Apartment Building, Residential Kalamazoo, MI – Apartment fire prevented from spreading by automatic sprinkler system; No injuries reported April 5, 2019 viking210 The Kalamazoo Fire Marshall is investigating the cause of an apartment blaze on the city’s Northside. Public Safety officers responded to the fire at the Douglas Apartments in the 1200 block of Douglas Avenue around 8:00 a.m. Tuesday and found heavy smoke coming from the second floor. Firefighters contained the blaze to just one apartment unit, but there was minor water damage to surrounding units. No one was located inside the specific unit and they’re unsure what sparked the fire. The Red Cross is helping two residents who were displaced due to the blaze. Nobody was reported injured and firefighters say the operational sprinkler system prevented the fire from spreading throughout the building.
College/University (on campus), School / University Saginaw, MI – Fire at university extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported April 4, 2019 viking210 A fire in a Saginaw Valley State University Building Sunday, March 31 caused damage. Officials say the fire began around 7:00 a.m. in a smart podium in room 215 of Brown Hall. The fire was quickly put out by the sprinkler system, but the water from the system caused damage to both the first and second floors of the building. Both floors are currently inaccessible until further notice. The third floor was unaffected. No injuries were reported. Fire departments from Kochville and Carrollton Townships and Zilwaukee responded to the scene.
Other - Residential, Residential Port Angeles, WA – Sprinkler system kept arson fire under control in multi-family home April 3, 2019 viking210 Port Angeles police officers have arrested a woman for investigation of felony arson in the fourplex fire at Serenity House of Clallam County’s Evergreen Family Village that left three families homeless. The blaze was reported at 9:10 a.m. Friday and was declared under control at 9:28 a.m. No one was home at the time and no one was injured, according to authorities. Denise K. Kovacevic, 40, was in custody at the Clallam County jail with no bail set Saturday. Her first appearance in Superior Court is set for 1 p.m. Monday. Officers were seeking Kovacevic after she was seen leaving the apartment building at 2203 W. 18th St., just prior to the blaze, said Cpl. Sky Sexton. Also, Sexton said, the location where the fire started — in the living room of one of the units — “isn’t generally where an accidental fire would be set.” She was found at a family member’s home at about noon Friday, according to the initial police report, Sexton said. During an interview with a detective, “she admitted setting the fire, but gave off a lot of indications of mental health issues,” which officers hope will be explored during the process, Sexton said. Capt. Terry Reid of the Port Angeles Fire Department said Friday that the extent of damage was unknown. Reid said a sprinkler system activated immediately after the fire started. “It was really under control by the time we got there,” he said. Reid said an administrator at Serenity House was coordinating efforts to rehouse the three families who were displaced by the fire. The administrator was not available for comment Friday.
Government/Military, Prison / Jail Saginaw, MI – Sprinkler system activated for dryer fire at county jail April 2, 2019 viking210 All inmates have returned to the Saginaw County Jail after some displaced following a fire in a commercial dryer. The fire happened on Friday, March 29 at around 8:30 a.m. Saginaw County Sheriff Bill Federspiel said that the fire was caused by a clogged vent in a commercial dryer located in the jail’s basement. Federspiel said around 100-150 people, a mix of workers and inmates, had to move to higher levels of the jail. “In the process we had to evacuate the women’s dorm, we had to evacuate some other prisoners to higher levels where there wasn’t any smoke,” said Federspiel. Five STARS buses were called to the scene and officials moved some non-violent inmates to another, undisclosed location, as part of their emergency plan. “Anytime you have people out of their cells it’s a dangerous situation for us. So, we just want to let the public know we’re making sure that the inmates and my staff are safe. But we’re also making sure the public is safe. So, we’ve had these plans in place for such an event and we’ve never had to use them, but now we’re putting it into action,” explained Federspiel. On Monday, April 1, officials confirmed that all inmates had been moved back to their regular housing. Saginaw County Undersheriff Mike Gomez also said that most operations have resumed as normal. The exception being laundry, which is being sent out. The Saginaw Fire Department said the sprinkler system helped contain the fire and it was put out quickly with help from foam extinguishers. “We’ve come for small trash can fires, toilet paper fires, but this is the first incident that, or major incident, that I’ve had at the jail. So, it’s a very rare event,” said Saginaw Fire Department Battalion Chief Tom Raines.
