Apartment Building, Residential Burnsville, MN – Suspected arson fire at apartment building doused by sprinkler system September 15, 2015 viking210 Authorities are asking for the public’s help to find suspects of a suspected arson fire in Burnsville over the weekend. Burnsville Police and Fire departments say a fire at the Meridian Point Apartments, 51 McAndrews Road West, has been ruled suspicious. The fire, which happened on Sunday, was contained thanks to a single sprinkler head in the apartment building. Fire crews arrived on scene to find smoke coming from a stairwell leading from the basement garage to the first floor. The building’s sprinkler system had already been activated and managed to keep the fire damage to a minimum. No building residents were displaced by the fire and no injuries were reported. An investigation into the fire has led officials to believe it was intentionally set. Assistant Fire Chief Doug Nelson states in a release the cause appears to be suspicious and the circumstances of the fire remain under investigation. They ask any residents with information to call the arson hotline at 1-800-723-2020. A reward of up to $5,000 is available for information leading to the identity of the person or persons responsible.
Apartment Building, Residential Shakopee, MN – Single sprinkler controls fire in apartment building laundry room August 31, 2015 viking210 A single fire sprinkler contained a dryer fire in the second floor laundry room at White Pines Apartments in Shakopee Sunday morning, and Fire Marshal Tom Pitschneider credited it with preventing a significant blaze that could have displaced several residents. Firefighters were called to the apartment complex located at 1364 Eagle Creek Blvd. at 10:50 a.m. Pitschneider said when Shakopee police arrived they reported there was a dryer on fire in the second floor laundry room. When firefighters arrived a single fire sprinkler in the laundry room had already activated due to heat from the fire. The sprinkler controlled the fire and kept it from spreading both within the room and through the building, Pitschneider said. Firefighters removed the dryer and ventilated the building to remove smoke. There was smoke and water damage to the second floor in the area of the laundry room and water damage to the first floor directly below. There were no injuries reported and all residents were able to return to their units.
Apartment Building, Residential Rochester, MN – Sprinkler system prevents apartment fire from spreading; No injuries reported August 27, 2015 viking210 An apartment sprinkler system is being credited for preventing a more serious fire — and possibly injuries, officials said today. A sprinkler activation alarm at 8:40 p.m. Tuesday sent Rochester fire crews to 2350 Valleyhigh Drive NW. The family, including children ages 4, 2 and 1, was outside when trucks arrived, said Larry Mueller, assistant fire marshal. A woman in the home had been making pastries in an oil-filled pot on the stove, Mueller said. She left the kitchen for a moment, and when she returned found three- to four-foot flames coming from the pan. The sprinkler system above the stove extinguished the fire, Mueller said, leaving only slight water damage to cabinets and nearby carpet. “The sprinkler saved thousands of dollars in damage, and possibly the family,” he said. Though the home was habitable, the Red Cross put the family up for the night because of the age of the children and the clean-up necessary, the report says.
Other / Not Specified, Other Business Eden Prairie, MN – Sprinkler system contains fire at business with hydrofluoric acid July 20, 2015 viking210 Six firefighters were taken to a hospital after they were exposed to hydrofluoric acid on Wednesday, July 15, during a business fire call in Eden Prairie. Eden Prairie Fire Chief George Esbensen said the call of a commercial building fire at SVT Associates, 7620 Executive Drive, came in around 4:37 p.m. and the first arriving engine and chiefs got there in less than five minutes. The fire was in one room of an office space occupied by the company. “The fire sprinkler system was holding the fire in check and fire crews were able to make short work of the remaining fire. After the fire was knocked down and as overhaul was beginning several firefighters began to experience symptoms consistent with a chemical exposure,” he said. “Five firefighters from EP and one from Bloomington were transported to Methodist Hospital where it was determined they had been exposed through their skin with hydrofluoric acid.” Esbensen said the acid is commonly used in metal etching and stripping. All six firefighters were treated and released by 11:30 p.m. the same day. They have since returned to duty. There was some loss of equipment as a result of the chemical exposure. Turnout gear that was exposed to the chemical will not be able to be cleaned and there are 13 sets that need to be replaced. Additionally the department is waiting to hear what parts of the self contained breathing apparatus can be cleaned as well as other tools. The department doesn’t have exact replacement costs yet on the gear, but the estimate is around $50,000, Esbensen said. “There are other items that were impacted but we haven’t determined the best course of action on those yet,” he said.
