Tag Archives: Massachusetts

Apartment Building, Residential

Middleborough, MA – Sprinkler system controls fire caused by unattended cooking

Just after 7:00am Tuesday morning, the Middleborough Fire Department received an automatic alarm at the Central Fire Station indicating a heat detector activation, immediately followed by another alarm indicating a sprinkler activation at the Shoe Shop Place, 151 Peirce Street.

Car 91 (Shift Commander), Car 93 (Code Enforcement) and Engine 1 were dispatched from Central Fire Station and Engine 6 from South Station. Upon arrival firefighters encountered a kitchen fire in a first floor apartment that was mostly extinguished by the sprinkler system.

Firefighters extinguished the remaining fire, made sure it did not extend beyond the apartment of origin, and secured the sprinkler system keeping the damage to a minimum.

The five occupants were alerted of the fire from the alarm system and quickly evacuated.

“It appears the fire was due to unattended cooking,” said Middleborough Fire Chief Lance Benjamino. The alarm system and the sprinkler system did their job and the firefighters did a tremendous job at controlling this fire and the damag.”

Cooking fires are the leading cause of home fires and home fire injuries, the chief added, and offered a few cooking safety tips.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Nantucket, MA – Landfill fire held in check by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

It took Nantucket firefighters about two and a half hours early Saturday morning to extinguish a blaze that started in a pile of debris in the construction and demolition waste building at the Madaket landfill.

No one was injured and no equipment damaged in the fire, which was reported via alarm at about 4 a.m., fire chief Steve Murphy said.

“The duty crew was already attending to an ambulance call and fire alarm (at the time),” Murphy said. “Deputy chief Robert Bates responded, finding heavy smoke in the C&D building with sprinkler-system activation. After clearing the previous fire alarm the duty crew responded with the engine, as well as off-duty personnel responding from home. Crews extinguished the remaining fire with the help of machinery on site used to pull the pile apart to reach the buried fire.”

Firefighters were on the scene until approximately 6:30 a.m. The fire is believed to be accidental in origin, Murphy said. The three-headed sprinkler system inside the building activated and worked as intended to hold the fire in check until their crew could respond, he added.

“No equipment was damaged and the building appeared to sustain only minor damage,” Murphy said. “We are very grateful the sprinkler system did its job.”

Landfill operations will not be impacted by the fire.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Hingham, MA – Classroom electrical fire kept in check by fire sprinklers

Classes at Hingham High were cancelled today after a fire broke out in a classroom cabinet full of electronics early Friday morning.

The fire was put out by 7 a.m., but Deputy Fire Chief William Powers said there is smoke and water damage throughout the building. He said fire, cleanup and alarm crews on scene are hoping the school can reopen Monday morning, Wicked Local reported.

“On scene we had a heavy smoke condition and a water flow, which meant the sprinklers had fused,” Powers said.

The deputy chief said the fire started in a classroom cabinet that held a TV, VCR and several computers.

“Something obviously overheated and caused an electrical fire,” he said. “The sprinkler head directly above the cabinet kept the fire in check, but it continued burning in the cabinet until we got there.”

Firefighters cut off power to the building.

“There is a need for cleanup and we cannot occupy the building today,” Superintendent Dorothy Galo said in a message Friday morning. “We will appreciate everyone’s cooperation in staying away from the HS building to allow the needed cleanup.”

All classes and Advanced Placement exams have been cancelled. Galo said students who were scheduled to take an AP exam will be contacted individually.

High School administrators are working from Town Hall. Classes in Hingham’s other five schools will still take place.

Weymouth, Hull and Cohasset firefighters responded to the school when the second alarm sounded, and Rockland and Scituate covered the station.

Powers said the school is about 800 feet from the Hingham fire headquarters, which prompted quick response from firefighters. He said there were no injuries.

The fire is being investigated by Hingham police and fire, the Hinghal building inspector and the state fire marshal’s office.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Waltham, MA – Fire in Costco Wholesale tire center held at bay by sprinkler system

The Costco on 2nd Avenue had to be evacuated after a car caught on fire in the garage, last Tuesday afternoon. Fire officials said there were no injuries, and crews were able to make quick work of the fire. By 3 p.m. the Costco was open for business again. Around noon a man pulled a car into the Costco garage, got out and it started smoking and ended up catching on fire, according to fire officials. “They believe it originated in the engine compartment,” said Lt. Scott Perry of the Waltham Fire Department.

