Tag Archives: Missouri

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Branson, MO – Sprinkler system helps contain condominium fire

A Branson-area condominium was evacuated Saturday afternoon after flames broke out in one unit. According to the Southern Stone County Fire Protection District, crews were dispatched to the fire at 21 Stillwaters Trail in Indian Point just before 2:30 p.m. Officials say an Indian Point police officer who first arrived on scene and a maintenance worker extinguished the flames.

Crews say someone left a plastic cooler on an electric stove, which started the blaze. “This could have been bad. This is a large building with numerous tourists. The fire sprinkler activated with audible alarms. The alarm company notified us and everyone is safe,” stated Fire Marshal Jim Harding. Nobody was in the unit when the fire broke out. Both the Indian Point officer and maintenance worker were evaluated on scene by Taney County Ambulance for smoke inhalation.  No other injuries were reported.

Other Business

Clinton, MO – Sprinklers contain fire at laundry business to area of origin

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Lee’s Summit, MO – Small business saved from fire thanks to sprinkler system

An automatic fire sprinkler system at a commercial building in Lee’s Summit helped the business avoid major damage from a fire caused by malfunctioning equipment.

According to the Lee’s Summit Fire Department, emergency personnel responded at 7:34 p.m. Feb. 16 to R&D Tool and Engineering, 1008 SE Browning St. Multiple callers from inside the building reported a fire involving a piece of machinery. At the same time, the alarm company reported activation of the automatic fire sprinkler system and alarm.

When the fire department arrived, no smoke or fire was visible from the outside of the two-story building, which was being evacuated.

Fire officials said crews entered the building to find smoke inside the manufacturing portion of the building. A sprinkler head over a laser etching machine enclosure was activated by heat, and extinguished much of the fire, which was under control by 8:04 p.m.

According to fire officials, the sprinkler system kept the fire from spreading from plastic exhaust tubing coming out of the metal dust collector on top of the machine enclosure and up to the roof. The fire originated in the metal dust collection system.

Damage was limited to a small area on top of the machine enclosure with minor smoke damage to the remainder of the manufacturing area. Water did get into the equipment below.

Crews remained on scene to assist with getting smoke out the building and water removal. The building was later able to be reoccupied.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Washington, MO – Sprinklers keep fire from spreading at cabinet manufacturer; No injuries reported

Union fire officials said a blaze in a paint booth at a local business Wednesday did not spread because of the sprinklers in the facility. Fire crews were dispatched to Shaw’s Cabinets, 6520 Meyer Drive, at 3:17 p.m. for the fire. Crews from Washington Fire Department also were called to the scene. Fire Chief Russ Hamilton said the fire was quickly knocked down.

 “The sprinkler head is designed to keep the fire from coming out of the booth, and that’s exactly what it did,” he said. “It kept it from coming out and nearly extinguished it.” There were no injuries in the fire, Hamilton added.

Food Processing, Manufacturing

Mountain Grove, MO – Fire sprinkler system saves small business from further fire damage

The Mountain Grove Fire Dept. responded to a fire at 3-G Processing on the south side of the city. The fire was reported about 10 a.m. at the business on Industrial Park Drive. The company makes animal feed and products for biodiesel.

At first, firefighters didn’t think they were fighting a big fire, but were hampered when the fire moved to the ceilings and interior walls of the building. Mountain Grove’s fire chief says the company’s sprinkler system may have saved the building. Nobody was hurt.

By noon, fire crews were cleaning up and leaving the scene. Last October, another fire damaged a building at nearby Grisham Farms, which is a sister company to 3-G.

Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

St. Joseph, MO – Kitchen grease fire in university residence hall controlled by sprinkler system

A small grease fire in Scanlon Hall at Missouri Western State University caused an evacuation of all Scanlon residents on Tuesday, Nov. 18.  Jacob Teasley, second year resident assistant in Scanlon Hall, was involved with the event.

“There was a grease fire in the kitchen of the first floor guys’ wing,” Teasley said. “The students put water on it to put it out and it got worse.” Teasley believed there were two students directly involved in the fire.  He said that no one was hurt.

Mallory Murray, director of public relations and marketing, sent an email to all Western employees regarding the fire. “There was no structural damage, however, students were disrupted between 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. and it may have impacted attendance in class for those that live in this hall,” Murray said in the email.  According to Teasley, the sprinkler was going off in the kitchen where the fire occurred only, not in the rest of the hall.

Food Processing, Manufacturing

Columbia, MO – Sprinkler system saves Quaker Oats facility

Officials are investigating a fire at the PepsiCo Quaker Oats facility in Columbia Wednesday morning. Several employees called 911 around 6:25 a.m. to report a fire in a rice cake processing machine. They attempted to put the fire out with handheld extinguishers before evacuating the building. Shortly thereafter, the building’s automatic sprinkler system extinguished the fire.  According to Columbia Fire Battalion Chief John Metz, without the sprinkler system, the fire would’ve been “devastating”.

Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic

Sprinkler system prevents major damage at vision center (Washington, MO)

A sprinkler system prevented extensive damage following a Sunday evening fire. Washington Fire Crews responded to a fire alarm at Advanced Sight Center in the office building at 1351 Jefferson just after 7 p.m. Sunday evening. Assistant Fire Chief Mark Skornia said the fire could have been a lot worse had the sprinkler system not worked to perfection. Skornia said when crews arrived on the scene they noticed heavy smoke inside the building. Crews made entry and saw fire in the ceiling.

Fortunately for the fire crews, the sprinkler system had knocked down much of the fire. Skornia said the fire was smoldering and Washington crews were able to quickly extinguish the problem. Crews then shut down the sprinkler system to prevent further water damage. Once everything was under control, Franklin County Arson Investigator Jim Schuhmacher investigated the situation. Skornia said Schuhmacher found nothing suspicious about the fire. Skornia said it’s believed the fire started in the wiring of a fan. The fan was in an equipment closest, malfunctioned, and caught fire. There were no injuries reported.