Tag Archives: Massachusetts

Other Business

East Longmeadow, MA – Fuel oil fire caused by truck explosion limited with help from sprinkler system

Investigators have determined an explosion that injured an employee at a Shaker Road truck and equipment repair business Monday afternoon was sparked by static electricity inside the tank of an oil delivery truck. The W.B. Hill employee suffered only minor injuries even though the force of the blast blew out two metal overhead doors, Fire Chief Paul Morrissette said.

“He lucked out, it could have been disastrous,” Morrissette said, adding that approximately nine other employees in the area escaped injury. The injured employee was treated at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield and released, Morrissette said.

Jennifer Mieth, spokeswoman for the state Fire Marshal’s office, said the blast, which was reported about 1:30 p.m., caused approximately $500,000 in damage to the tanker and the building, located at 305 Shaker Road. Morrissette said the explosion occurred as employees tested a repair on the home heating oil delivery tanker by pumping liquid from the tanker.

“Somehow or other the hose had moved or dislodged and when it did it created a static charge,” he said. The hatchway on top of the tank, known as a manway, was open at the time and explosion. “When it flashed it just went straight out,” Morrisette said. “The truck itself didn’t explode.”

After the explosion, the fuel in the tank continued to burn until the facility’s sprinkler system was able to cool it enough to put it out, Morrissette said. Heavy smoke was pouring out of the building when firefighters arrived. Firefighters from the Longmeadow Fire Department and the Shaker Pines Fire Department in Enfield provided mutual aid. Wilbraham firefighters provided station coverage.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Brockton, MA – Sprinkler system keeps overnight hotel fire from spreading

A sprinkler system is being credited for averting a possible major fire or disaster at a downtown hotel early Friday morning. The Brockton Fire Department received a 911 call about 1 a.m. reporting there was an unknown fire in one of the rooms at the Elmcourt Hotel, at 33 West Elm St. When firefighters arrived, they learned that the sprinkler system had been activated on the fourth floor.

“The contents of the room, including the mattress, were on fire,” said fire Capt. Jeff Marchetti. “The sprinkler heads were flowing and kept the fire from spreading.”

The fire was caused by the careless disposal of smoking materials, the captain said.

The actual fire was contained to only the one room on the fourth floor. Firefighters had to tap into a standpipe system in the building to use a small amount of water to extinguish the parts of the fire that the sprinkler didn’t, Marchetti said.

The fire was extinguished about 12 minutes after the initial 911 call reporting it.

Although the fire was contained to one room, there was a large amount of water damage to multiple floors due to the sprinkler system, Marchetti said.

“Because of the water damage from the sprinkler heads flowing, they had to shut down power to some of the hotel,” he said.

The fire is estimated to have caused about $100,000 in damage, Marchetti said.

Fire officials said several people had to be relocated because they couldn’t stay in the rooms directly below where the fire occurred due to water damage.

But Chip Yannone, the owner of the Elmcourt, said everyone was able to stay in the hotel, some just had to switch rooms.

“We are fortunate enough to be able to keep everyone here,” he said.

Yannone said that insurance adjusters hadn’t been to the building as of late Friday morning and he wanted to wait for their investigation to be complete before discussing the possible damages.

Apartment Building, Residential

Cambridge, MA – No injuries in overnight apartment fire contained with help sprinkler system

A fast-moving fire in Cambridge could have been much worse if it wasn’t for the sprinkler system. Firefighters were called to a four-story apartment building at the corner Auburn and Magazine streets around 1 a.m. after flames broke out on a second floor porch. The fire then spread to two more buildings.

“I started hearing cracking and popping. We really didn’t think much of it and then I looked out my window and saw all these embers falling,”resident Andrew Colello told WBZ-TV.

“I hear a crash and there’s like a fireman knocking down my door, waking all my roommates up, getting us out of there.”

A total of 20 units were evacuated safely because the sprinklers helped contain the fire, acting Fire Chief Gerard Mahoney told reporters. No one was hurt. There’s no word yet on a cause.

The four-alarm fire came just days before the first anniversary of a massive 10-alarm fire on Berkshire Street in Cambridge. “This thankfully, had a far different outcome than that did. But we don’t like to see anybody displaced at any time, particularly in the holiday season,” Mahoney said. About 60 people were displaced in Thursday’s fire.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Marlborough, MA – Sprinkler system activates; Assists firefighters in controlling hotel fire

Firefighters made quick work out of a fire in a fourth-floor apartment at the MacDonald Hotel Wednesday night that forced Main Street to be closed for several hours. There were no injuries from the fire that broke out around 8:30 p.m., but 30 to 40 residents were displaced from the 276 Main St. building, according to Battalion Chief David D’Amico. The Red Cross arrived to lend a hand. “The first engine company went up to investigate and they found smoke …. on the fourth floor,” D’Amico said. “They found the apartment where the fire was.” The fire, contained to one apartment, was under control within a half-hour, but crews remained on hand for several hours to make sure it didn’t reignite, D’Amico said. Firefighters don’t know what sparked the blaze Wednesday night. The state Fire Marshal’s inspector was called to the building.

