Tag Archives: Morning (7am-12pm)

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Whitman, MA – (no media coverage) Sprinkler system extinguishes garage fire caused by cigarette

Chief Timothy J. Grenno reports that the Whitman Fire Department
extinguished a fire inside a condominium garage Monday morning.

At approximately 11:10 a.m., Whitman firefighters were dispatched to 877 Auburnville Way, inside the Village at Auburnville community for residents age 55 and older.

Upon arrival firefighters located a fire inside of the garage with the sprinkler system suppressing the flames and keeping the fire from spreading rapidly throughout the building.

Firefighters quickly used a hose line to extinguish the fire and overhauled the area to ensure that the flames had not spread elsewhere.

A female resident, who is wheelchair bound, had been evacuated by her home health aide to the first floor porch and was then moved from the porch away from the home by bystanders and responding firefighters. The woman was uninjured but was evaluated by a Halifax Fire ambulance crew on scene as a precaution.

The fire and smoke caused approximately $50,000 in damage to the garage. The home itself had minimal smoke and odor damage.

The resident will be able to return to her home once the fire alarm and sprinkler system is repaired, which is expected to be done today.


The incident was the second fire that Whitman firefighters responded to recently in which a sprinkler system helped to prevent potentially devastating damage. On July 24, the department extinguished a fire at the Bostonian Loft Apartments, 7 Marble St.


“The unit where this fire occurred was one of four attached condos in same building,” Chief Grenno said. “If it weren’t for the sprinkler system suppressing the fire until we arrived, the fire could have spread far more quickly and done a lot more damage. This is the second fire we’ve had in less than a month where a sprinkler system helped to keep a fire at bay until firefighters could arrive on scene. Having a properly functioning and regularly maintained sprinkler system can and does save lives.”


The fire was caused by careless disposal of a cigarette into a trash barrel in the garage.

View full press release here

Other - Residential, Residential

Wilmington, NC – Third floor balcony fire controlled by fire sprinkler; No injuries reported

Fire officials believe “improperly discarded smoking material” is to blame for a fire that damaged a multi- family home Sunday.

Fire crews responded to the call Sunday at 11:46 a.m. at 1119 Matteo Drive, building three.

Assistant Chief of Operations Thomas Robinson says Wilmington and New Hanover Crews arrived to find a sprinkler controlled balcony fire on the third floor. Units left the scene of the fire by 1 p.m.

Investigators determined the cause was discarded “smoking material” in a flower pot. The home’s vinyl siding was damaged as well as some outdoor furnitues, but the damage was minor.

There were no injuries reported to the family or fire crews.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Vancouver, BC, Canada – Sprinkler system knocks down third floor hotel fire; No injuries reported

A fire forced the evacuation of a Downtown Eastside hotel Saturday morning.

The flames broke out in a suite on the third floor of the Astoria Hotel on East Hastings Street at Hawks Avenue sometime before 9:45 a.m.

“Crews responded to this address for alarm bells ringing,” said battalion chief Dan Nichols of Vancouver Fire Rescue Services. “When they investigated, they found that there was a small fire in one of the suites.”

The fire was contained entirely to possessions within the room and did not spread to the building itself, Nichols said.

“It was mostly knocked down by the sprinkler system, but crews had to do a little bit of overhaul and knock down some of the hotspots,” he said.

No one was injured in the fire. Nichols said some of the suites below the one where it was located may have water damage, but residents were fortunate the building had functioning sprinklers.

“The sprinkler system was running for a while, but it did its job,” he said. “They’re lucky. It’s a good thing. Sprinklers work.”

The Astoria is one of several single resident occupancy (SRO) hotels in the Downtown Eastside operated by the Sahota family.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Virginia Beach, VA – Hotel fire contained to single room thanks to sprinkler system

A fire in a room on the 11th floor of a Virginia Beach hotel caused extensive water damage on Sunday.

Fire crews were called to a fire at the Westin Hotel around 9:44 a.m., Battalion Chief William S. Skelaney said.

Crews discovered the fire in a housekeeping room on the hotel’s 11th floor.

The sprinkler system was activated, containing the fire to the room.

It did cause extensive water damage from the 11th floor to the lobby.

Fire crews worked with the building managers to get people back in the hotel, Skelaney said.

Investigators determined the cause of the fire is accidental. 

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Yuma, AZ – Sprinkler system suppresses mattress fire at hotel; Second sprinkler save in 36 hours in Yuma

On Thursday July 11, 2019, at 7:00 am a fire alarm was received from the San Carlos Hotel, 106 East 1st Street. Yuma Fire Department personnel arrived to find the building being evacuated and reports of smoke in the hallway of the 3rd floor. Firefighters found the smoke was coming from room 302 and that a mattress in that room had been on fire. A fire sprinkler head had activated and extinguished the fire. YFD personnel confirmed the fire was out and began the process of removing the smoke and water from the affected floor.

