Tag Archives: Massachusetts

Apartment Building, Residential

Holyoke, MA – Apartment bedroom fire contained by sprinkler system allowing occupants to escape uninjured

A fire in a four-story apartment building in the flats section of the city damaged a bedroom Thursday evening.

The fire was the second that happened in the city around 5 p.m. The other fire in a single-family home at 4 Loomis Ave. displaced two residents, Fire Capt. Kevin Cavagnac said.  When firefighters arrived, they found flames in the first floor and basement.

The fire at 222 East Dwight St. originated in the bedroom of a third-floor apartment. When firefighters arrived the residents of the apartment had escaped safely, he said.

“Two sprinkler heads activated in the bedroom, containing the fire to the room or origin and allowing all occupants to escape uninjured,” Cavagnac said.  The building is fully sprinklered, he said.

Cavagnac did not say if anyone was displaced in the fire at 222 East Dwight St.

Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill

Worcester, MA – Fire on second floor of mill contained by sprinkler system

A fire in a vacant mill on Tainter Street was contained by a sprinkler system that, until mid-September, had been turned off.

The fire broke out around noon Tuesday and went to a second alarm when crews found fire on the second floor.

The city got a court order in September to force the building owner to turn on the sprinkler system in the building, which helped prevent a much bigger fire, officials said.

The cause of the blaze is under investigation.

Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

Boston, MA – Sprinkler system activated on third floor dormitory fire at Boston University

A fire in a Boston University dormitory on move-in weekend has forced the evacuation of about 40 students.

Boston fire officials say the fire broke out at about 10 p.m. Saturday night and was contained to one room on the third floor of the building on Commonwealth Avenue.

The fire set off the sprinkler system in the building and led to water and smoke damage on the first three floors.

Fire officials say one student was treated for a minor burn to her leg.

It was not clear Sunday morning when students would be allowed to return to their rooms.

The school says its residence life staff is working with the displaced students to find them places to stay.

Fire officials were investigating to determine how the fire started.

Office Building, Other Business

Hyannis, MA – Sprinkler system douses fire in commercial office building; No injuries reported

Firefighters were called to an automatic fire alarm at 45 Plant Road in Hyannis about 7 PM Friday evening. Crews investigated and discovered a small fire on the second floor of the commercial structure that had been doused by sprinklers. There was some water damage. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Concord, MA – High school fire caused by malfunctioning electrical equipment with fish tank is contained by sprinkler system

A fire started in Concord-Carlisle Regional High School the morning of Tuesday, July 31 at approximately 5:40, according to district spokesman Tom Lucey.  Members of the Concord Fire Department and the state fire marshal were still investigating the incident, but the officials suspect electrical equipment associated with a fish tank caused the fire.  Lucey said the fire was contained quickly by the school’s sprinkler system and only one room was damaged by the fire. The Concord Fire Department arrived shortly after to make sure the fire was out and the area was safe.  Water damage from the sprinklers was more extensive, affecting 12 classrooms on the third and fourth floors and the school’s gymnasium.  No one was believed to be injured as a result of the fire, according to Lucey, who said he believed the building was empty when the fire started.

While the school is still assessing the damage, Lucey said the fire was unlikely to change the start of the school year, which is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 29.

Office Building, Other Business

Hyannis, MA – Sprinkler system controlled laptop fire at The Times offices

UPDATE 1:30 P.M. – The Times states that the fire started in a laptop computer, burned the edge of a desk and spread to a chair.  The chair fire released clouds of smoke before being extinguished.  [You may recall Fire Marshal Ostroskey speaking with us on “Lower Cape Today” about the smoke and toxic fumes that come from burning furniture in today’s homes.]

UPDATE 10:30 A.M. – The Times is reporting that a chair caught fire in the Display Advertising Department.  Firefighters reportedly removed the chair and vented smoke from the structure.

Firefighters were dispatched to the offices of the Cape Cod Times offices on Main Street in Hyannis around 8:30 Saturday morning.  