Department Store, Retail Edina, MN – Sprinkler system contains fire to small area at H&M store July 4, 2015 viking210 The H&M store at the Southdale Center in Edina is closed Friday after a fire on the second floor. Edina officials say the fire was reported at 10:30 a.m. after a piece of clothing caught fire and caused the sprinkler system to activate. Officials say the fire was contained to a small area of the store, but both the first and second floor have smoke and water damage. The store is closed as crews work to clean up. No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Hospital/Care Facility, Other - Hospital/Medical Rochester, MN – Sprinkler system douses fire at Mayo support facility; No injuries reported June 28, 2015 viking210 Rochester Fire Department responded to the Mayo Support Center Thursday morning after a piece of machinery that cleans the floor caught fire. “We showed up and they had a smoke haze in the building. The building was investigated and found that in the maintenance area, a piece of maintenance equipment had malfunctioned during charging and caused a small fire, which initiated the sprinkler system, which almost completely extinguished the fire” said Chuck Solseth, the Rochester Fire Department Acting Battalion Chief. Initially, one fire engine and the battalion chief car responded to the fire alarm; however, two more engines were called in after the discovery of smoke being produced. Crews went in with a carbon dioxide extinguisher and put out what the sprinklers couldn’t. Solseth said this type of fire does not happen very often. “It’s not very common for things to just catch fire while they’re in there charging. It does happen on occasion. But that’s why it’s important that we monitor what’s going on. Pieces of the equipment that you’re charging, if they’re abnormally warm or making any type of odd odors or sounds, may be reason to unplug it and investigate it further,” said Solseth. Solseth added that when plastic pieces catch fire, like that of the floor cleaning machinery, it can prove to be detrimental. “The plastics create/release chemicals. The smoke itself will have carbon monoxide in it because of the products of combustion. We ventilated the structure out, used our respiratory equipment, so that we could access the area, ventilated it out, and then verified it with air monitors that there was no more hazard for us,” said Solseth. Employees of the Mayo Support Center were evacuated until around 12:30 p.m. Thursday.
Hospital/Care Facility, Other - Hospital/Medical Brainerd, MN – Sprinklers activate to help control intentionally set fire at behavior health center June 19, 2015 viking210 A subject allegedly lit her bed on fire and ran away from the behavioral health inpatient unit – also known as the grace unit – at Essentia Health-St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Brainerd, leaving hospital staff scrambling to make sure patients were safe. Brainerd police and fire personnel were dispatched to a fire alarm at 7 p.m. Monday at the hospital, 523 North Third St., Brainerd. While en route to the alarm, it was reported a bed was lit on fire and it appeared the fire was intentionally set to facilitate an escape from the locked unit at the hospital. Dr. Pete Henry, chief medical officer of the central region and an emergency room physician at Essentia Health-St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Brainerd, said hospital staff immediately contained the fire and ensured patients’ safety. The locked unit was closed down and 12 patients were moved to other parts of the hospital. Thirteen patients on the telemetry unit and 13 patients from the surgery unit also were moved to different locations to ensure their safety. Henry said water from the sprinkler system damaged three floors below the behavioral health inpatient unit: the telemetry unit, inpatient surgery unit and the outpatient cardiovascular unit. Henry said the sprinkler system also was damaged during the incident and was repaired about an hour later. Henry did not know what the estimated cost was from the fire and water damage from the sprinkler system. “It’s too soon to tell,” he said. Henry said all the service areas damaged Monday night at the hospital are up and running, except the inpatient care in the grace unit. Henry hopes the unit will be up and running as soon as possible, but he could not say an exact date. Henry said the dozen patients were moved to another location at the hospital or to another