Tag Archives: Maryland

Apartment Building, Residential

Salisbury, MD – Sprinkler system keeps overnight fire from spreading; No injuries reported

Crews battled an overnight blaze Tuesday at Mill Pond Village Apartments that displaced 35 people and caused $500,000 in damages, according to fire officials.

A Salisbury Fire Department Facebook post shows units from Salisbury, Delmar, Hebron and Parsonsburg responded to 312 Mill Pond Lane at 1:37 a.m., arriving to find a well-advanced two-alarm blaze.

Officials said the 42 firefighters on scene were able to bring the fire under control within 45 minutes, and all building occupants were safely evacuated. There were no injuries.

A news release from the Office of the State Fire Marshal applauded the building’s fire protection features and the quick response from local firefighters for preventing large-scale property loss and loss of life.

The release shows investigators discovered the blaze was accidental and had originated from a third-floor balcony as a result of discarded smoking material. 

The investigation also determined an automatic fire sprinkler kept the fire from spreading from the balcony to the living space, the release states, and the required fire separations stopped it from preventing further damage after it accessed the attic space.

The fire has displaced 35 residents, according to the release. In total, it  caused $500,000 in damage — $400,000 to the structure and $100,000 to the tenants’ personal items.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Ellicott City, MD – Fire at assisted living facility quickly controlled with help from sprinkler system

There was an apartment fire in Ellicott City Monday at an assisted living facility, according to officials. It was quickly controlled with help from sprinklers, authorities said. Fire broke out in a second-floor apartment at Selborne House in the 5300 block of Dorsey Hall Drive, the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services reported on Monday, March 25. A sprinkler controlled the flames, and firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze, officials reported; it was out by 6 p.m.

Auto Dealership, Retail

Gaithersburg, MD – Sprinkler system prevented fire from spreading at auto repair shop; No injuries reported

Two cars are left damaged after a fire started in a Gaithersburg auto repair shop.

According to the Montgomery County Fire Department, the fire broke out Thursday at about 7 am at J B Auto Repair on Rickenbacker Drive.

About 50 firefighters were on scene and found that the fire started in the engine compartment of a BMW vehicle, and extended to at least one other car.

Officials say the sprinkler system helped prevent the fire from spreading to other cars under repair inside the garage.

“Good thing it happened at the end of the shop. There were like 14 cars inside the shop, so two of them were the two last cars that got damaged. We were able to, I guess, get the issue solved early, but a lot of clean up to do,” explained J B Auto Repair owner, Jose Benitez.

Fire officials determined the cause to be accidental, but say they are aware that the BMW vehicle model does have a history of issues with fires starting in the engine area and believe that to have been the cause.

No employees or firefighters suffered injuries. 

Apartment Building, Residential

Leonardtown, MD – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire in kitchen apartment; No injuries reported

On Monday, February 4, 2019, at approximately 1:00 p.m., firefighters from Bay District, NAS Patuxent River, Valley Lee, Leonardtown, and Hollywood responded to 44890 Hunting Meadows Court in Callaway, for the reported structure fire.

Crews arrived on the scene to find nothing evident from apartment 1024.

Upon further investigation, firefighters found a slight haze of smoke in the apartment with an extinguished fire on the stove.

Firefighters advised the fire was out and secured the power and water to the residence. Units advised it was food on the stove, and all units can return to service when ready.

No injuries were reported. It is unknown if the occupants were displaced or are being assisted at this time.

Retail

Annapolis, MD – Storage room fire at nail salon contained by sprinkler system

Firefighters were called to a Safeway store on the 1700 block of Forest Drive shortly after 5 p.m. Saturday, Cpt. Phil Morris said. Crews were responding to a “water flow alarm” at the grocery store, Morris said. But when firefighters arrived, they found the fire in the adjacent nail salon, Vy Nails. The fire, located in a storage room at the rear of the salon, set off a single sprinkler head, Morris said. That contained the fire, but fire crews had to use their hoses to extinguish it. No injuries were reported.

Residential, Single Family Home

Manchester, MD – Residential sprinkler system contained house fire to one bedroom

Damage was confined to one area of the house.

A sprinkler installed in a home in Manchester helped minimize the damage from a house fire.

The State Fire Marshal’s Office says Philip Gray, 85, and his son, Thomas, were moving into a home at 3175 Main Street. Philip Stone was alone in the house late Wednesday morning at around 11:47 when he discovered a fire in a bedroom of the two-story home. He tried to put it out, but the residential sprinkler system was activated. The flames were contained to the bedroom when fire fighters from the Manchester Volunteer Fire Company responded. Personnel used a minimal amount of water to extinguish the remainder of the fire.

Damage is estimated at $35,000  to the home and its contents, and was contained to the bedroom. . The sprinkler activation is crediting with keeping the small fire contained to its area of origin, according to the Fire Marsha’s Office.