“Right now, we are in the investigation stage,” he said. D’Amico said it’s unknown how long the building will be uninhabitable. “The sprinkler system did activate. The water damage throughout the building still has to be checked,” he said. “We still have to get into all these apartments.” Because of frequent false alarm, many people refused to evacuate, which became a challenge for firefighters. “Getting into this building while people are coming out that is always a challenge,” D’Amico said. Around 25 residents gathered in the nearby Marlborough House of Pizza to stay warm and wait for news from the department. Fire Chief Kevin Breen told the residents they would be able to enter the building to retrieve medications and personal belongings, but would not be allowed to stay the night.

“I was sleeping and I heard a small explosion,” said Andy Alley, who has lived on the third floor of the building for five years. “When I opened the door the smoke was floor to ceiling. This is the second fire since I’ve lived here.” Another resident said several people tried to put out the blaze with a fire extinguisher. Southborough and Northborough Fire Departments also sent crews to help with the two-alarm fire.

Food Processing, Manufacturing

Lawrence, MA – Sprinkler system helps stop fire at food distribution center

Prompt action by firefighters Wednesday evening saved a former mill building that now houses two food distribution companies, according to fire Chief Brian Moriarty.

One firefighter suffered minor injuries but is expected to fully recover, the chief said. No civilians were hurt.

A working fire in the building at 85 Manchester St. was reported by telephone at 6 p.m. Engine 7, based at the nearby Park Street firehouse, was the first to respond. The second alarm brought all Lawrence engines to the scene, plus crews from Salem, New Hampshire, and Andover.

Ladder 4 sprayed water on the roof while other engines attacked the fire from different positions.

Engine 5, connected to a hydrant on Broadway, pumped water to the other trucks through about 1,000 feet of 6-inch hose.

Damage was contained to the roof, Moriarty said. The roof, with an old-fashioned sawtooth style, proved to be a challenge, he added.

The thick roof, measuring at least 6 inches and constructed of planks and rubber, was “a very tough area,” Moriarty said.

A sprinkler head in the building helped bring the fire under control, he said. Firefighters began leaving the scene by 8 p.m.

The two food distribution companies are Bulk Services and Dragon Joy. City health inspectors were assessing the building Wednesday night to determine whether employees can report for work Thursday, Deputy Chief John McInnis said.

The employees of the nearby Microsemi Corp., 6 Lake St., were evacuated. Police blocked Broadway between Park and Manchester streets while firefighters suppressed the blaze.

Apartment Building, Residential

Bridgewater, MA – Sprinkler system limits fire damage in apartment blaze; No injuries reported

Eighteen residents of a large apartment complex building are displaced due to water damage to multiple floors after a dryer fire Monday night. The Bridgewater Fire Department responded to Axis at Lakeshore, which is off of Pleasant Street (Route 104), about 11:10 p.m. after receiving a fire alarm activation at the station, then a subsequent 911 call.

“There was a fire in a dryer which was in a laundry room in an apartment on the fifth floor,” Chief Thomas Levy told The Enterprise. When firefighters arrived, there was heavy smoke on the fifth floor of the building, which has six floors. Although there was still an active fire inside the dryer when firefighters arrived, the sprinkler system was keeping it from spreading throughout the apartment.

“Within 20 minutes, they knocked the rest of the fire down,” Levy said. About 150 people had to evacuate the apartment building. Although there was smoke and water damage to all floors but the sixth, most of the residents were allowed back in. Levy said about 18 people who live in the apartments on each floor directly below the unit where the fire occurred were displaced. They either found places to stay overnight or were put in a nearby hotel by management.

“The fire was contained to that one apartment, but we had smoke in the hallway and water damage on all five floors underneath where the fire occurred due to sprinkler activation,” Levy said. Investigators are still working to determine what caused the fire inside the dryer. The fire chief said neither the lint trap or lint buildup in the duct work are initially believed to be the cause.

“The investigation is pointing toward the interior of the dryer, which was pretty melted,” Levy said. “We’re not sure if it was a mechanical failure, if it was overloaded or there might have been something inside the clothing.”

The chief said cooperation from maintenance staff and management helped firefighters quickly get into the affected apartment. Levy said they will investigate the cause further and work with management to make sure other dryers aren’t in danger of catching fire. This fire comes after there were two dryer fires in the region about a week apart in late September – one in East Bridgewater and the other in Whitman.

“These residents were home, but we would never advise leaving a dryer or any electrical appliances unattended,” Levy said. The chief estimated the damage caused by the fire to be about $75,000. The unit where the fire occurred sustained heavy water damage and there were ceiling collapses on two upper floors due to the water.

“The sprinkler system activated the proper way, the fire alarm activated and the smoke detectors were working,” Levy said. “It’s unfortunate the water damage that was sustained, but that’s out of our control.”

Other Business, Place of Worship

Methuen, MA – Sprinkler system helps firefighters control suspicious church fire

Officials are investigating a two-alarm fire that damaged the Christian Church Voice of Salvation at 5 Pleasant St. late Sunday.

Deputy fire Chief Scott Sullivan said the blaze, reported at 10:22 p.m., is still under investigation but indicated he is “leaning toward arson.” 

