Tag Archives: Morning (7am-12pm)

La Grange Park, IL – Fire in laser cutting area of manufacturing facility extinguished by single sprinkler

***Fire Department Release *** At 10:31 a.m. on Thursday morning, the La Grange Park Fire  Department was dispatched to an activated fire alarm at a manufacturing facility located at 1245 Barnsdale Rd. No call was received from the facility. Upon the fire department’s arrival at 10:37 a.m., the building’s fire alarm was sounding, the building was partially evacuated, and smoke was coming from overhead dock doors. Upon further investigation, it was noted that a fire had occurred in a laser cutting area. Employees in the area initially attempted to fight the fire with fire extinguishers, and then a single fire sprinkler operated and completely extinguished the fire. Firefighters checked for fire extension, cut electricity to the affected area, and shut down the fire sprinkler system. One employee who was in the area where the fire started and who helped to initially fight the fire, was treated by paramedics and transported to Adventist La Grange Hospital. The fire appears to have started when plastic being cut by a laser overheated, and plastic dust and hoses in the ventilation system ignited. The building and contents are valued at several million dollars, but damage at this time appears to be limited to $5,000.00. The employees should be commended for their initial actions, and the limited amount of damage to the overall business can be directly attributed to a properly operating fire sprinkler system,” according to Fire Chief Dean J. Maggos. Further damage to equipment in the immediate area is still being assessed. La Grange Firefighters assisted by La Grange Park Firefighters at the incident.

Fort Lauderdale, FL – Fifth floor hotel parking garage fire contained by sprinkler system

More than 100 guests were evacuated from a Fort Lauderdale hotel early Friday when a smoke and flames were seen in the parking garage, according to fire rescue officials.

A car caught fire about 7 a.m. on the fifth floor of the garage at the Conrad Fort Lauderdale Beach hotel, at 551 N. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd., fire officials said.

“The sprinkler system had activated and the fire was contained to that one vehicle,” said Battalion Chief Steve Gollan. “The hotel staff had already started to evacuate the building.

The evacuated guests waited on the sidewalk across the street on the beach while firefighters ventilated any lingering smoke from the hotel and the garage.

The smoke and water affected the fourth, fifth and sixth floors of the parking garage but people reported smelling smoke inside the hotel, he said.

“One of the biggest challenges we have is it’s basically a high-rise fire,” Gollan said. “We have to get all the gear and [firefighters] up there and it’s an enclosed parking garage so we had some difficulties getting all of the smoke out of the building.”

The evacuation lasted about 90 minutes but there were no reports of any injuries. The cause of the car fire is under investigation, he said.

Loveland, CO – Sprinkler system doused flames at a sushi restaurant

A fire struck the Sushi JOOA restaurant at 198 E. 29th St. on Tuesday night, although the sprinkler system doused the flames before they threatened adjacent businesses in the Palmer Gardens shopping center.

The Loveland Fire Rescue Authority was dispatched to the restaurant at 11:19 p.m. after being alerted by an automatic fire alarm, according to operations chief Greg Ward.

Loveland Fire’s first engine arrived on scene at 11:25 p.m.

The alarm was upgraded to a structure fire when firefighters saw smoke and sprinkler flow within the restaurant, he said.

Just after midnight, firefighters located the area of the extinguished fire in the space above the ceiling, Ward said Wednesday.

By Wednesday morning, crews had left Sushi JOOA, which will need clearance from the building and health departments before opening its doors to customers.

The Marine Corps Career Center adjacent to the restaurant suffered minor water damage, Ward said.

Dozens of businesses and offices in Palmer Gardens were unaffected and open for business, according to Loveland Fire Capt. Carie Dann, thanks to the single sprinkler head that contained the flames.

That sprinkler head activated when the air around it reached 160 degrees, she said.

“The whole building is going to be safe now,” Dann said. “People have jobs; the entire rest of the building remained open (Wednesday).”

Dann said even Sushi JOOA would be able to clean up and reopen “in a pretty rapid manner.”

That may not have been the case if the sprinkler system hadn’t been installed throughout the building when it was erected years ago.