Mister Gray refused treatment after sustaining a minor injury to his leg.

Investigators say the cause of the fire was improperly discarded smoking materials.

Officials say the home will be unoccupied for a temporary period of time so that repairs and clean up can take place.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Federalsburg, MD – Storage room fire in industrial building brought under control by sprinkler system; 200 employees safe

A fire in a storage room damaged a Caroline County industrial building on Tuesday night. The fire was reported at the Dart Plant at 1000 Industrial Park Drive shortly after 9:30 p.m. According to the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office, the building’s sprinkler system had the fire under control before firefighters with the Federalsburg Volunteer Fire Company arrived. Damage to the structure and its contents is estimated at $6,000. Fire investigators say about 200 employees were in the building at the time of the fire. There were no reported injuries. Investigators determined the fire started in a storage room above the plant’s maintenance shop. Anyone with additional information about this incident is asked to contact the Office of the State Fire Marshal, Upper Eastern Regional Office 410-822-7609.

Apartment Building, Residential

Silver Spring, MD – Apartment fire caused by smoking in bed is extinguished by sprinkler system

When a Montgomery County man went to check on his wife last week, she was in the bedroom, on a bed, and the bed was on fire, according to a report from the county fire department.  A smoke alarm and a sprinkler were credited by the department with averting possible tragedy.  The man had been in another room when he heard the alarm, the fire department said. According to the department, he went to the bedroom, and found the fire “on the mattress by the pillows with his wife still on the bed.”

The incident occurred around 6:45 p.m. Wednesday at a senior independent living facility on Old Columbia Pike, the fire department said. The building was identified by the department as Arbor Crest, in the Fairland/Calverton area, in the 12800 block of the pike.  In a statement issued Sunday, the fire department said the woman had been smoking cigarettes, and “at some point fell asleep.”

Once in the bedroom, her husband was able to rouse her, the statement said. Then, it said, he tried to put out the fire. After making numerous attempt to put it out, the statement said, the couple left the apartment. No one was injured, and damage was estimated at $30,000, the department said in its statement.

When fire fighters arrived, the department said, the fire “was mostly out.” In the meantime, some residents had been evacuated and others sheltered in place, the department said.  Neither the man nor the woman was identified. Their ages were not given. A cat was rescued from their apartment, the fire department said.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Ocean City, MD – Restaurant fire extinguished by sprinkler system and fast acting employee

An Ocean City restaurant was saved from serious fire damage due to fire sprinklers and an employee using a fire extinguisher. The Ocean City Fire Department was called to respond to a reported building fire at Liquid Assets Restaurant on 94th Street just before 4:30 PM Tuesday.  When firefighters arrived, they found the building had been evacuated. As they entered the building, they found one single fire sprinkler that was actively flowing water near the propane oven, along with light smoke conditions and evidence of a fire that had been extinguished by the sprinkler system and an employee using a Class K fire extinguisher.

“The quick actions of the staff at Liquid Assets and the fire sprinkler system saved lives and property at Liquid Assets. This is one example why the Office of the Fire Marshal maintains our Fire Protection Quality Assurance Program, to ensure all fire protection systems work as intended during an emergency,” said Fire Marshal David W. Hartley.  An on-scene investigation by the O.C. Fire Marshal’s Office determined that the fire started as a result of a propane appliance malfunction. The fire has been ruled accidental.

Other - Manufacturing, Other Business

Elkton, MD – Authorities credit sprinkler system with extinguishing blaze in chemical mixing room

Investigators are crediting a sprinkler system for extinguishing a blaze Monday morning inside a chemical mixing room at a medical products plant in Elkton, allowing the three employees in that area to escape safely, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office.  Workers called 911 at approximately 7:15 a.m. Monday, after discovering the fire inside a Terumo Medical Corp. building in the 100 block of Blue Ball Road, fire officials said. About 10 firefighters with Singerly Volunteer Fire Co. of Elkton and Aetna Hook, Hose and Ladder Co. in Newark, Del., responded to the call, but the blaze had been extinguished by the time they arrived, fire officials added.

“The fire was contained to the chemical room after the sprinkler system activated,” said Sr. Deputy State Fire Marshal Oliver J. Alkire, an agency spokesman, adding, “Three employees inside the room were able to safely escape.”  Investigators estimated that that part of the building sustained $25,000 in structural damage, according to Alkire, who further reported that no other property was damaged. Investigators identified the property owner as Terumo Medical Corp., which manufactures medical devices and supplies.

Fire detectives listed the cause of the blaze as accidental, after concluding that static electricity inside the chemical mixing room triggered the fire, Alkire said. Because the fire occurred in a place containing chemicals, he added, the Cecil County Hazmat Team also was dispatched to the scene.