The State Fire Marshal’s Office is involved in the probe and took samples for analysis, Sullivan said.

Investigators used an accelerant-sniffing dog to detect possible signs of arson. A sprinkler head controlled the fire long enough for a hose team to get into the building, which housed the Red Tavern for many years, Sullivan said.

The building has many void spaces and that makes firefighters nervous, the deputy chief said. The firefighters who responded to the fire did a good job of keeping the flames from spreading, he said.

The fire damaged a rug and some furniture, Sullivan said. The Haitian-American congregation will most likely not hold worship services there next Sunday, he said.

Salem, New Hampshire, and Lawrence crews assisted Methuen firefighters. The last unit left the scene at 2:24 a.m. Monday.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Northbridge, MA – Fire in light fixture at nursing home extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Staff at Beaumont Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center said they knew they’d been successful in evacuating the building without too much trauma when the residents said they felt like the event was a party and not the result of a small fire. The fire Monday night, in a light fixture, was quickly extinguished by the facility’s sprinkler system, said Matthew Salmon, Beaumont’s owner. The fire damage was hardly noticeable, but the water that was pumped out of the sprinkler flooded the floor and flowed down to a lower level of the center, forcing 28 of the 150 residents to be evacuated.

Staff gathered up residents, collected their needed personal belongings and organized their medications and charts so they could be taken to nearby facilities in the Beaumont group or to St. Camillus Health Care, where they spent the night. “They said it was like a party,” a nursing supervisor told Mr. Salmon.

Mr. Salmon anticipated the residents would return by Tuesday evening. The evacuation went off exactly as it should, and it’s something care facilities practice with fire alarms and evacuations in mock situations.  “We have a plan in place,” Mr. Salmon said. “We’re part of Mass. MAP (the Massachusetts Long Term Care Mutual Aid Plan).”

The plan sets how an evacuation and relocation of patients in care facilities is to be carried out, Mr. Salmon said. So if another facility was evacuated, some of its residents could be moved to Beaumont, he explained. Fire doors closed during the incident, and some residents who sheltered in place slept through it, Mr. Salmon said.  The Fire Department was credited with quickly minimizing the damage being done by the sprinklers and for setting up a response of vehicles that could move residents who had to leave the building.

A task force of ambulances was called to the home, along with the Worcester Regional Transit Authority’s AmbuBus, a retrofitted 1996 bus equipped with medical supplies and the ability to carry 25 patients in wheelchairs and on stretchers. The bus has been deployed just twice since in was made ready for use in 2010, but it is used for training, WRTA spokesman Meaghan Lyver said.

On Tuesday, elevators at Beaumont were out of service and some alarms weren’t working, so staff members were monitoring those areas. Fans were circulating air and drying rugs in the affected area, and Mr. Salmon said once the health board gave an OK, folks could move back into their rooms.

Other / Not Specified

Falmouth, MA – Fire at marine laboratory held in check by automatic sprinkler system

Falmouth Fire/Rescue reports that at approximately 9 AM Thursday morning, they responded to the Marine Resource Center, part of Marine Biological Laboratories at 125 Water Street in Woods Hole. Shortly after arrival, Engine 20 reported smoke showing from the rear of the building. A full first alarm was dispatched, bringing Engine 25 and Ladder 26 to the scene. Crews connected to the sprinkler system and advanced an attack line that they then connected to the standpipe in the stairwell. The crew made entrance to the second floor hallway and found a heavy smoke condition with a fire in a lab that was being held in check by the sprinkler system. The crew fully extinguished the fire and began ventilating the building. Firefighters remained on scene for about 90 minutes. There were no injuries, and the fire is believed to be accidental. Mutual aid from Joint Base Cape Cod and Mashpee Fire covered the Falmouth stations during the incident.

Other Business

New Bedford, MA – Damage from arson fire at laundry business limited by sprinkler system

State and New Bedford fire officials are investigating another suspicious, early-morning fire that damaged a laundry building Thursday in the city’s near North End, officials said.  The fire at Purity Services Laundry, 405 Myrtle St., was in a garage loading area that is inside the building, according to Fire Chief Michael Gomes.

“It was not accidental,” the chief said of the fire.  Damage from the blaze was minimized due to the activation of the company’s sprinkler system, according to Gomes and Jennifer Mieth, a spokeswoman for the state Fire Marshal’s office. Gomes said the Fire Department learned of the fire when the sprinkler system was activated.

Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire within 20 minutes of their arrival. According to the New Bedford Police Department log, the fire occurred at 3:07 a.m. Thursday.  Items held in the storage area suffered fire damage and there was smoke damage throughout the building, Gomes said.

Officials with Purity Services Laundry were not available for comments Friday morning.

Investigators said they have not determined whether Thursday’s fire is related to numerous early-morning fires in the city’s near North End during July and August.

Chief Gomes said this fire is under investigation by the New Bedford Fire and Police Departments and the state Fire Marshal’s office.

Anyone with information can call the state’s arson hotline, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at 1-800-682-9229, Mieth said. All calls are confidential.