Tag Archives: Michigan

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Kalamazoo, MI – Sprinkler system saves building from additional damages

Kalamazoo firefighters put out a fire in the building that formerly housed Rupert’s Brew House and Boogie Records.

Firefighters were dispatched at 11:06 P.M. to 773 W. Michigan Ave., formerly Rupert’s Brew House, April 20, 2020, and found fire coming from the front of the building.

Firefighters mounted an exterior attack knocking the fire down right away. They were able to send a crew into the attic, investigating to make sure there wasn’t any more damage that they couldn’t see from the outside.

It is not clear what caused the fire or the extent of the damage. In a written statement on Tuesday, Kalamazoo Public Safety officials said the building was unoccupied at the time of the fire.

The Fire Marshall was on scene.

Sergeant Chuck Mason with Kalamazoo Department of Public safety said that the sprinkler system which was activated, likely saving it from additional damage.

Mason said the fire was under control in 15 minutes.

The brewery operated for about six years, but hosted a comedy show for the final day on Sept. 8, 2019.

According to the Kalamazoo Public Library, the building has hosted many businesses throughout the years, including originally being the location of the Oakland Pharmacy, which opened in 1926. A fire hit the business on Feb. 26, 1935, but it was repaired.

In 1972 the building turned into a popular music store called Boogie Records that lasted until 1995.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Mackinac Island, MI – Fire at local restaurant put out by fire sprinkler system

Investigators are looking into what started a fire at a restaurant on Mackinac Island.

Crews were called to the Village Inn just around 10:45 Wednesday night.

Firefighters evacuated several people on the second floor of the building.

Fire fighters were able to put out the fire on the first floor with help from the restaurant’s sprinkler system.

There is no word on what started it, but the Mackinac Island Fire Department says it is not considered suspicious.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Holland, MI – Laundry room fire at nursing home contained by fire sprinkler system; No injuries reported

The Holland Department of Public Safety Fire Services announced on its Twitter feed late Tuesday, Feb. 18, crews responded to a fire at Medilodge of Holland, 1212 E. 16th St.

Crews arrived on scene and encountered the fire in the facility’s laundry room where it was contained by the fire sprinkler system,

No injuries and little damage are being reported as of late Tuesday.

Firefighters remained on scene searching for any remaining fire, venting smoke and checking the sprinkler system.

“Although the fire was limited, our department will continue to remain on scene and work with Medilodge staff to get back to normal,” said the department’s Twitter feed.

Uncategorized

Birch Run, MI – Fire sprinkler extinguishes fire caused by discarded cigarette in women’s bathroom at Emagine Theatre; No injuries reported

The Emagine Theatre posted on its Facebook page they will open Tuesday at 4p.m.

The Emagine Theatre in Birch Run was evacuated Monday night due to a report of a fire in a bathroom.

A firefighter tells Mid-Michigan NOW there was a fire in the women’s bathroom.

A sprinkler put the fire out and caused some water damage.

“No guests were harmed in the incident. A patron was smoking in the restroom, threw the cigarette into the trash and it caught on fire. Staff reacted immediately and the fire was extinguished. Emagine is expected to be open for business as usual tomorrow,” said Emagine Entertainment CEO Anthony LaVerde.

Government/Military, Public Library

Charlevoix, MI – Fire sprinklers contain electrical fire on second floor of Library

Fire suppression sprinklers at the Charlevoix Public Library played a key part in containing an electrical fire on the building’s second floor early Saturday, but did cause water damage on both the library’s upper and lower levels.

The library remained closed through Monday for cleanup following the fire, and reopened with regular operating hours on Tuesday.

Charlevoix Township Fire Department Fire Chief Dan Thorp said that if it was not for the library’s sprinkler system — and given the time of day that it started — “the entire library could have burned down and they would probably have had to build a whole new library.”

“It would have been a good half-hour before anyone even noticed it burning. It is an old building with all the books — it would have had to be rebuilt,” Thorp said.

Thorp commended the library for its maintenance of fire suppression equipment, noting that “the library has done an outstanding job in keeping their equipment up to date.”

The fire chief said his department got called to the library for a fire alarm activation at 12:30 a.m. on Saturday.

“We were there until about 1:40 a.m.,” he said.

Thorp added, “By the time we got there and got into the building we heard water running and saw smoke that was coming out the front door.”

The fire chief said the sprinkler system had already put the fire out by the time firefighters entered the building.

“As we investigated, we saw that on the second floor in the director’s office area they had two humidifiers and the one on the lower level, powered by electricity, had some malfunction that we are not quite clear of,” said Thorp. “That malfunction caught on fire and there was a sprinkler head in that room which then was activated and put the fire out.

“The fire department did not have to spray any water to put out the fire.”

When firefighters walked into the building, only the sprinklers in the mechanical closet in the director’s office on the second floor were activated.

Thorp said, “Wherever the fire is, it reaches a certain temperature and sets the sprinklers off in that location.”

Charlevoix library director Ryan Deery said none of the technology or book collections were damaged. The only fire damage occurred in the maintenance closet and water damage occurred in the hallways on the first and second floors, said Deery, also stating about an inch of water flooded both floors in those areas.

Deery said clean-up company Serv Pro was on scene immediately the following morning and set up dehumidifies, heaters and other equipment which ran all day Saturday, Sunday  and Monday.

“Most of the items do not need to be replaced.” said Deery.  However, “some of the walls may still have water in them”.  Serv Pro will be assessing the scene on Feb. 19 to determine if further steps need to be taken to rid the walls of moisture. 

