Tag Archives: Michigan

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Flint, MI – Single sprinkler head extinguishes maintenance room fire at high school

A sprinkler system extinguished a fire in the maintenance office at Carman-Ainsworth High School Tuesday night.

Assistant Fire Chief Michael Burkley said the Flint Township Fire Department was alerted to a sprinkler activation at about 10:41 p.m. inside the building at 1300 N. Linden Road. The sprinkler set off a water flow alarm at the department.

Burkley said when firefighters arrived, they found water flowing out of the building in the loading dock and swimming pool areas and could see smoke in the hallway near the swimming pool. Firefighters forced their way into the building and saw the water was coming from the maintenance office.

“Luckily, there was a single sprinkler head in that office that put out the fire,” Burkley said. “They’re designed to go off when temperatures get to over 150 degrees. The fire was contained to a desk that had electronic items on it. You could see where it burned up the wall. If there had been no sprinkler there, it would have been much worse.”

Burkley said a sprinkler system can put out about 35 to 50 gallons of water a minute. Once firefighters determined the fire was extinguished, they shut down the sprinkler system and remained on the scene until about midnight sweeping water from the building and setting up ventilation fans to rid the building of smoke.

Burkley said there was no one in the building at the time of the fire. He said school administration and maintenance staff quickly showed up after being alerted by a monitoring company and Genesee County 911. He said an employee of the sprinkler company also came to the scene to install a new sprinkler head and reset the system.

Water also ran into the boiler room, but no damage was caused to the equipment there.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Classes were being held at the high school Wednesday morning.

The Flint Township Police Department assisted at the scene.

Other - School / University, School / University

Flint Twp, MI – Maintenance office fire put out by fire sprinklers

A sprinkler put out a small fire Tuesday night inside the maintenance office at Carman-Ainsworth High School.

Firefighters with the Flint Township Fire Department were called out shortly before 11:45 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 3 to the high school, 1300 N. Linden Road, for a sprinkler activation in the building.

Flint Township Assistant Fire Chief Michael Burkley said the activation alerted the department to a water flow alarm.

Firefighters responding to the high school discovered water flowing out of the building in the loading dock area and some in the hallway.

After forcing entry into the building, Burkley said it was noticed the water was coming from the maintenance office where the sprinkler had been activated upon temperatures reaching 150 degrees.

“The sprinkler system contained the fire,” he said. “We just overhauled, shut the sprinkler system down.”

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but Burkley said there were electronics in the office, and it’s believed something plugged in led to the incident that caused “very little damage.”

Firefighters were on scene for approximately two hours.

Water also made its way into the school’s boiler room, but no damage took place to any equipment in the area.

Burkley said the sprinkler system can generate between 35-50 gallons of water flow a minute.

The Flint Township Police Department also responded to the scene to assist the fire department. The incident remains under investigation.

Classes were in session at the high school as scheduled Wednesday morning.

Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools Superintendent Eddie L. Kindle could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday morning.

Other - Residential, Residential

Bloomfield Hills, MI – Fire sprinkler systems controls fire in attic until crews arrived; No injuries reported

For the second time in just a few months, a fire broke out at the historical Manresa Jesuit Retreat House early July 31, according to police.

According to Sgt. Steve Splan, of the Bloomfield Hills Public Safety Department, an alarm at the retreat’s main house, 1390 Quarton Road, was activated at 5:44 a.m. July 31. Upon arrival, first responders said they could smell smoke, and they circled the unoccupied building to find the source.

“We repositioned to the north side of the building and we could see smoke coming from what appeared to be the attic area,” Splan said. 

The attic of the facility had been undergoing renovations and reportedly hadn’t been used in some time. With the help of firefighters from Bloomfield Township and Troy, the flames were extinguished from the attic — a space Splan said is notoriously tough for firefighters — and the damage was contained to an about 20-by-20-foot space.

“The sprinkler system did a fantastic job. It did exactly what it was supposed to do and hold the fire back until our crews were able to fully extinguish it,” he said. “It was lucky for the sprinklers — actually, probably not lucky: good preparation.”

Splan said that the cause of the fire is still under investigation, but as of now there is “zero suspicion of foul play.” There were no injuries.

The Eagle could not reach anyone at Manresa for comment before press time. The phone lines were disconnected, likely due to the department cutting off power to one of the buildings as a precaution, Splan said. 

Just a little over three months ago, public safety personnel responded to another fire at the facility, on April 10, when a fire broke out in a large historical barn on the property. While the barn, one of three,  was burned down completely, there were no injuries, and at that time, Steve Raymond, the associate director of Manresa, said the incident wouldn’t affect daily activities. 

The cause of that fire has yet to be released by investigators. 

