Tag Archives: Michigan

Apartment Building, Residential

Apartment fire stopped by sprinklers (Niles, MI)

An fire erupted in the unit of an apartment on Friday morning, and firefighters were dispatched to the scene. The fire sprinkler activated in that unit, eliminating the fire before the fire crews arrived. 

Niles Fire Chief Larry Lamb said that there was minor minor smoke and fire damage thanks to the fire sprinkler. 

“You can see that the damage is a lot less extensive when we have sprinkler systems in place to protect our occupants.” Lamb said.

The fire was caused when the resident of the unit accidentally caught a vinyl shower curtain on fire with a match.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Sprinkler keeps fire from spreading at industrial facility (Grand Rapids, MI)

Grand Rapids firefighters responded to an afternoon fire which began on the afternoon of November 26. A compressor inside of the building came in contact with oil on the floor, which ignited the flames. Grand Rapids firefighters said that the fire continued up the wall, which had foam insulation, and despite employees’ efforts, they were unable to extinguish the flames. The facility’s fire sprinkler system then activated, suppressing the fire from growing any further; fire crews then arrived and put out the rest of the fire within 10 minutes. No one was injured in the incident.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Fire at Microtel Inn & Suites controlled with help from sprinkler system (Holland, MI)

The Holland Public Safety Fire Services were dispatched at about 2:12 a.m. Saturday morning to a fire alarm at Microtel Inn & Suites. Fire personnel found smoke present on the first floor and the sprinkler system activated when they arrived. The fire was extinguished within minutes of the first arriving engines. No civilian or uniformed injuries were reported. Chris Tinney, Captain of Fire Operations, says that the buildings fire protection features and a response time of just over five minutes by fire crews, were critical in reducing property damage safety for the motels occupants. The cause of the fire was determined to be accidental.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Overnight restaurant fire contained with help from sprinkler system (Kentwood, MI)

Fire officials said a quick response time helped contain a kitchen fire that sparked overnight at Carrabba’s Italian Grill.  Kentwood firefighters were called to the restaurant, 4061 28th St. SE, about 2 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 28. A kitchen sprinkler kept the fire under control until crews doused the flames using hose lines, Capt. Shaun Abbey said. The blaze was contained to the kitchen.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Fire controlled by sprinklers at manufacturing plant (Grand Haven, MI)

Fire crews were called to a fire at a Sara Lee plant around midnight on November 19. The fire, which began in the boiler room, was contained by the building’s fire sprinkler system until the authorities arrived and put out the remaining flames by 12:30 a.m. There were no injuries, and production at the plant did not stop during the incident.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Sprinkler systems helps control flames at industrial facility (Troy, MI)

A wall was blown out, but no injuries were reported at the scene of a fire on Thursday night.  According to a press release issued Friday, firefighters saw a portion of the rear, west side wall that appeared to have blown out from an explosion inside the building, and smoke showing. Once inside, firefighters found heavy smoke conditions, but the building’s fire sprinkler system appeared to have contained the majority of the fire. Damage was confined to the rear warehouse portion of the building. None of the nearby businesses were affected as a result of the incident.

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Sprinklers make the difference in a condo fire on the 17th floor (Grand Rapids, MI)

Fire sprinkler system quickly extinguished a cooking fire on the 17th floor of the River House Condos on Tuesday. A grease fire on the stovetop spread to kitchen cabinets in a condo about 4:30 pm. The sprinkler system put out the flames. Firefighters had to reach the 17th floor to shut off the water, said Grand Rapids Fire Battalion Chief Kevin Sehlmeyer.

***Blog Editor’s Note – Please let us know what you think of the coverage by MLive, who focused on water damage rather than the lives and property saved by the automatic fire sprinkler system ***

Apartment Building, Residential

Sprinkler activates to control apartment hallway fire (Ypsilanti, MI)

The Ypsilanti Township Fire Department responded to anapartment hallway fire Wednesday afternoon. A light fixture in the hallway on the 4th floor of an apartment buildingin the 1500 block of East Clark Road caught fire Wednesday afternoon. The fire set off a sprinkler head located directly above it.

*** Blog Editor’s Note:  Tell us what you think of the coverage by annarbor.com and the comments from the Ypsilanti FD.  Of course, the sprinkler didn’t “cause” the damage, but rather it saved the apartment from experiencing a much larger fire, where the damage would have been much worse, and could have possibly caused injury or loss of life. ***