Employees evacuated the garage and the shopping center building for precautionary reasons, while firefighters dealt with the fire, which generated smoke that billowed out into the parking lot. Firefighters were able to keep the fire from spreading outside the garage. “The sprinkler did what it needed to do and kept it at bay enough to let the firefighters do their work,” said Perry. “And now there’s a little bit of clean up.”

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Holyoke, MA – Machinery fire at medical device manufacturer is contained by sprinkler system

A machine at a company which manufactures medical devices caught fire Tuesday afternoon. No one was injured in the blaze, which was contained to one machine at Marox Corp., on 373 Whitney Ave., Fire Capt. Kevin Cavagnac said. The fire was reported at about 2 p.m. and sprinklers in the building prevented the fire from spreading from the machine, he said. The fire caused minimal damage to the building, but utilities were shut off temporarily because of the water from the sprinkler system, he said.

Apartment Building, Residential

Springfield, MA – Sprinkler system extinguished kitchen fire in apartment building

A sprinkler system extinguished a fire in an apartment building in the downtown area Saturday evening.

The fire was reported at 6:26 p.m., at unit 104 in an apartment building on 35 Willow St. When firefighters arrived, they found a kitchen fire had been contained by the sprinkler system, said Dennis Leger, executive aide to Fire Commissioner Bernard J. Calvi.

The blaze caused about $10,000 in fire damage and water damage from the sprinklers, said Dennis Leger, executive aide to Fire Commissioner Bernard J. Calvi.

There were no injuries in the fire, he said.

The Springfield Arson and Bomb Squad investigated and determined the fire was caused by unattended cooking, Leger said.

Government/Military, Military Facility

Natick, MA – Electrical fire at research center contained by sprinkler system

A two-alarm electrical fire broke out last Tuesday evening at Natick Labs, a U.S. Army research center, resulting in heavy smoke but no serious injuries, said Natick Deputy Fire Chief Daniel Mathews. Firefighters responded to General Greene Avenue around 5 p.m. to find the building’s sprinkler system had put out most of the fire and contained it to one room, but still had to contend with smoke spreading through the large facility, Mathews said.

“Because of the size of the building and the amount of smoke, it took a lot of manpower,” he said. Mathews said the fire was started by electrical components in the building, although the exact cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Many of the people who work in the building headed home before 5 p.m. because of the snow, Mathews said, so the labs were mostly empty and no one was seriously injured. Security personnel were evaluated for smoke inhalation as a precaution.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Falmouth, MA – Sprinkler system extinguishes electrical fire at restaurant

The sprinkler system in the Ninety-Nine Restaurant at 30 Davis Straights in Falmouth extinguished a fire in the basement before firefighters arrived on Saturday morning, February 2.

An early-morning cleaning crew called firefighters at 5:11 AM when they discovered smoke alarms sounding, an odor of smoke, and the basement sprinklers activated, Falmouth Deputy Fire Chief Scott J. Thrasher said.

Firefighters opened the back door to let water out of the basement, shut off the electricity to the building, and notified the owner of the restaurant and the town’s building and health departments.

As soon as possible, firefighters reactivated the unaffected electrical circuits to keep the hot water and the freezers working to avoid further damage to the restaurant.

Deputy Chief Thrasher said that the fire is under active investigation, but the fire department believes the fire was related to electrical equipment in the basement.

“Ninety-Nine is trying to get back up and running for tonight,” he said, referring to Saturday night.

College/University (on campus), School / University

Cambridge, MA – Sprinkler system activates in laboratory fire at MIT; No injuries reported

A small explosion in a basement lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology prompted a large emergency response last Thursday morning, officials said. The explosion went off at 25 Ames St. around 10:30 a.m., prompting the sprinklers to turn on, according to the Cambridge Fire Department. No injuries have been reported. Officials say the situation is stable. No additional information was immediately available.

Auto Dealership, Retail

East Brookfield, MA – Sprinkler system activated for truck fire in garage of Ford dealership

Overhead sprinklers helped knock down a small truck fire in the garage of a Ford car and truck dealership.

Shortly before 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, a truck being serviced at Lamoureux Ford, 366 E. Main St., somehow caught fire, police Lt. William Gregoire said.

At the time of the fire, the truck was on a lift that was raised in the air and being worked on, Lt. Gregoire said.

Lt. Gregoire said the sprinkler system in the building took care of the fire pretty quickly, with the aid of fire extinguishers.

“The sprinkler system was the savior of the day,” Lt. Gregoire said. “It worked as it was supposed to.”

The garage was filled with smoke.

No one was hurt, according to police.