The initial response came after sprinkler activation sounded automatic alarms.  Upon their arrival, firefighters discovered smoke in the building.

No injuries have been reported and the sprinkler system appears to have controlled the fire.

No further information is available at this time.

Apartment Building, Residential

Salem, MA – Early morning fire at low-income apartment block suppressed by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Recent upgrades to an apartment building on Dow Street ensured that a fire early Monday morning at the complex did not become a tragedy.  The fire, on a fourth-floor back porch at 52-60 Dow St. in Salem’s Point neighborhood, was reported at 3:41 a.m., according to the Salem Fire Department. No one was injured, firefighters said.

The four-story, 20-unit brick building is owned by the North Shore Community Development Coalition. The nonprofit renovated it in the last couple of years, not long after a 2014 fire damaged some of the units there. During the renovation, a fire sprinkler system was installed. Salem fire Deputy Chief Dennis Levasseur said the sprinklers helped keep the flames at bay Monday until firefighters arrived.  “No one was displaced, and the sprinkler system we put in last year put the fire out right away and didn’t allow it to spread to the rest of the building,” said Mickey Northcutt, North Shore CDC executive director.

No other units in the building were affected, since the fire took place outside, Levasseur said.  The North Shore CDC develops and rehabilitates low-income housing in distressed neighborhoods needing investment. The organization owns properties throughout the North Shore, several of which are in Salem. The organization didn’t own the 52-60 Dow St. building back in 2014 during the last fire, though it was under contract to operate it, according to Northcutt.  Further details on the fire, including the cause, remain under investigation. Ten people live in the apartment, including seven children, and Northcutt declined to discuss further details Monday afternoon, saying that the organization is “still assessing the situation.”

The unit wasn’t damaged by the fire to the point that it isn’t habitable, Levasseur said, but conditions there might otherwise make living in the unit a challenge.  “They had a bunch of trash and clothing and bags,” Levasseur said. “That’s kind of what the issue was on the porch. They have some other issues.”

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Plymouth, MA – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire in high school classroom

Classes will take place as scheduled at Plymouth North High School despite a small fire that broke out inside a classroom early Monday morning.

The fire started just after 6 a.m., but was put out by the sprinkler system.

No students were inside the school yet. Some students and staff members who were in the parking lot were held in their cars and buses while firefighters investigated.

They were then sent to the performing arts center, school library, and classrooms that were safe to enter.

The Plymouth Fire Department said the fire does not appear to be suspicious. A cause was not released.

“We are thankful to the Plymouth Fire Department and our staff for their swift and efficient response,” the school said in a statement.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Holyoke, MA – Fire in paint booth of container plant controlled with help from sprinkler system

No injuries were reported early Thursday after a fire started in a paint booth inside a factory on North Bridge Street and spread to the roof.  The blaze at International Container Co., 110 North Bridge St., was reported shortly after 4 a.m., Fire Capt. Kevin Cavagnac said.

The fire spread from the paint booth to the roof via a vent pipe. It was quickly extinguished from inside the building and the firefighters cut open the roof around the vent pipe with power saws to check for and prevent further extension, Cavagnac said.

The spray booth has a sprinkler system which activated and set off the alarm system.  The cause of the fire is under investigation. The factory was in operation when it broke out.

Apartment Building, Residential

Springfield, MA – Arson fire at apartment building extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

No injuries were reported late Thursday morning after a female barricaded herself inside a downtown apartment and set a recliner chair on fire. The incident occurred in a fourth floor apartment at 1607 Main St., shortly before 11:45 a.m., Dennis Leger, aide to Commissioner Bernard J. Calvi, said. The female barricaded the door with a table, chair and other items, Leger said. The fire, which did not spread beyond the chair, was extinguished by the apartment’s sprinkler system before firefighters arrived. The female was taken to Baystate Medical Center. The apartment sustained water damage from the sprinkler, Leger said.