On Facebook, the library noted that Servpro was helping with the fire follow-up, and indicated: “We are confident that all the collections are safe and did not sustain any damage.”

A Sunday post on the library’s Facebook page read, “Thanks again to all of your support and offers of help. We are incredibly thankful both that the damage was not worse and that we are able to continue functioning as the hub and heart of the community so quickly.”

Deery said he is heartened by the outpouring of support from the community.

Apartment Building, Residential

Escanaba, MI – Laundry room fire at apartment building contained by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

The Escanaba Public Safety Department says deputies responded to the report of a fire in the laundry room of Northwood’s Place at 2:39 a.m. Thursday morning.

Upon arrival, officers found the laundry room filled with smoke and the automated sprinkler system had been activated.

The sprinkler system was able to contain the fire to a dryer, which officers were then able to extinguish. The building sustained heavy smoke and water damage as a result of the incident.

Officers were on stand-by to assist with the evacuation of residents, which was not needed due to the sprinkler system containing the flames. No injuries were reported from the incident.

The Public Safety Department was assisted at the scene by the Delta County Sheriff’s Department and Rampart EMS.

Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic

Detroit, MI – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire in hospital operating room

Detroit Receiving Hospital, part of Detroit Medical Center, will receive funding from the state of Michigan to repair damage caused by a fire and its sprinkler system, according to the Detroit News.

All eight operating rooms of the hospital suffered water damage after the sprinkler system was set off to extinguish the fire. 

The fire itself ignited in a single unoccupied operating room last weekend, according to the report.

“Fortunately, no patients were in surgery in any OR,” Brian Taylor, a spokesman for the Detroit Medical Center, told the News. “Our staff responded quickly, and the fire was extinguished in minutes. Three patients in pre and postop areas were safely evacuated. We are working collaboratively with [state officials] to address the area impacted.”

The hospital filed an emergency certificate of need request for $100,000 with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

Apartment Building, Residential

Portage, MI – Arson fire in apartment basement extinguished by fire sprinklers

Police arrested a 48-year-old Portage accused of starting a fire in an apartment building basement on Christmas Eve.

Robert Warren O’Brochta faces up to 40 years in prison for felony arson of a building and up to 12 years and six months in prison for felony first-degree recklessly endangering safety.

He is also charged with felony arson of property other than a building, which carries a maximum prison sentence of three years and six months.

According to the criminal complaint, Portage police responded to a fire alarm at the apartment building at 544 E. Slifer St. at 8:25 p.m., Dec. 24. Upon their arrival, they spoke to a resident who said he heard the alarm go off and went to the basement to see if anything was on fire. The witness saw flames in one of the storage units and ran back upstairs for a fire extinguisher. He returned to put out the fire and called 911.

The complaint states that police observed smoke throughout the bottom level of the building. An officer knocked on all of the apartment doors to make sure all the tenants were clear of the building. He opened the door to the basement and observed a large cloud of smoke, unable to tell if there was an active fire or not.

At the scene O’Brochta reportedly told an officer that he was the person who set the fire and the roommate of the person who called 911. O’Brochta admitted he had gone into the basement and set items on fire to get back at his roommate for antagonizing him. Officers obtained consent from the roommate to search the apartment and found the Bic lighter that O’Brochta said he used to set the fire.

Prior to admitting he set the fire, O’Brochta had approached an officer at the scene, dropped to his knees and placed his hands behind his head in a “surrender” position, according to the complaint. O’Brochta, who showed signs of intoxication, yelled for police to take him to jail and said he was the person they were looking for.

The complaint states the fire caused damage to an electrical wiring harness that ultimately cut power to four of the apartment units. The fire inspector determined two sprinkler heads went off and had extinguished the fire. The inspector said if the sprinklers were not activated, the fire would have done significant structural damage to one of the apartment units and possibly to much more of the building.

Property damaged in the storage unit reportedly included plastic chairs, a pop-up canvas canopy, a black hard case suitcase and possibly two bike tires.

O’Brochta, free after posting a $500 cash bond, has a pretrial conference scheduled for Jan. 21 in Columbia County Circuit Court.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Grand Rapids, MI – Kitchen grease fire at downtown restaurant quickly extinguished by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

A kitchen grease fire at The B.O.B. in downtown Grand Rapids caused minor damage late Tuesday, Nov. 26.

The fire happened at about 8:20 p.m. and caused a sprinkler system to activate, Grand Rapids fire officials said.

The fire, on the first floor, was quickly extinguished and no one was injured. Firefighters also quickly shut off the sprinkler system.

It wasn’t immediately clear if any operations at The B.O.B. would be disrupted because of the fire.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Mt. Pleasant, MI – Hotel sprinkler system extinguishes fire in guest room before firefighters arrived; No injuries reported

The Mt. Pleasant Fire Department (MPFD) was dispatched on November 15th, at 7:29 p.m., to a structure fire at the Fairfield Inn on 2525 S. University Park Drive.

Firefighters arrived on the scene and observed heavy smoke coming from a heating unit in Room 218. The room was unoccupied at the time and the sprinkler system within the room extinguished the fire before the firefighters arrived.

The entire building evacuated the premises after the building’s fire alarm went off. There are no reported injuries among the hotel guests, staff, or firefighters.

The MPFD escorted hotel guests to gather their belongings and all guests are being relocated to other properties.

The building’s lobby suffered water damage and Room 218 suffered extensive fire and smoke damage. The cause of the fire remains under investigation at this time.

The Mt Pleasant Fire Department was assisted by the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Fire Department, the Shepherd Tri-Township Fire Department and Mobile Medical Response.