mental health facility in the state. Essentia Health has two locations for its psychiatry patients, one on the fourth floor at the hospital and another at the Brainerd clinic. The clinic provides outpatient psychiatry services, including psychotherapy, medication management and electroconvulsive therapy services for children, adolescents and adults. “In the meantime we won’t be accepting any new patients,” Henry said of the behavioral health inpatient unit. Brainerd police received additional information about a suspect and learned the suspect and potentially two accomplices had fled the area in a vehicle. The information about the suspects and a vehicle description was sent out in a state-wide alert. At about 11 p.m., authorities learned police in Becker had located the vehicle and three occupants were taken into custody without incident. One of the parties involved was identified as a 17-year-old juvenile female from Brainerd. She was arrested and transported to a juvenile detention center in Grand Rapids. The two other individuals were identified as Raegan Sjolund, 18, and Jonathn Erickson, 24. Sjolund and Erickson were brought to the Sherburne County Jail where they are awaiting transfer to the Crow Wing County Jail. Brainerd police report the juvenile and Sjolund were each arrested for damaging property, escaping from custody and first-degree arson. Erickson was arrested for damaging property and first-degree arson. This incident will be referred to the Crow Wing County Attorney’s Office for review pending formal charges. The investigation remains ongoing and anyone with additional information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Brainerd Police Department at 218-829-2805.
Other - Residential, Residential St. Cloud, MN – Fire at veterans home contained by sprinkler system May 26, 2015 viking210 The St. Cloud Fire Department received a report of a fire at about 3:08 p.m. at a St. Cloud veterans home on the 800 block of 8th Avenue South. When firefighters arrived, the sprinkler system in the building had largely contained the fire. Authorities said the fire likely started because of a cigarette that was left on a mattress in one of the rooms. The residents affected by the fire were moved to different rooms within the facility until the clean-up can be finished. Fire officials said there were no injuries in the incident, but the facility suffered about $1,000 in damage.
Apartment Building, Residential Red Wing, MN – Apartment fire on seventh floor extinguished by sprinkler system May 12, 2015 viking210 Jordan Towers 1 in Red Wing was damaged early Sunday afternoon by a fire, and water that put it out. The Red Wing Fire Department said the fire alarm was reported at 12:48 p.m. When firefighters arrived two minutes later, they learned the fire was on the seventh floor. The found a stove fire that had gone into a wall had been put out by the sprinkler system. Fire damage was minimal but water has to be removed from several floors. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Apartment Building, Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential, Residential High Rise Hibbing, MN – Single sprinkler contains early morning fire at senior high rise apartment building May 5, 2015 viking210 A fire at Hibbing’s Androy Building Sunday morning drew a full response from the Hibbing and neighboring fire departments. But when they arrived, they found the fire had already been contained by a single sprinkler head. The Androy Building houses senior high-rise apartments, an Elks Club banquet center and an orthodontics clinic. According to the Hibbing Fire Department, firefighters arrived shortly before 6 a.m. when an automatic fire alarm was triggered. The found smoke coming from a vent near the kitchen of the Elks Club and tenants starting to to evacuate the building. Inside, crews found smoke in the Elks side of the building but the fire down to a smolder. Crews put out the remaining smoldering material and ventilated the smoke from the banquet room. By 7:10 a.m., it was deemed safe enough to allow tenants back in. Hibbing Fire Marshal Bryan Fagerstrom determined the case was accidental — a steam table had been left on which overheated and ignited the wood buffet table. He stressed the importance of having a properly maintained sprinkler system. “The sprinkler system in this fire was serviced and maintained per code and did exactly as it should by containing the fire and keeping it from spreading,” he said in the release.
