Tag Archives: Minnesota

Other Business

Rochester, MN – Dump truck fire contained by garage sprinkler system

A dump truck caught fire inside a building Friday night.

The Rochester Fire Department says it was called to the 6900 block of 10th Avenue SW around 7:10 pm and found the truck on fire with smoke coming from a garage maintenance area. The structure’s sprinkler system contained the flames to the truck and firefighters extinguished the blaze.

No one was injured in this incident and there was minor smoke and water damage to the building. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office, Rochester police and Gold Cross Ambulance assisted at the scene.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Cloquet, MN – Fire at senior apartment building held in check by sprinkler system

Emergency officials responded to a fire at a Cloquet senior living residence Friday evening which has forced some residents out of their apartments. The fire at Larson Commons was reported around 6 p.m. Friday. Area firefighters responded to the incident at the senior living residence and found smoke on the fifth floor.

“When crews arrived, we had multiple people yelling out of the window that they couldn’t get out of their apartments,” Cloquet Area Fire District Chief Kevin Schroeder said. “Initial crews found smoke throughout the fifth floor.”  Chief Schroeder adds crews found fire in the corner of the hallway. The fire had been confined to the area by the sprinkler system.

“The sprinkler system kept [the fire] in check. The fire started in some furniture, went up the wall into the ceiling,” Chief Schroeder said. Fire officials extinguished the fire and checked the walls to make sure the fire had not spread to other parts of the building. The cause of the fire is not known yet.

As crews check the electrical systems of the building complex to ensure no damages, residents have been evacuated. The Red Cross is assisting affected residents. Crews with the fire department are also assisting with recovering personal belongings and needs of residents affected.  Two people were evaluated for minor injuries. One resident was brought to Duluth to receive medical attention.  Cloquet Area Fire District was assisted by Carlton and Esko Fire Departments. The fire remains under investigation.

Other Business, Place of Worship

Nisswa, MN – Sprinkler system tackles kitchen fire at Timberwood Church

Timberwood Church did not go up in flames thanks to a sprinkler system that put out a kitchen fire at the Nisswa place of worship in the early morning hours of Friday, April 20.

No one was in the building, which is along Highway 371, at about 9 a.m. when the Nisswa Fire Department responded and the Brainerd Fire Department was contacted for mutual aid, but not needed.

“There was a fire alarm that went through our alarm company to the Nisswa Fire Department … and they discovered smoke in the building,” said the Rev. John Just, pastor of the church.

“My understanding is Brainerd Fire also had two vehicles that responded, but were canceled before they arrived on site.”

The self-described “Bible-based, outreach-oriented church” is nestled among the trees near Gull Lake and located about 20 minutes north of Brainerd in Crow Wing County.

“It looked like the building was full of smoke,” Just said after arriving at the church. “It appears to have started on a stovetop.”

Nisswa Fire Chief Shawn Bailey was on the scene and said firefighters upon their arrival discovered a small kitchen fire that was already put out.

“The sprinkler system had activated and put the fire out. We gained entry through the end of the kitchen and from that point, we were able to verify where the fire was,” Bailey said.

Just said, “They found the water flowing out of the kitchen.”

Staff walked around barefoot inside the church as the water was being suctioned up from the carpet area by the kitchen.

In 2004, Timberwood Church’s first pastor was hired and began. The church’s first public worship service was scheduled for Easter of that same year, according to its website.

For five years, congregation members would meet at the Nisswa Community Center, and in 2009 the church relocated to its current location off Highway 371.

“There was really no structural damage to the building. We’ll need to do some water cleanup, and we will be open for services on Sunday morning at 9 and 10:30.”

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Cottage Grove, MN – Overnight hotel fire knocked down by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A hotel in the east metro was evacuated early Thursday after a blaze broke out. At about 2:45 a.m. emergency units responded to a report of a room on fire at the Country Inn and Suites in Cottage Grove.

The building sprinkler system had knocked down the fire and Cottage Grove crews extinguished any remaining blaze.

Crews from St. Paul Park and Woodbury assisted on the scene. There were no reports of any injuries.

College/University (on campus), School / University

Thief River Falls, MN – Arson fire at college put out by sprinkler system

Two Northland College students are accused of setting fires in restrooms at the college on the same day. According to a news release from the Ashland Fire Department, both fires happened on March 19. A morning fire in a Wheeler Hall restroom was put out by a sprinkler system and an evening fire in a Fenenga Hall restroom extinguished itself. No one was injured in either fire. Damage estimates are not available. The fire department said two suspects, a 30-year-old woman from Ashland and an 18-year-old woman from the Twin Cities area, have been arrested to face possible charges of arson and recklessly endangering the safety of others. Investigators believe the suspects and fires are not connected.

Apartment Building, Residential

Duluth, MN – Cooking fire at high rise apartment building put out by sprinkler system

An apartment in the Tri-Towers Apartment Complex suffered thousands of dollars in damage after an accidental cooking fire.

The Duluth Fire Department says they responded to the high rise apartment building on 222 N. 2nd Ave. East around 7:20 p.m. Thursday.

When crews arrived, they noticed smoke on the sixth floor with a sprinkler system activated in one of the apartments on that floor. The department says the system extinguished the fire. Authorities vented out the smoke and vacuumed up water.

One resident of the apartment was taken to the hospital for evaluation.

Damages are estimated at $20,000.

