Tag Archives: Massachusetts

Apartment Building, Residential

Lynn, MA – Sprinkler system helps firefighters hold apartment fire in check; No injuries reported

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Lynn firefighters responded to a two-alarm fire at 77 Green St., a large 27-apartment building at 8:20 p.m. Saturday, Lynn District Fire Chief Stephen Archer said.  Archer said the call initially came in as a routine alarm activation, but when crews arrived, they found heavy smoke in the basement. The fire, which appeared to have started in there, was inside the walls and went up into a first floor apartment.  A sprinkler system activated, which aided firefighters in holding the fire in check, Archer said.

There were no injuries, but there was heavy smoke and water damage throughout the basement and first floor, and some fire damage in a first floor apartment, Archer said.  Archer said the building was declared uninhabitable by the city’s Inspectional Services Department — there has to be some work done on the building before residents can return. A figure for how many residents lived there and were displaced was not available, but Red Cross responded and placed 11 families.  The blaze is under investigation by the state fire marshal’s office.

Other Business

New Bedford, MA – Fire officials credit sprinkler system in controlling fire at uniform and linen company

New Bedford Fire Department was called to a two-alarm commercial fire at 335 Church Street. The building, which houses “Clean Uniforms and More” went up in flames just after 5pm on Saturday. Officials say no one was in the building at the time of the fire. When crews arrived, there was heavy smoke and active sprinklers inside the facility.  The New Bedford Fire Chief on scene says the sprinklers made the difference.

New Bedford Engines 9 and 8 are both stationed about a mile away from the scene, but engine 9 didn’t respond. It wasn’t in service Saturday because of budget restrictions.  The city saves money with a rotating schedule for closing a station daily for a 24-hour period.

“I would have been happy to have four additional bodies on scene in order to deal with coverage and whatnot, but again I have to deal with the fiscal responsibilities that I’m given. The resources that I’m given I have to work with,” said New Bedford Fire Chief, Michael Gomes. Officials told NBC 10 because of the working sprinkler system Engine 9 not being in service wasn’t really a factor.  Investigators believe the fire started in the area of a sorting table and was mostly contained.  The cause of the fire remains under investigation but officials are not calling this fire suspicious.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Marshfield, MA – Trashcan fire in high school woodshop put out with help from sprinkler system

The building has been deemed safe after a trashcan fire at Marshfield High School activated the sprinkler system. There were no injuries.  The Marshfield fire department responded to an alarm at the school at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning. A custodian pulled the alarm after finding a fire in a trashcan in the wood shop area.  The building’s sprinkler system and the fire department put out the fire. The shop has extensive smoke and water damage, and the rest of the building was also lightly damaged by smoke, Fire Chief William Hocking said in a statement.   The trash barrel was next to a table saw in the shop. The fire has been deemed accidental. The building was occupied at the time, but no injuries were reported.

Office Building, Other Business

Quincy, MA – Fire on top floor of office building held in check by sprinkler system

A blaze on the top floor of a Quincy office building kept firefighters busy early Wednesday morning. Firefighters responded to 300 Crown Colony Drive shortly before 1 a.m. to investigate a fire alarm in the building.  When they arrived, they discovered that the sprinkler system was going off on the fifth floor, Quincy Fire Deputy Chief Ed Fenby said. Additional manpower and engines were called to the building.

When they went up to investigate, dense black smoke was filling the suite belonging to MCMC LLC, a health insurance company. They forced their way into the locked office and found a power strip, computer and printer that were on fire, Fenby said.

“The sprinkler kept it in check and they put out the rest of it and checked to make sure it didn’t get into the walls,” Fenby said. No one was believed to be in the building at the time of the fire and it is not considered suspicious.  Because the windows of the building do not open, the fire department had to smash one of them in order to help ventilate the unit.

Other Business, Place of Worship

Woburn, MA – Fire in multi-tenant commercial building controlled with help from sprinkler system

The cause of a 2-alarm fire on Sunday that resulted in extensive damage to a building on Green Street in the South End remains under investigation, Woburn Fire Chief Timothy Ring said this morning. The fire broke out in an office in a multi-tenant commercial building at 3 Green St., shortly after noon yesterday, while Blessed of the Lord Church was in session. Congregants apparently notified the Woburn Fire Dept. of the fire.  There were no injuries reported. Everyone managed to exit the church without incident, according to Ring.

The two other businesses in the building are RSK Marble & Granite and Woburn Bottle & Can recycling facility. Areas of the building sustained significant damage, Ring said.

“The fire got up into the roof, so we had to peel back the roof to get at it,” said Ring. “The fire also set off the sprinkler system, so there was a lot of water damage, as well as smoke and fire damage.”