Apartment Building, Residential

Madison Twp, MI – Fire sprinkler system helps put out apartment kitchen fire; No injuries reported

The residents of four apartments in the Woodbury Estates apartment complex in Madison Township had to be relocated Tuesday as a result of water damage caused by a fire suppression sprinkler.

Emergency personnel were dispatched at 10:23 p.m. to a fire in a third floor apartment in one of the buildings.

“When we arrived, it appeared to be some food on a stove that had caught fire,” Madison Township Assistant Fire Chief Nick Wilson said.

Wilson said the apartment’s fire suppression sprinkler system was activated, helping put out the fire, but leading to other problems for the residents.

“A lot of water comes with that and we have some water damage to the apartments below on the second and first floor,” Wilson said.

Residents from the apartment in which the fire originated, as well as residents of three other apartment units had to be relocated, with the American Red Cross being called to provide temporary housing.

Wilson said there were no injuries due to the fire.

Assisting the Madison Township Fire Department at the scene was the Adrian Fire Department and Madison Township police.

Other - Retail, Retail

Canton, MI – Sprinkler system puts out fire due to a recliner chair catching on fire

It’s back to business for the Art Van Furniture’s Canton location, which kept its doors shut over the weekend because of a small fire.

The Ford Road doors reopened today after two days of cleanup work.

Store personnel declined comment. They learned Saturday morning a recliner with electrical components had combusted.

Fire Chief Chris Stoecklein said firefighters were dispatched to an alarm at the store around 5 a.m. Saturday

Upon arrival, they saw some light smoke inside the building. They made a forced entry and discovered a sprinkler system had put out the fire.

They worked on mitigating the smoke damage and turning off the sprinkler system.

Stoecklein said the small blaze was probably an electrical fire, causing about $30,000 in damage to the recliner and its surroundings.

Art Van’s Canton store opened in early 2018. It was the first completely new store the furniture business built in 20 years.

Other Business, Recycling / Waste Facility

Battle Creek, MI – Sprinkler system keeps fire at recycling plant from spreading; No injuries reported

Nobody was injured in a fire at a recycling plant in Battle Creek this morning.

The Battle Creek Fire Department responded at 4:35 a.m. Friday, May 24, to ReConserve of Michigan, located at 170 Angell St. Firefighters arriving at the site found a large pile of recycled material burning, according to a news release from the department.

Heat from the recycling process likely ignited other recycled materials, the release said.

The building’s sprinkler system kept the fire from spreading. When firefighters arrived, they were able to extinguish the burning material, the release said.

The extent of the damage was minimal, according to the fire department.

Apartment Building, Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic, Residential

Kalamazoo, MI – (Fire Marshal Reported) Two fires suppressed by fire sprinkler systems across Kalamazoo

On Wednesday May 15, 2019 sprinklers save the day for two different locations in Kalamazoo. A kitchen fire was quickly doused with limited  damage at a multistory multifamily residence. A full alarm assignment was quickly reduced to a single engine company upon learning the fire was quickly suppressed by the sprinkler system as Kalamazoo was battling another structure fire. 

Later in the night a fire in the sterilization unit of Bronson Methodist Hospital was quickly suppressed by a single sprinkler head limiting direct fire damage.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Plainfield Township, MI – Classroom fire quickly extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Sprinklers put out a small fire in a Northview High School classroom Monday evening.

The Plainfield Township Fire Department says the fire was out by the time fire crews got on the scene. No one was hurt.

Photos posted to the department’s Facebook page show minimal fire damage to a lab.

The cause of the fire has not yet been released.

Tuesday classes are not expected to be affected.

Apartment Building, Residential

Kalamazoo, MI – Apartment fire prevented from spreading by automatic sprinkler system; No injuries reported

The Kalamazoo Fire Marshall is investigating the cause of an apartment blaze on the city’s Northside. Public Safety officers responded to the fire at the Douglas Apartments in the 1200 block of Douglas Avenue around 8:00 a.m. Tuesday and found heavy smoke coming from the second floor. Firefighters contained the blaze to just one apartment unit, but there was minor water damage to surrounding units. No one was located inside the specific unit and they’re unsure what sparked the fire. The Red Cross is helping two residents who were displaced due to the blaze. Nobody was reported injured and firefighters say the operational sprinkler system prevented the fire from spreading throughout the building.

College/University (on campus), School / University

Saginaw, MI – Fire at university extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A fire in a Saginaw Valley State University Building Sunday, March 31 caused damage. Officials say the fire began around 7:00 a.m. in a smart podium in room 215 of Brown Hall. The fire was quickly put out by the sprinkler system, but the water from the system caused damage to both the first and second floors of the building. Both floors are currently inaccessible until further notice. The third floor was unaffected. No injuries were reported. Fire departments from Kochville and Carrollton Townships and Zilwaukee responded to the scene.