The Willmar Fire Department was assisted by Willmar Police Department, CentraCare EMS- Willmar, CentraCare Security and staff.
Tag Archives: Minnesota
St. Cloud, MN – Sprinkler system contains fire at school; No injuries reported
According to a Critical Incident Report from the St. Cloud Fire Department, they were called to the school around 4:50 after the school’s fire alarm was activated. They arrived and were told by the staff that there was a smell of smoke in the building. Crews went inside and found a small fire had started in the attic space. The automatic sprinkler system had activated, preventing it from spreading.
Everyone got out of the building safely, and no one was hurt.
St. Cloud, MN – Sprinkler system controls kitchen fire at apartment building
Unattended cooking appears to be the cause of a fire Sunday morning in St. Cloud.
According to a critical incident report from the fire department, they responded to an alarm at 9:20 at an apartment on the 4000 block of 12th Street North. They arrived to find a sprinkler controlled fire in a kitchen. Firefighters put out the rest of the flames and helped the person evacuate.
The Red Cross also responded to assist the resident.
Minneapolis, MN – Sprinkler system activated for fire at vegan butcher shop; No injuries reported
“We are heartbroken,” the proprietors wrote on social media Wednesday.
The shop is now closed, and sales on delivery platforms have been halted “until we can assess the damage and begin to rebuild,” they wrote.
Founded in 2014 by siblings Aubry Walch and Kale Walch, the Herbivorous Butcher began as a Minneapolis Farmers Market experiment and in 2016 turned into a hit brick-and-mortar store in northeast Minneapolis that ships nationwide. At the heart of their operation are housemade proteins that stand in for animal products, such as vegan Korean BBQ ribs, chorizo sausage and Brie cheese.
According to a release from the Minneapolis Fire Department, fire crews were dispatched to 507 1st Av. NE. at approximately 9:10 p.m and forced entry to find smoke on the first floor and a fire above the kitchen area, between the first and second floors. The sprinkler system extinguished most of the fire, but the crew had to cut a hole between the floors to put out remaining embers. No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
“The fire department had to flood the space, and everything is now a mess,” the Herbivorous Butcher team wrote. “We’re still taking it all in — and figuring out what comes next.”
The Walches have set up a GoFundMe to help with cleanup, repair and restoring operations.
Fortunately, the equipment for making vegan cheese and for steaming and smoking the vegan meats seem to have survived unscathed, said Kale Walch, who was feeling “optimistic” the day after the fire.
“A small business is an interesting series of bumps along a rustic back road, and it’s just another change to the equation,” he said. “We survived a pandemic. We’ve done worse, and we’ll do it again. We can handle it.”
The duo also own J. Selby’s vegan restaurant in St. Paul. They’ll move some food production to that location, at 169 N. Victoria St.
“I’m gonna try to do as much as I can out of there,” Kale Walch said. “I’ll probably be doing even more.”
St. Cloud, MN – Sprinkler system activated for fire at restaurant
New York Gyro restaurant in St. Cloud is closed after a Sunday morning fire.
The incident occurred at about 7:15. St. Cloud Fire Department crews rushed to the strip mall at 3rd Street North and 33rd Avenue. Those who arrived first saw people still hastily evacuating the building. The fire suppression sprinkler system and a coordinated attack from personnel got the blaze under control.
They were also able to search the entire building for occupants and salvage some property. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
New York Gyro is uninhabitable, but all other businesses in the strip mall were allowed to return to normal operations.
Dilworth, MN – Sprinkler system activated for overnight fire at apartment complex
Multiple fire crews from Moorhead and Dilworth responded to an apartment fire early Tuesday Morning.
Fire officials say crews responded to an apartment complex in the 1600 Block of 3 Ave NW just before 1:30 a.m.
Fire officials say the fire was near a window of an apartment. One window broke due to the heat of the fire but officials say thanks to the sprinkler system the fire was contained to one area and didn’t spread.
The total extent of damage is unknown at this time. The investigation has now been turned over to Dilworth Police as they work to locate the resident of the apartment.
Rochester, MN – Sprinkler system activated for fire at apartment complex; No injuries reported
The first unit on scene, E4, arrived to find the apartment building being evacuated.
No smoke or fire conditions were visible outside the building, but RFD crews proceeded to apartment #308 where according to RFD, “a slight haze and odor of burnt food was noticeable.”
In the apartment, RFD identified a cooking fire that had been extinguished by the activation of the sprinkler system. Crews ventilated the apartment and worked to remove water from the building.
No injuries occurred, and there was moderate water damage in the affected apartment.
RFD says sprinkler systems are exceptionally reliable, such that the chance of dying in a fire is reduced by 90% when sprinklers are installed in a building. According to the NFPA, property damage in dollars is reduced by up to two-thirds depending on occupancy type when sprinklers are present.
Moorhead, MN – Sprinkler system activated for fire at Menards; No injuries reported
Menards in Moorhead is open for business as usual despite a fire in the store early this morning.
According to Moorhead Fire Department, the fire started in the electrical section of the store.
Fire crews reported fire, smoke, and water damage to store displays and merchandise.
Crews could be seen cleaning up water from the store’s sprinkler system, which received the credit for extinguishing the fire.
“That ignition started about 4:30 and sprinkler heads activated at 4:45. So it just sort of sat there and kind of didn’t get the heat all the way yet until it became a bigger fire,” said James Garvey, Moorhead Fire Marshal.
No one was hurt in the fire. A damage estimate is not currently available.
St. Paul, MN – Sprinkler system extinguishes overnight apartment fire
The St. Paul Fire Department was called to the apartment on the 2200 block of Hillcrest Avenue around 3:00 a.m.
When crews arrived, they found smoke in a first-floor apartment and evidence of a fire in a closet.
The fire department said the fire was already extinguished by a sprinkler system before they arrived.
As a precaution, the fire department searched the building to make sure all occupants had been able to evacuate safely and ventilated it.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, but the fire department said a working sprinkler system and smoke detectors prevented a much larger incident.
Virginia, MN – Sprinkler system contained fire at mall; No injuries reported
Fire broke out at the Uptown Mall in Virginia Thursday afternoon.
Pictures from the Northland Fire Wire showed dark, black smoke coming from the building.
The Fire Wire reported that the flames were contained to a storage area thanks to the mall’s sprinkler system.
Multiple area fire departments responded.
Nobody was injured.
The cause is being investigated by the Virginia Fire Marshal’s Office.
Uptown Mall was formerly known as the Thunderbird Mall.