Tag Archives: Missouri

Primary / Secondary School

Mexico, MO – Overnight fire in utility closet at Catholic school extinguished by sprinkler system

At approximately 1 a.m. Wednesday, Mexico Department of Public Safety was called to St. Brendan School on Clark Street. Officers arriving on the scene found light smoke and evidence of the sprinkler system having activated.

Upon investigation, it was discovered that cardboard boxes in a utility room had been ignited by the water heater. The sprinklers had extinguished the small fire. There was very little damage from fire or smoke and there were no injuries. The fire did not cause any damage to the main building of the school.

St. Brendan Principal Kathy Coulson said students would be bringing their lunches for a few days so the school’s kitchen and gymnasium areas, which are near the storage room in which the fire started, could be cleaned of some smoke. Coulson said the school’s sprinkler system will also be replaced in the near future

Apartment Building, Residential

St. Louis, MO – Early morning apartment fire controlled by sprinkler system

Residents at a Midtown apartment complex are evacuated overnight after a fire in one of the units. It happened around 12:50 a.m. at the North Sarah Apartments at C.D. Banks and Vandeventer. Fortunately, nobody was hurt. The building has three floors and has 19 units.

Fire department spokesperson Captain Garon Mosby says the fire started in one of the bedrooms of that second floor apartment. There were two people, a man and a woman, in the unit at the time.

The sprinkler system in the apartment did activate and that took out much of the fire.  Crews were able to keep the fire contained to the bedroom of that one unit.  The building where the fire happened is three floors and has 19 apartments.

Most of the residents, roughly 30 people, were evacuated but some did stay inside a sheltered space.  This was a first alarm fire meaning 30 firefighters responded.  Captain Mosby says there is nothing suspicious about the fire.  The preliminary cause is a candle that was left burning in the bedroom where the fire started

College/University (on campus), Residence Hall/Dormitory

Columbia, MO – Residence hall fire extinguished by sprinkler system; Potential disaster mitigated

A fire at a Stephens College residence hall on Saturday afternoon resulted in no injuries but caused severe water damage to several units. The Columbia Fire Department was dispatched to a fire alarm at Wood Hall, 5 S. College Ave. Firefighters at the scene found heavy smoke and water coming from a sprinkler on the fifth floor.

The officer in charge upgraded the incident from an alarm to a commercial structure fire. A total of six units responded to the incident. An investigation revealed a fire in an apartment on the fifth floor activated the building’s sprinkler system. The sprinkler extinguished the fire, which didn’t spread to other units. The fire department is still investigating the cause of the fire. No damage estimates were available as of 5 p.m. Saturday.

Office Building, Other Business

Columbia, MO – Fire at office building controlled by sprinkler system; No injuries

No one was injured Wednesday morning after a fire broke out at a commercial building in south Columbia. Columbia Fire Department crews responded at about 9 a.m. to Building 5 of the Woodrail Centre, 1000 W. Nifong Blvd., to find smoke coming from the eaves, according to a news release.

Firefighters saw water coming from Suite 120 in the building, then entered the suite to find light smoke and an activated sprinkler head. The crews turned off the sprinkler system to prevent further water damage. The sprinkler was enough to bring the fire under control, the release said.

A fire marshal was investigating the cause of the fire, and a damage estimate was not available. Crews remained at the scene after the fire was extinguished to clean up water in the building.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Columbia, MO – Sprinklers suppress fire at rubber products manufacturer; Damage minimized, No injuries

The Columbia Fire Department responded to a structure fire at Gates Rubber Corporation Saturday morning at about 10:30. When crews got to the scene, they found that the fire had already been put out by the sprinkler system. Fire officials say the fire was contained to a small area and didn’t cause much damage. Nobody was injured in the fire. The assistant fire marshal was able to determine that the fire was caused by friction on some hand tools. He believes the damages are about $2,000.

Other - Retail, Retail

Grandview, MO – Suspicious fire at surplus store put out by automatic fire sprinkler system

Grandview police and arson officials investigated a suspicious fire at a local business on Friday, according to authorities. Police responded to an intrusion alarm at Patriot Surplus at 1227 East 119th St. in Grandview about 6:40 p.m.  A fire alarm came from the same location and officers found that a “small, suspicious fire” had been put out by the building’s sprinkler system, according to police.

Police said it appeared that someone had forced their way into the building. Damage from the fire was minimal and contained within an office in the building. The fire was being investigated by Grandview Fire Department arson investigators and Grandview police detectives.

Anyone with information about the fire was asked to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Blue Springs, MO – Arson fire at high school is extinguished by sprinkler system

The Blue Springs School District has contacted federal authorities after receiving four threats in the last 10 days. The district said the latest threat came Monday in an email to a teacher. It arrived hours after a break-in and arson in the Blue Springs High School activities office.

“A Christmas tree was set on fire,” said Tom Phillips, the head of the police force for the Blue Springs School District. “The sprinkler system kicked on. It did what it was supposed to do, put the fire out.”

