Tag Archives: Massachusetts
Falmouth, MA – Sprinkler system puts out apartment fire before fire crews arrive; No injuries reported
Fire crews were dispatched to 138 Teaticket Highway at 10:35 a.m., Absten said. The sprinkler system had extinguished the fire by the time they arrived, he said.
Crews checked for any fire extension, but there was none, Absten said. There was damage from the fire and water damage from the sprinkler system, he said.
There were no injuries, Absten said.
The Falmouth Housing Authority is seeking a place for the displaced resident to stay, Absten said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, he said.
Fitchburg, MA – Fire sprinklers stop fire from spreading after pipe organ catches fire in church; No injuries reported
Deputy Chief Chad Courtemanche said crews were called to the Emanuel Lutheran Church a little after 3 p.m., on an alarm call after the alarm system detected sprinkler flow.
Crews arrived to find heavy smoke in the building and soon learned the fire in the pipe organ was being held in check by sprinklers, Courtemanche said.
As a result of the sprinklers, “the fire was burning slow and creating a lot of smoke, so we vented the smoke and put out the fire,” Courtemanche said.
There were no reported injuries.
Crews used a large, truck-mounted ventilation fan designed for large buildings to vent a large amount of smoke from the church. Courtemanche said damage appeared to be light, under the circumstances, with fire damage confined mostly to the organ, and mostly just smoke and water damage elsewhere.
He said much of the wooden church, and even some books not far from the blaze, appeared to have suffered minimal damage.
Pastor Daniel W. Spigelmyer Jr., said the pipe organ is about 150 years old, and is a major sentimental and historical loss for the church.
Crews remained at the scene for about two hours.
Westborough, MA – Fire sprinklers stops apartment fire from spreading to other units; No injuries reported
The fire happened in a multi-family home on Turnpike Road on Monday. Fire officials said the sprinklers in the building held off the flames long enough until crews showed up. The fire damaged a fourth floor balcony, charring the ceiling — firefighters had to use ladders to reach the fire.
No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
Oak Bluffs, MA – Sprinkler system helps extinguish grease fire in apartment above restaurant; No injuries reported
“Someone was cooking upstairs and got an oil fire going, it must have kind of exploded in their face, but no one was injured,” Rose said.
Rose acknowledged the role the effective fire suppression system played in putting out the fire. “It’s good to see some sprinkler systems that really work,” Rose said.
He also thanked Tisbury emergency personnel for their assistance in the entire process.
“It was a fast response from Oak Bluffs, and a great response from both towns,” Rose said. “I think they [Tisbury] deserve to be recognized for their help in providing station coverage.”
After the fire was extinguished (mainly by the sprinkler system), Rose said the majority of the work was making sure the scene was safe and cleaned up. After The Times responded to the fire, everything had already been cleaned up, apart from some water that was being swept out of Linda Jean’s by an employee.
Linda Jean’s is open for business.
Falmouth, MA – Hotel fire doused by sprinkler system; No injuries reported
In a statement, Falmouth Fire-Rescue tells CWN that 5:13 PM on July 13th, they responded to a fire at the InnSeason Resort Surfside, 134 Menauhant Road in East Falmouth. A guest was cooking on the stove and the oil caught fire. The guest tried to move the pan to the sink. This caused the fire to spread and activate the sprinkler system. The fire was put out by the single sprinkler head. After a quick investigation by the first arriving crew, the sprinkler system was shut down. The fire and smoke damage was limited to the kitchen area and the water from the sprinkler was contained to the room and the hallway directly outside the room.
This incident brings up 2 very important issues. The first being what to do when a pan catches fire. The best and safest way to extinguish a pan on fire is to place a lid on it and then turn off the stove. The lid will smother the fire by restricting the oxygen. Never move a burning pan, you can spread the fire. Never use water to put out a grease or oil fire, it will spread the fire.
The second important issue is that Sprinklers saves lives. This single sprinkler head protected not only the family staying in the room, but the other guests in the building. The Massachusetts Department of Fire Services and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) have an ongoing campaign to increase the use of residential sprinklers.
Some facts about residential sprinklers from the NFPA:
• The civilian death rate was 81 percent lower in homes with fire sprinklers than in homes without them.
• The average firefighter injury rate was nearly 80 percent lower when fire sprinklers were present during fires.
• When sprinklers were present, fires were kept to the room of origin 97 percent of the time.
• The home fire death rate was 90 percent lower when fire sprinklers and hardwired smoke alarms were present. By comparison, this death rate is only 18 percent lower when battery-powered smoke alarms are present but automatic extinguishing systems weren’t.
Orleans, MA – Sprinkler system douses stove fire at condo
A sprinkler system doused a stove fire in a multi unit condo complex in Orleans Wednesday afternoon. The fire started on the second floor of the three story structure at 18 West Road around 2 PM. Firefighters had to ventilate smoke and mop up water. One occupant was evaluated by EMTs. The Red Cross was providing temporary shelter for three occupants displaced by the fire and water damage. Further details were not immediately available.
Amesbury, MA – Fire inside “explosion room” at industrial building put out by fire sprinklers
But, according to Amesbury Fire Chief Ken Berkenbush, sprinkler heads in what he called an “explosion room” at Arc Technologies put out the fire before firefighters arrived about 1:50 a.m.
As a precaution, firefighters from several area communities responded and a stretch of Elm Street near Oakland Street was closed to traffic. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but Berkenbush said it broke out while workers were moving the contents of one container to another.
Once the hazardous materials team arrived, members inspected the building, conducted air quality readings and performed other tasks to make sure the building was safe.
“Everything came out OK,” Berkenbush said, adding that a worker at the defense industry company sustained minor injuries.
Among those helping local firefighters were units from Newburyport, Newbury, Salisbury, West Newbury and several southern New Hampshire communities. Some of the same departments covered the Amesbury station during the roughly three-hour call and responded to five medical calls, Berkenbush added.
No firefighters were injured.
Easthampton, MA – Fire caused by careless disposal of rags put out by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported
The Easthampton Fire Department was called to a fire at the American Legion Post Monday night.
According to the Easthampton Fire Department, when firefighters arrived they found heavy smoke in the bar area and a sprinkler system on farther into the building at 7:42 p.m.
Firefighters determined the source of the smoke was remnants of a plastic trash can and the cause of the fire was careless disposal of rags used for staining wood. The sprinkler system put out the fire.
There were no injuries reported and Northampton Fire Rescue was called in to assist.
Chelmsford, MA – Overhead sprinkler contains fire in apartment unit to chair it originated in
Ryan said the Fire Department responded at 9:40 p.m. on May 1 to The Kinloch Apartments for a report of smoke from a building in the complex.
An alarm on the building’s fourth floor alerted the responding crew, who discovered smoke coming from a fourth-floor dwelling unit, Ryan said. The crew forced entry into the unit, and rescued a female resident from a burning chair.
The woman was extricated and taken by medical helicopter to Boston Trauma Center for burns, Ryan said.
An overhead sprinkler contained the fire to the chair, although the unit and a few others nearby sustained some water damage.