Retail, Shopping Mall Blasdell, NY – Fire in retail storage room at shopping mall is put out by sprinkler system April 1, 2019 viking210 The McKinley Mall will not open until noon Thursday due to a fire in the storage room in the New York & Co. store. No one was hurt in the fire, according to Town of Hamburg Emergency Services Manager Sean Crotty. New York & Co. will be closed indefinitely; other nearby stores were affected, Crotty said. The cause of the fire is under investigation. The call from mall security of smoke at New York & Co. came in at 8:24 a.m., Crotty said. He said crews located the fire in the storage room and “experienced heavy smoke conditions.“ Several fire companies responded to a fire in the New York & Co. store at the McKinley Mall. (Keith McShea/Buffalo News). Crotty said flames and “fire conditions” were extinguished by the sprinkler system. Crews were able to get everyone out of the mall safely, he said. “Initially we had some mallwalkers that were walking around and we had some challenge with getting them to evacuate the building,” he said, “but we did get everybody out of the mall safely.“
Residential, Single Family Home Redlands, CA – Home office fire contained by residential sprinkler system; No injuries reported March 21, 2019 viking210 A residential fire sprinkler did its job, activating moments after a fire began and likely saving a home from catastrophic damage and a family from potential injury or loss of life. Redlands Firefighters responded to reports of a structure fire in the 700 block of Creekside Drive shortly after 7 a.m. Thursday, March 14. Medic Engine 262 arrived to find all occupants of the home already evacuated and light smoke coming from the residence. The fire, which began in an office inside the residence, was contained to that room thanks to activation of the fire sprinkler. Firefighters assisted the homeowner in changing the sprinkler head to keep the system active and with salvage operations to limit the water damage. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Damage from the incident is estimated at approximately $80,000. The Redlands Fire Department would like to remind residents to check your smoke alarms regularly, and practice exit drills in the home with your family.
Apartment Building, Residential Sarnia, ON, Canada – Apartment fire quickly extinguished by sprinkler system March 18, 2019 viking210 Two separate high-rise apartment fires kept firefighters busy on Tuesday. Sarnia Fire and Rescue Services said just after 11 a.m., a stove caused a fire in a unit at 1285 Sandy Lane, while one person was at home. The fire was extinguished and the smoke was cleared from the unit. Firefighters responded to a second fire just before 4 p.,m. in an apartment building at 810 Trillium Park after a garbage dumpster caught fire. The blaze was quickly extinguished by the sprinkler system. Fire crews removed the garbage bin from the building and ventilated the smoke. No one was injured during either fire. Fire officials have not released the causes or damage estimates for the fires.
Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business Wayzata, MN – Sprinkler system limits spread of fire at country club March 18, 2019 viking210 Authorities were called to the Woodhill Country Club at about 7:52 a.m. last Tuesday, the Wayzata Fire Department said. Several other fire departments also responded to the scene. When crews arrived, smoke was seen coming from the backside of the building, the department said. Firefighters entered the basement of the club and found fire in the ceiling and inside the walls of the basement, with flames making their way to the second level. “It’s almost like all of the smoke would clear, and then 5 minutes later you could tell something was burning again because the smoke was pouring out of there,” Wayzata Fire Chief Kevin Klapprich said. The fire department said ceilings, walls and floors had to be removed to be able to extinguish the fire.Klapprich said thanks to a sprinkler system and firewall in the main clubhouse, that area did not see damage. He believes if there is any disruption to the country club, it will be minimal. “It’s nice that it didn’t burn to the ground, I’m thankful for that firewall,” Klapprich said. All units were cleared by 2 p.m. The department says two firefighters were treated at a hospital for minor injuries; they’ve since been released. No other injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Apartment Building, Residential Lyons, NY – Sprinkler system activated for mattress fire in apartment building March 13, 2019 viking210 A New York woman was arrested Sunday after she tried to kill a bed bug and set off her apartment building’s sprinkler system. Wayne County Sheriff’s deputies said Jacquline Lynch, 39, was in her apartment Sunday morning when she tried to kill a bed bug using a lighter. Lynch allegedly put a lighter on a mattress to kill a bug after her uncle had sprayed areas of the apartment with alcohol. The mattress caught fire, setting off the sprinkler system and damaging the inside of her apartment, as well as several others in the building. Lynch was arrested and charged with fourth-degree arson. She was issued an appearance ticket and released.
Other / Not Specified, Other Business Elkhart, IN – Fire in wood shop extinguished with help from sprinkler system; No injuries reported March 6, 2019 viking210 Elkhart fire investigators determined a fire at an area business on Saturday was accidental in nature. According to a press release, fire crews were called to the scene of a structure fire in Elkhart Saturday morning. Dispatch received the call at approximately 8 a.m. regarding a fire at 610 W. Crawford Street. Units upon arrival discovered a working fire alarm and the east end of the “L” shaped building covered in thick smoke. As firefighters made their way through the building they noticed a sprinkler head in the ‘wood shop area’ of the building had activated. A thermal imaging camera was used by firefighters which showed heat coming from the floor of the room. As firefighters approached the heated area, one firefighter exposed a burning fire in the crawl space below the floor. Fire crews extinguished the blaze at approximately 9:27 a.m. Officials say the fire had burned through joists in the floor for a period of time before the sprinkler had activated. No injuries were reported. A preliminary investigation revealed pieces of smoldering wood from a woodworking area had become lodged in the cracks of the wood floor allowing conditions which ignited joists in the floor.
