief Deputy Brant Thompson. State fire marshal investigators say the fire alarm system activated, hence alerting hospital employees, patients, and visitors. The alarm was immediately followed by the activation of the fire sprinkler system, which quickly extinguished the fire shortly before 1:30 a.m. Romero was later interviewed by investigators and admitted to lighting the blanket on fire, directly threatening more than 100 patients, staff members, and visitors, Thompson says. Romero was arrested on charges of aggravated arson. He is being held in the Iberia Parish jail on a $20,000 bond.
Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail Hammond, LA – Arson fire at Walmart store contained by sprinkler system July 11, 2017 viking210 A man is in custody and charged with arson in connection with two fires Saturday afternoon at Northshore Walmart stores. Louisiana State Fire Marshal Chief Butch Browning says 45-year-old Larry Paul Schouest Jr. started the fires at the Hammond and Amite Walmart stores as a distraction after stealing laptop computers from the stores. Officials say the fires were set in the store’s pool chemical areas, but the sprinkler systems kept the fires from getting out of control. Fire crews evacuated the stores. No one was hurt. Fire marshal deputies say they also obtained a confession from Schouest that he set a fire on June 27 at the Ponchatoula Walmart, where he also stole laptops. Browning says Schouest was charged with two counts of aggravated arson and six counts of felony theft. He was booked into the Tangipahoa Parish prison.
Primary / Secondary School, School / University Baton Rouge, LA – Sprinklers keep arson fire at high school from spreading April 19, 2017 viking210 Two boys were arrested Tuesday on accusations of setting a fire at Glen Oaks Senior High School, which came days after a similar incident, District Six Fire Chief Joel Hancock said. The boys, a 13-year-old and 11-year-old, were arrested around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in a fire at the flooded high school determined to have been deliberately set, according to the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office. Authorities responded to a similar incident Friday night, also determined arson, however fire investigators do not believe the juveniles in custody are also responsible for the first incident, said Baton Rouge Fire Department spokesman Curt Monte. BRFD investigators assisted District Six Fire Department Tuesday night. The two juveniles are accused of going into the shuttered school and setting about five damaged computers on fire, Hancock said Wednesday morning. Witnesses saw the boys running from the school after the fire had started, Hancock said. The boys have been booked into juvenile detention on counts of simple arson, criminal trespassing and unauthorized entry, Monte said. The flames caused little damage, Hancock said, but investigators determined arson was the cause. The Friday night fire at the school was also set to some old computers, Hancock said. Adonica Duggan, a spokeswoman for the schools, said the fire on Friday triggered the school’s sprinkler system and there’s concern about water and smoke damage. She said she’s still gathering details about what additional damage might have resulted from Tuesday’s fire. Representatives of the East Baton Rouge Parish school system and Aramark, the private company that maintains school buildings, were at Glen Oaks Senior High School at 6650 Cedar Drive Wednesday morning to assess the damage. They congregated in the school’s L building, the only building damaged by fire Tuesday night and where the fire started and was contained Friday. The building, which has been gutted since the August flooding, had piles of electronics, computers and furniture gathered in the center hallway. Most of it looked wet and water pooled on the floor in spots. Fire damage was not readily visible. Fifteen out of 17 buildings at the north Baton Rouge high school took in water in August. School officials are planning to reopen the school, which has been relocated across town for months, by fixing up a few of the least damaged buildings and installing several temporary buildings. A much more expensive permanent repair of the high school is slated to come after that. The L building is one of the buildings slated to be repaired quickly. Duggan said school officials are examining the damage to see if the building can be fixed up in time for the beginning of the 2017-18 school year on Aug. 10.
Residential, Residential High Rise Shreveport, LA – High-rise apartment fire put out by sprinkler system April 13, 2017 viking210 Cleanup is underway after a fire at an apartment building in downtown Shreveport. Authorities think a trash can in a closet on the 11th floor of Fairmont Apartments caught fire. The sprinkler system doused the fire that was reported at 5:54 p.m. Tuesday. Now Shreveport Fire Department crews are using vacuums to remove water from the high-rise on the northeast corner of Cotton at Common streets. A ventilation fan is being used to get smoke out of the building.
Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential Simmesport, LA – Sprinkler system activates to stop fire in nursing home storage room March 29, 2017 viking210 “Always on a Sunday.” That’s what Bayou Chateau Nursing home owner Gerard LaCour could say in a moment of relief following the evacuation of his facility just hours earlier. Around 6 p.m. Sunday, the nursing home’s sprinkler system and fire alarm were activated after what LaCour said were “problems in a storage room.” First responders including Simmesport Police and Fire and Acadian Ambulance got to the nursing home and quickly worked to evacuate residents. According to Acadian’s Twitter account, two patients were moved to other nursing facilities and one was taken to an area hospital. According to the captain of Simmesport Fire Department and Simmesport City Councilman Jacob Coco, there was no fire damage, but there was water in the building due to the sprinkler system. He said that much of that water was quickly cleaned up by members of the community who responded to the scene, including the mayor. Coco said that once the scene was cleared, they were able to bring the residents back to the nursing home.
Apartment Building, Residential Baton Rouge, LA – Sprinkler system activates to fight grease fire at LSU apartment complex February 3, 2017 viking210 A small grease fire turned into a major inconvenience Thursday night for several LSU students. The Baton Rouge Fire Department responded to The Armstrong Apartment Complex formerly called, Burbank Commons just before 9 p.m. While there was no fire damage inside the third floor unit where the problem began, water from the sprinkler system damaged the apartment’s contents. Building managers were investigating how much water seeped into the first- and second-floor units. Red Cross was initially called to help out the displaced residents, but those services weren’t needed once the affected students found another place to stay for the night.
Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant Baton Rouge, LA – Fire in mechanical closet of Towne Place Suites hotel put out by sprinkler system January 25, 2017 viking210 The St. George Fire Department responded to a reported fire at the Towne Place Suites, located at 8735 Summa Ave. around 5 p.m. Monday evening. Firefighters observed dense smoke coming from a downstairs maintenance closet. The fire was extinguished by the sprinkler system. St. George firefighters conducted a thorough inspection to assure the fire had not spread into walls, attic spaces, or voids between floors of the three-story hotel. No additional fire was discovered. No injuries were reported in this incident as hotel staff evacuated guests and employees from the building. The cause of the fire is undetermined at this time.
Residential, Residential High Rise Shreveport, LA – Sprinkler system puts out fire on 10th floor of apartment building January 22, 2017 viking210 Residents of the Highland View Apartments were evacuated last night after firefighters responded to an apartment fire around 10:50 PM. It happened on the 10th floor of the apartment building in the 1800 block of Fairfield Avenue and thankfully no one was hurt. Officials tell us the sprinkler system actually put out the fire before fire crews arrived. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