Departments from Winchester, Stoneham, Medford and Arlington provided mutual aid at the scene. The fire was brought under control within about two hours, and crews cleared the scene by 5 p.m. on Sunday.

The State Fire Marshal’s office and the Woburn Fire Cause Determination Unit are conducting the investigation. Traffic along Green Street was disrupted while crews fought the fire.

Other Business

Falmouth, MA – Dryer fire at commercial building controlled with help from sprinkler system

Fire and rescue responded with a full structure response to the report of a dryer fire at 263 Grand Ave, the British Beer Co building in Falmouth Heights Tuesday just after 11AM.  The fire was quickly controlled with the help of the sprinkler system in the Inn that shares the building. Falmouth Fire officials were investigating the fire during overhaul.  No injuries were reported.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Chelmsford, MA – Sprinklers stop spread of fire at restaurant; Neighboring business spare damage

A fire at Zesty’s Pizza in North Chelmsford left the establishment with smoke and water damage at early Monday morning.  The Fire Department responded to 10 Vinal Square at about 4:40 after a DPW worker reported the fire at Vinal Square Plaza, according to Fire Chief Gary Ryan. The fire was knocked down about an hour later, Ryan said.  Ryan said a pharmacy and cleaning business both sustained significant water damage. The owner of the pharmacy is working with his counterparts so that his customers can get the medications they need.  “The sprinkler system activated to minimize the fire damage,” Ryan said in an email. “The fire is currently being investigated by the State Fire Marshal’s Office.”  Ryan also said the department is working with other store owners, investigators and utilities to get the other businesses in the plaza up and running again, although they were not damaged by the fire.

Other Business, Recycling / Waste Facility

Holyoke, MA – Fire at wire recycling center kept in check by sprinkler system

An early morning fire at Valley Mill Wire caused minor damages, and a fire spokesman said the combination of an overhead sprinkler system and a functioning alarm system helped to limit the size and spread of the blaze.

Fire Department spokesman Capt. Anthony Cerruti said the fire at 650 Beaulieu St. was reported at 4:12 a.m. The fire department dispatch center was alerted by the business’s alarm system that had a direct tie-in to the dispatch center, he said.

When firefighters arrived and forced their way into the building, they found the sprinkler system had activated, he said.

There was what he called “a small amount of fire which was being kept in check.” Firefighters extinguished the fire with a single fire hose line, he said.

The fire caused no damage to the building, but there was some water damage, he said.

Investigators determined the fire was started by some combustable materials left too close to a heater.

No Injuries were reported.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Assonet, MA – Sprinkler systems help keep fire at distribution center from spreading

A late afternoon tractor trailer fire at the Stop & Shop Distribution Center Sunday temporarily ceased operations, but no injuries were reported, officials said. At about 3:53 p.m., the Freetown Fire Department was notified of an automatic fire alarm activation at the Stop & Shop Distribution Center at 136 South Main St. in Assonet, said Lt. Brent L’Heureux, a spokesman for the Freetown Fire Department.  Upon arrival to the scene, Freetown Fire personnel found a refrigerated trailer on fire, and the blaze extended through the loading dock and into the warehouse. The building’s sprinkler system activated and prevented the fire from spreading further, L’Heureux said in a news release.  Only a few employees were in the building at the time of the fire due to the holiday and they quickly evacuated when the fire alarm went off. The fire was under control in an hour and firefighters remained on scene for several hours to remove smoke from the warehouse, L’Heureux said.

Apartment Building, Residential

Brockton, MA – Sprinkler credited with halting another fire in Brockton apartment building

In 2003, just weeks before Christmas, a fire at an apartment building on Falmouth Avenue in Brockton displaced all 20 people living inside.

Three months later, in March 2004, more than 40 firefighters returned to the same building, at 33 Falmouth Ave., for a 3-alarm blaze that saw flames shooting 15 feet above the roof. No one was in the building at the time but the property was badly damaged.

The building was eventually rehabilitated, and on Wednesday a fire started in a clothing bin inside an apartment of the 16-unit property.

One major addition during the rehabilitation of the building, a sprinkler system, is what firefighters said prevented what could have been a similar scenario to what happened in 2004.

When firefighters arrived they doused the flames and cleared the building of smoke.

A neighbor in the apartment next-door, who is wheelchair-bound, was brought outside by firefighters and he was taken to the hospital to be evaluated as a precaution, Nardelli said.

There were no injuries and no residents were displaced, Nardelli said.

The cause of the fire is being investigated by Brockton police and fire investigators and according to the police log, a complaint has been filed against someone. The details of the charges and the identity of the person was not immediately available Thursday afternoon.