The adult male occupant of the room was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation and transported to Yuma Regional Medical Center for further evaluation. Another occupant of the building was evaluated for a fall that occurred during the evacuation but further treatment was not required. The American Red Cross assisted displaced building residents while firefighters and building management worked to ready affected apartments to be reoccupied.

The fire damage was limited to a mattress and a portable air conditioning unit in the room where the fire started. Additional apartments on the floor were affected by water flow. Residents from unaffected apartments were able to return right away but clean-up work was still being done to allow for all apartments to be reoccupied. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

This is the 2nd fire sprinkler save in the past 36 hours here in Yuma and the 3rd fire sprinkler save at the San Carlos Hotel since 2017.

Fire sprinkler systems can keep fires from spreading and can also extinguish them. Fire spreads quickly and can double in size every minute. Even small fires can cause significant damage to property and endanger those nearby. Contrary to many Hollywood portrayals, only sprinkler heads directly exposed to the heat activate, not those in the rest of the room, building, or complex. Sprinkler systems save lives and protect property.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Surfside Beach, SC – Strip mall fire brought under control by fire sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Emergency crews responded to a fire Monday morning at a strip mall in Surfside Beach.

A call came out for a fire at 1610 South Highway 17 Business at 6:39 a.m., according to an online post from Horry County Fire Rescue.

The fire was brought under control with the help of the building’s sprinkler system. The building was also worked for possible hot spots and ventilated during the overhaul process, the post states.

There were no reports of injuries.

The cause of the blaze was not immediately known.

Other Business, Recycling / Waste Facility

Coteau-du-Lac, QC, Canada – (No media coverage) Fire in recycling bay contained to bay by fire sprinkler system, saving building structure

On the morning of July 2nd 2019 a fire ignited in a recycling bay at CRI Environment Inc. located at 75 du Progrès in Côteau du Lac, Quebec and when the firefighters arrived at 9:00AM the fire was contained in the bay of origin by the activation of multiples sprinkler heads and was finally put out manually soon after. A total of 21 large orifice upright sprinklers fed by a dry pipe system activated and saved the building structure according to the staff.

Other Business, Recycling / Waste Facility

Onalaska, WI – Sprinkler system subdues fire that broke out inside shredder hopper; No injuries reported

Nobody was injured in a fire Monday at the Dynamic Lifecycle Innovations in rural Onalaska.

A fire broke out inside the shredder hopper about 8:30 a.m. at the company’s processing facility, N5550 Dynamic Way, according to a company spokesperson. The building was evacuated.

The company’s sprinkler system subdued the fire, and firefighters were able to contain it to the shredder hopper. There was no structural damage to the building. Firefighters from La Crosse, West Salem, the towns of Campbell and Farmington, and Brice Prairie first responders assisted at the scene.

The company, which has been in business since 2007, is an electronics recycler.

Apartment Building, Residential

Rochester, MN – Salvation Army apartment fire put out by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

A small fire at the Salvation Army Castleview Residence at 120 N. Broadway Avenue Tuesday morning forced residents to evacuate and created a mess, according to a firefighter on the scene.

Firefighters arrived on the scene at about 9:30 a.m. and found smoke and water on the fourth floor. They found the source of the smoke in a fourth-floor apartment where the sprinkler system extinguished a fire but flooded several neighboring units in the building.

Fire crews shut off the sprinkler, ventilated the fourth floor and spent about an hour on scene clearing water from the fourth floor.

The smoke and fire damage was limited to the fourth-floor apartment but the first through fourth floors sustained water damage.

No one was injured in the incident and no damage estimate was released.

Department Store, Retail

Bennington, VT – Fire at J.C. Penny maintained by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

 A suspected electrical fire at J.C. Penney on Saturday morning resulted in heavy smoke and water damage but no injuries, officials say.

Bennington Rural Fire Chief Joey Hayes confirmed his department received the call for the fire, which started at about 8:15 a.m. Saturday.

“It was a clothing rack that caught fire,” he said. Crews contained the fire within 10 minutes, and remained on scene for about another four hours. About 50 people responded.

Officials are “leaning towards” the fire being electrical, Hayes said.

Bennington Police Chief Paul Doucette confirmed there were no injuries in the fire.

Besides Bennington Rural, Hayes requested crews respond from the Bennington Fire Department and North Bennington Fire Department.

“This being the holiday weekend [and] not knowing who’s around,” he said.

When crews arrived, the fire was visible from the front of the store, he said.

“By the time we got into where the fire was, the sprinkler system went off,” Hayes said. Crews used only about 100 gallons of water to put out the fire.

“The sprinkler did its job maintaining it,” he said. “We had to use very minimum water.”

The building sustained heavy smoke and water damage, but “very light” fire damage, he said.

“The smoke was throughout the whole building,” he said. “They had water damage. The sprinkler system went off. They had to get all the water cleaned up and everything.”

Hayes said the store was closed Saturday and Sunday. The store manager said on Facebook Sunday that the store remained closed while cleanup was being completed.

The fire is no longer being investigated by the fire department, Hayes said. It is not considered suspicious.