“It could’ve been closed down for months,” Dann said. She said Loveland Fire encourages the owners of new buildings to install sprinkler systems for that very reason.

“A lot of times, people are hesitant to install sprinklers because they think there will be an accidental activation of the system,” she said, noting that accidental activation is extremely unlikely. “It’s not like in the movies, when every single sprinkler head goes off.”

Dann said Tuesday night’s fire was a good example of the value of sprinkler systems.

“You can always dry things out,” she said, “but you can’t unburn them.”

Norwalk, OH – Sprinkler system keeps large bakery fire controlled while fire crews arrive

A fire at New Horizons bakery caused about $55,000-worth of damage on the business.

The Norwalk Fire Department received a call reporting the bakery’s “large fire” at 8:01 a.m. Sunday. Firefighters saw “moderate smoke” coming from the building and its roof once they arrived and found the fire had started in the muffin line machine, a multi-million dollar machine, according to fire chief John Soisson.

According to firefighters’ estimations, New Horizons lost about $25,000 in property damages and another $30,000 in destroyed contents. 

“It looked like some of the muffins had caught fire then … one of the machines caught fire that makes their buns and muffins and then it extended into their exhaust system,” Soisson said. “It was an exhaust fire. Whenever you’re baking, you’re baking at high temperatures. That’s just a risk that comes with their business, I guess.” 

The report said the fire also extended outside the upper ventilation trunk and ignited the roof area assembly as well.

Firefighters used a ladder truck to put out the blaze and then checked to make sure there were no hot spots remaining.

It took the 16 firefighters in their five trucks about two hours to extinguish the fire. It could have been worse, though, the chief said, adding the business’ precautionary measures are what saved it. 

“New Horizons does a good job with their production and the sprinkler system worked as it was designed,” Soisson said. “Only four sprinkler heads came on and controlled the fire until we got there and were able to finish extinguishing the fire.

“My big point for this is that fire codes are important. New Horizons is a company that’s very good to work with and they have very good fire suppression system within there and that was able to keep the fire relatively small and contained until we got there and were able to get it extinguished. That’s why sprinklers in building are so important within the city.”

Soisson said he hopes other businesses will learn from the experience too.

“Nobody likes fire codes because it costs money to do that stuff, but this is the benefit,” he said. “Their system worked really well and damage was pretty minor because of that.”

New Horizons was able to keep production going and was fully operational later on Sunday. 

Las Vegas, NV – Kitchen fire at Hilton Grand Vacations on the Strip controlled with help from sprinkler system

A kitchen fire in one of the rooms at the Hilton Grand Vacations on Las Vegas Boulevard caused evacuations on three stories of the resort Saturday afternoon.  The fire began around 11:40 a.m. on the 16th floor. Firefighters with the Clark County Fire Department ordered evacuations on the 15th, 16th, and 17th floors. Guests had to stay in the lobby.  Firefighters knocked out the fire, and some guests were allowed to return to their rooms. Investigators are now assessing the water damage caused by the sprinkler system.  This is a developing story. Please check back later for updates.

Stroudsburg, PA – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire in public library’s bookmobile

A small fire temporarily closed the Eastern Monroe Public Library on Wednesday. No one was injured, according to a series of statements on the library’s Facebook page.

“The fire was contained to the bookmobile and there is no damage to the Hughes Library Building,” it said in an 11:30 a.m. revision to an earlier statement. “We need to recharge our sprinkler system before reopening and a crew is on the way to complete that work. We hope to reopen this afternoon.”

The bookmobile was parked inside the library garage when the fire began, according to the same statement. The building’s sprinkler system extinguished the flames before the fire could spread.

“Rest assured everyone is fine,” the library page posted in a response to comments. “No one was in the building at the time and there is no damage to the building.”

“Yes, we intend to open this afternoon once the sprinkler system is reset. Thank you for your support.”

The building had reopened by 2:16 p.m., according to a later post.

“The Hughes Library has reopened and we will be open until the regular closing time of 9 p.m. today,” it said. “Thanks to the Stroud Township Fire Department and the Harrel Sprinkler Company for helping us to reopen quickly.”