He said the fire caused thousands of dollars in water damage. He also said fire extinguishers were sprayed in some parts of the building and some windows were broken. He said these incidents have not been connected to the threat that came in Monday.

(It was) very generic. Doesn’t give any specifics,” said Phillips. “Doesn’t say where the threat is, where it’s at or anything like that.”

In the wake of Sandy Hook and terrorism worries, schools have to take threats seriously and work to strike a balance between prudence and paranoia.

Phillips, a former Jackson County sheriff, said it’s a collective decision. “I get with our administration. We get with our central office administrators,” he said. “We get with other law enforcement in the area. Are they receiving threats?”

Blue Springs was one of the first school districts in Missouri to have its own police force.

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Branson, MO – Balcony fire at condominium building contained by sprinkler system

The Branson Fire Rescue responded to a structure fire last Friday morning. According to a press release, reports stated that heavy black smoke was coming from the back side of one of the Vineyard Condominiums located off Missouri 376.

“Upon investigation we discovered a fire had started on the wood deck material and extended up the railing and exterior wall,” Fire Captain Scott Cizek said. “Our crews discovered one fire sprinkler head above the deck had contained the fire.”

The fire sprinkler activated automatically, which initiated the fire alarm where occupants evacuated the building. The probable cause of the fire could have been due to cigarettes not being fully put out according to the press release.

“Upon investigation it was discovered the fire had smoldered for quite some time causing deep charring on part of the wood deck and railing. We could not rule out cigarette smoking material as a possible cause,” Division Chief Randy Fogle said.

The press release stated that “firefighters encourage those using cigarette materials to properly extinguish cigarettes and place them in fire-resistant containers.”

According to Fire Chief Ted Martin, lit cigarette fires often occur on these types of properties.

“Unfortunately in multi-family dwelling properties such as condos and apartments, we see a lot of cigarettes tossed over balcony railings to the ground level, accidentally dropped between the decking materials, or discarded inappropriately in containers as simple as plastic planter pots,” Martin said.

The press release did not mention any injuries or people harmed.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Sunrise Beach, MO – Fire at popular Lake of the Ozarks restaurant limited by sprinkler system

Cannon Smoked Saloon caught fire and suffered smoke damage on Labor Day morning. The fire is not suspicious, according to Sunrise Beach Assistant Fire Chief Jeremy Criner.

Cannon Smoked Saloon owner Ron Duggan is already coordinating restoration and hopes the restaurant will be open within three to four weeks. Duggan, while waiting for the official investigation to conclude, is confident a cigarette butt was to blame for the blaze.

“We have cans outside for people to extinguish cigarette butts, but apparently someone used one of our barrel flower pots in front,” Duggan said. The cigarette likely smoldered overnight and caught the front of the building on fire sometime in the early morning.

“The area of the fire origin was in a planter in front of the building,” Asst. Chief Criner said. “But, we have not yet determined the exact ignition source, although we are leaning towards a cigarette butt. We have, however, determined there were no electrical issues in that portion of the outside of the building.”

The Sunrise Beach Fire Protection District received a 911 call from a passerby just after 7 a.m. Firefighters responded immediately bringing the fire under control within 10 minutes.

During the overhaul, firefighters found the fire extended into the attic. “Fortunately for us and the owners, Ron and Nichole Duggan, there were fire sprinklers in the attic that were activated and they put out the attic fire,” Assistant Fire Chief Criner said. “This is a shining example of what a fire suppression system can do as far as the ability to quickly extinguish fire. Had there not been fire sprinklers in the attic, the damage would have been much more extensive. Anytime you have sprinkler system in any building, whether it is residential or commercial, the ability to quickly suppress the fire brings huge benefits for all the occupants that could potentially be harmed.”

Once firefighters determined the fire was extinguished, they shut down the sprinkler system to eliminate further water damage. Most of the fire damage was to the exterior front side of the building and inside the attic. There was also water and smoke damage throughout the building.

This is the second time a restaurant of the same name has caught fire. In 2011, the Duggans lost the first Cannon Smoked Saloon in an accidental fire, along with many family antiques holding significant sentimental and monetary value. The restaurant, then located on Highway F in Sunrise Beach, was a total loss. Cannon Smoked quickly re-opened at the Indian Rock Golf Course while acquiring and remodeling the current building for a permanent home at the intersection of Highway 5 and Lake Road 5-39.

Apartment Building, Residential

Webb City, MO – Early morning apartment fire contained by sprinkler system

A sprinkler system limited the spread of a fire in a Webb City apartment building early Tuesday.  Crews with the Webb City Fire Department responded to a fire at the Cardinal Towers, 324 N. Tom St., about 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

The alarm was traced to a single apartment on the first floor, where firemen searched for occupants. They found the woman had left the apartment when she was awakened by the alarm and was safe in the lobby of the building.

Firemen were able to stop the fire quickly, they said, because the sprinkler system had prevented the blaze from spreading beyond the single apartment. The source of the blaze was found to be in the area of a medical oxygen concentrator. The Webb City Police Department and METS ambulance also responded to the blaze.