Apartment Building, Residential

Rochester, MN – Apartment kitchen fire is put out by sprinkler system; No injuries

The Rochester Fire Department says it was called to Oak Ridge Apartments on North Broadway around 5:22 pm Friday and found fire alarms sounding and light smoke coming from a second floor unit. The flames were put out by a sprinkler head in the apartment before firefighters arrived, but crews cleared out the smoke with ventilation fans and cleaned up the water to prevent any more damage.  No one was injured but heat and flames damaged kitchen cabinets, an exhaust hood, and a stove top.  The fire is being blamed on combustible material near the stovetop and is being called an accident.

Apartment Building, Residential

Albert Lea, MN – Apartment fire limited with help from sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A fire Friday night at St. John’s Lutheran Community’s Knutson Place Apartments reportedly caused $35,000 in damage. The fire caused a temporary evacuation of residents to other parts of the facility not impacted by the fire. Third-floor residents were taken to the first floor dining room in the nursing home while first responders were on scene. Upon arriving shortly at about 8 p.m. to the apartments, at 901 Luther Place, Albert Lea firefighters and police reportedly found light smoke in a third floor hallway. The fire was contained to one apartment, according to a city press release. The fire reportedly spread to nearby furniture, which activated the sprinkler system and minimized damage to the building.

St. John’s Administrator and CEO Scot Spates said most of the damage includes burnt and wet drywall and carpet and floor damage. Spates credited the facility’s sprinkler system and first responders for limiting the damage from the fire. No injuries were reported. The fire was caused by a lampshade coming into contact with a light bulb and igniting, according to the release. The building was turned back to facility staff, and first responders cleared the scene at 9:30 p.m. Spates said two tenants have not been able to return to their apartments. One lived where the fire alarm alerted first responders to the fire, while the second tenant lived below the apartment. They are living in empty on-site apartments while the two rooms are remodeled. Residential and commercial services firm ServiceMaster assisted on scene following the fire. An insurance adjuster is expected to evaluate the facility today.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Rochester, MN – High school fire held in check by sprinkler system, helping to limit damage; No injuries reported

Rochester Fire responded to a fire at Lourdes High School around 1:41 p.m. Sunday.  According to fire officials, the fire involved cardboard boxes underneath stairs near the auditorium in the high school. A student, David Poirier, used a portable fire extinguisher to try to extinguish the flames. Heat from the fire activated a sprinkler head, which officials say kept the fire in check.

Authorities say Engine Company 4 used extinguishers to completely extinguish the blaze. Crews had to evacuate the building to prevent smoke inhalation and ventilate smoke from the building. They say the sprinkler system limited damage and prevented injuries.

Fire officials say Lourdes High School is facing $5,000 in clean-up fees due to some water damage from the sprinkler system and limited smoke damage.  The cause of the fire is still under investigation. No one was injured in the incident.

PREVIOUS STORY:
ROCHESTER, Minn. – Rochester Fire Deptartment is on the scene of Lourdes High School, located at 2800 19th St NW.

Our reporter on scene said parents came up to her saying it’s really smoky inside, so officials cancellled today’s events.

Stay with KIMT as we learn more about this developing story.

College/University (on campus), School / University

St. Paul, MN – Sprinkler system halts arson fire at St. Catherine University; No injuries reported

Police arrested a 19-year-old former St. Catherine University student on Wednesday after eight small fires were set in seven buildings on the St. Paul campus.

No injuries were reported, and the St. Paul fire and police departments are investigating. Police had no immediate information about what the motive might have been.

All but one of the fires were in trash cans, mostly in women’s restrooms, said Assistant Fire Chief Mike Gaede. The largest fire was a chair that had been set ablaze in a lounge area, which activated a sprinkler system.

“That, by far, did the most damage to the building and the area,” Gaede said. The university said in a statement that the extent of the damage is being determined, but indicated it was not major.

The incident began when someone alerted St. Kate’s Public Safety to a fire in a basement bathroom in Derham Hall, an administrative building, which was followed by additional reports of fires, according to the university statement.

After a third fire was reported, “a pattern was noted, arson was suspected and university officials along with the St. Paul Police and Fire Departments were immediately alerted,” the statement said.

Officers responded to the campus at 11:40 a.m., along with firefighters, on a report of suspicious fires, according to police.

In addition to Derham Hall, the fires were found and quickly contained in Our Lady of Victory Chapel; Fontbonne and Mendel halls, which are classroom buildings; Butler Center, the fitness facility; St. Mary Hall, a dorm; and Coeur de Catherine, the student center, according to Sara Berhow, St. Kate’s spokeswoman. Two of the fires were set in Coeur de Catherine.

Campus public safety officers worked with the police and fire departments to review security footage and identified a suspect entering various buildings. At about 1:30 p.m., the suspect was found in a lounge in Crandall Hall, a dorm.

The woman, identified in a police report as Tnuza Jamal Hassan, was removed from campus at 2:35 p.m. and police arrested her on suspicion of first-degree arson.

Hassan, of Minneapolis, was a St. Kate’s student during the fall semester, but was not enrolled for January term or the spring semester, according to Berhow.

“While this was an unfortunate and stressful event, I am thankful we are all safe and for the wonderful and fast response of our Public Safety team along with the local police and fire departments,” said St. Kate’s President Becky Roloff. “Their thorough and quick actions helped ensure we were kept informed and the situation was resolved as quickly as possible.”

St. Kate’s is in session for students taking four-week January-term classes. The university notified their community on Wednesday about the incident via email, their emergency alert system and social media, with messages going out every 15 minutes until police gave the all-clear, Berhow said.