Allentown, PA – Apartment kitchen fire in city center building is knocked down by sprinkler system

A fire in center city Allentown Wednesday morning was quickly brought under control.  The call came in shortly after 9 a.m. for a fire in a third-floor apartment in the 600 block of Hamilton Street. Firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke on the building’s third floor, according to a crew on the scene.  The apartment’s sprinkler system knocked down the fire and contained the fire damage to the kitchen. The apartment sustained smoke, water and heat damage. A second-floor apartment and the first-floor commercial space also sustained some water damage.  No injuries were reported.

Standard, CA – Fire at sawmill quickly contained by sprinkler system

A heavy amount of fire resources were dispatched to the Sierra Pacific Industries Standard Mill on Camage Avenue at 7:34am Tuesday for a report of a fire.  The first responders found that a chair had caught on fire and it activated a sprinkler system. The fire was quickly contained before firefighters arrived and most all of the resources were immediately released from the incident. No additional information is available.

 

Bridgeport, CT – Apartment kitchen fire extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries

Ten people were displaced after a kitchen fire broke out in a unit of a Church Street apartment complex Sunday morning.  According to Bridgeport Assistant Fire Chief Michael Caldaroni, firefighters were dispatched to the Crescenet Crossings complex, 160 Church St., at 10:49 a.m. Sunday. Upon arriving, crews found that a kitchen fire had occurred in one of the apartments and was extinguished by the automatic sprinkler system.

“A salvage operation was conducted by fire crews to limit the amount of damage,” Caldaroni said in an email. “The electricity was disconnected to the apartments involved and this necessitated the relocation of seven adults and three children.”  The American Red Cross provided relocation services to those who needed relocation. The property management company called in maintenance employees and private contractors to make the necessary repairs. A fire investigator also responded to the scene to determine the cause of the fire. Nobody was injured.

According to a release from the Red Cross, the organization is also providing comfort kits containing personal care items such as toothbrushes, deodorant; shaving supplies and other items a resident might not have been able to gather in the rush to escape the fire. In addition, a recovery envelope containing information helpful to families recovering from a fire, including tips on cleanup; notification of important contacts; dealing with damaged items and more was provided.

Port Alberni, BC, Canada – Sprinkler system confines restaurant fire to one room

The Port Pub and CJ’s Place restaurant are closed indefinitely following a fire in a room above the pub on Saturday morning (July 7).

The Port Alberni and Cherry Creek fire departments responded to an alarm activation at the pub at around 8:30 a.m. “We found a fire had started in one of the rooms and the sprinkler had activated,” Port Alberni deputy fire chief Wes Patterson said. “Firefighters extinguished the fire.”

Patterson said there were no injuries in the fire, and it was caught early. “Fire and smoke damage was confined to one room, however with the water damage, power was shut off to the building,” he said.

“Thankfully the fire started in a sprinklered area of the building and the sprinkler minimized fire and smoke damage. It shows the importance of having a well-maintained sprinkler system.”

The fire happened in a room right above CJ’s Place and the kitchen. Manager CJ sat in the middle of her darkened restaurant late Saturday morning, tears filling her eyes as she looked around and thought about the damage. She opened her restaurant on May 1, taking over the former Port Sushi location and transforming it into a family restaurant.

“I’m devastated,” she said. “It’s my kitchen that got totally damaged; it’s all flooded.” Water was pooling in the area behind the front counter, down the hallway and in the kitchen. Water was dripping from the light fixtures in the storage room behind the kitchen.

CJ had come to the restaurant early to prepare an order for the Alberni Charity Golf Classic, taking place today at the Alberni Golf Course, but she wasn’t able to fulfill the order due to the water damage. She gave them a gift certificate instead.

“I’m sad because my staff aren’t working,” CJ said. She has four employees who work with her at the restaurant. “That’s my main thing. There’s going to be thousands and thousands of dollars of damage, I know.”

Patterson said the fire department is still investigating how the fire started. Fire restoration crews were in the pub by lunchtime, assessing damage.

CJ said she isn’t sure how long her restaurant or the pub will be closed, but said she will be ready to reopen as soon as she can.

“We’re going to rock this thing. I just want it open.”