Tag Archives: Morning (7am-12pm)

Manufacturing, Power / Energy Facility

Ames, IA – Sprinkler system activated at Resource Recovery plant

The Ames Fire Department responded to a fire on Friday morning at the Resource Recovery refuse derived fuel (RDF) bin, located at the corner of East Third Street and East Avenue.

An Ames electric services employee saw smoke and fire coming from the top of the bin and contacted emergency services. Fire crews arrived and extinguished the fire within the bin. Crews remained onsite on Friday to assist with clean up and to monitor hot spots. No injuries were reported.

While the cause of the fire hadn’t been determined Friday, it was reported by electric service employees that the fire was on top of the bin, meaning there was likely a hot material that was transferred to the RDF bin. Materials are transferred to the bin from items dropped off at Resource Recovery System, such as batteries, car tires, hazardous waste and other chemicals.

Paul Sandoval, Ames Deputy Fire Chief, said it does not appear the fire was caused by a mechanical issue.

Sprinkler systems within the bin were activated when the fire started. According to Ames Electrical Services Director Don Kom, the fire department was contacted for additional water and to completely soak the bin. At this time, known damage includes electrical components within the bin, according to Sandoval. Other possible damage is still being investigated.

“We’re now going back in and checking systems to see what’s working and not working. We are making sure that beyond the electrical system, the equipment — especially the augers — are functioning. It will just take us a little while to work through that process,” Kom said in a news release.

Electric services employees were assessing the damage on Friday.

Office Building, Other Business

Hyannis, MA – Sprinkler system controlled laptop fire at The Times offices

UPDATE 1:30 P.M. – The Times states that the fire started in a laptop computer, burned the edge of a desk and spread to a chair.  The chair fire released clouds of smoke before being extinguished.  [You may recall Fire Marshal Ostroskey speaking with us on “Lower Cape Today” about the smoke and toxic fumes that come from burning furniture in today’s homes.]

UPDATE 10:30 A.M. – The Times is reporting that a chair caught fire in the Display Advertising Department.  Firefighters reportedly removed the chair and vented smoke from the structure.

Firefighters were dispatched to the offices of the Cape Cod Times offices on Main Street in Hyannis around 8:30 Saturday morning.  

The initial response came after sprinkler activation sounded automatic alarms.  Upon their arrival, firefighters discovered smoke in the building.

No injuries have been reported and the sprinkler system appears to have controlled the fire.

No further information is available at this time.

Other - Residential, Residential

Montgomery, AL – 7th Floor structure fire contained by sprinkler system while fire crews arrived

No one was hurt as Montgomery Fire and Rescue units put out a Saturday morning fire.

The department posted on Facebook that a 7th floor structure fire at a room in the 300 block of Montgomery Street was started by food left unattended.

Responders said the sprinkler system held the fire in check but damage was still done.

The department reported considerable smoke and water damage as well as damage to the stove and cabinets.

Apartment Building, Residential

Juneau, AK – Sprinkler system contains apartment fire started by unattended cooking

A kitchen fire sent smoke and residents streaming out of the Mendenhall Tower Apartments on Thursday morning, Capital City Fire/Rescue officials said on the scene.  At 10:57 a.m. Thursday, Fire Marshal Dan Jager said, a call came in reporting that a fire had broken out in an apartment on the third floor of the apartments and that smoke was visible from the outside of the building. Jager said it was apartment 301, on the north side of the building.

Firefighters arrived and extinguished the fire, Assistant Chief Tod Chambers said on the scene. Three people were being evaluated for possible smoke inhalation, Chambers said, and he did not have an update on their condition as of noon Thursday.  Jager said the fire appears to have begun on the kitchen stove, and that something had been left cooking on the stove. Both Jager and Chambers said it was unclear whether the resident of the apartment was home at the time.

“The fire was on the stovetop itself,” Jager said. “From there it went up to the cabinets and spread out through the kitchen area. The heat traveled across the ceiling over to the sprinkler head by the apartment door, and that’s actually what went off.”

Jager advised people to stay near their cooking food, whether it’s on the stove or in the microwave. Chambers said responders also went up to the 11th floor of the apartment building in response to an oven that had been left on.  The sprinkler kept the fire at bay until firefighters got there, Jager said, but there was still a little bit of fire in the apartment when they arrived because the sprinkler doesn’t reach all the way to the stove. Sprinklers all over the floor started spraying, Jager said, and he indicated that there was standing water on the floor just before residents were allowed back into the building at noon.

False alarms happen from time to time at the apartment complex, Jager said, so he was happy to see that most of the people who were home at their apartments Thursday took the alarm seriously and left the building.

“They followed the directions of the alarm,” Jager said, “and that made our job a whole lot easier so we can focus on the fire itself and not having to evacuate people or people getting hurt in the process.”

CCFR responders also responded to four medical calls during the response to the fire, according to a post on CCFR’s Facebook page. There were two calls downtown, one call in midtown and one in the Mendenhall Valley, according to the post.

College/University (on campus), School / University

Columbia, SC – Electrical fire at Coliseum extinguished by sprinkler system

The University of South Carolina’s Carolina Coliseum was damaged in a fire Thursday morning.

Firefighters responded to an alarm at around 10:15 a.m. after a construction worker cut through a live wire he believed was turned off, causing electricity to arc and start a small fire, said Columbia Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins.

Nobody, including the worker who cut through the live wire, was injured, and by the time firefighters responded, the building’s sprinkler system had extinguished the fire, Jenkins said.

Jenkins called the fire “very minimal.” 

A commercial-size dryer at the 12,000-seat arena — which predominantly serves as a practice facility for the university’s basketball teams and houses the College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management — was damaged, Jenkins said.

Though the building had smoke in it when firefighters arrived, the smoke did not cause damage to the building. It did, however, receive minor water damage from the sprinklers being activated.

Before Colonial Life Arena opened in 2002, basketball games and big concerts had been held at Carolina Coliseum since 1968. USC committed to renovating the building in 2017.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Coronado, CA – Supermarket fire contained with help from sprinkler system

A smoky basement fire prompted the evacuation of a supermarket near Naval Air Station North Island Wednesday. Witnesses reported hearing an explosion, likely from an overloaded transformer, in an alley behind the Vons store in the 800 block of Orange Avenue in Coronado about 8:15 a.m., city spokeswoman Janine Zuniga said.

The building then began to fill with smoke, and its fire-sprinkler system activated. Emergency crews and store employees cleared everyone out of the building while firefighters extinguished the blaze, which caused no injuries.  San Diego Gas & Electric personnel turned off the power supply to the building and were investigating the mishap. “Right now, we aren’t sure if the transformer or (a) refrigeration unit caused the fire,” Coronado Fire Chief Jim Lydon said in the late morning.

The store was expected to remain indefinitely closed due to heavy smoke and water damage, and lack of electrical service. County health officials will assess the site before it is allowed to reopen to the public, Lydon said.

Other - Manufacturing, Recycling / Waste Facility

Fountain Inn, SC – Sprinkler systems keep fire outside plastics business from spreading into structures

Dispatchers said the fire was reported at Ameri-Pak at 477 S. Woods Drive before noon last Tuesday.   The fire burned an area between buildings, but the side of several buildings was singed.

Fire Chief Ronnie Myers said the fire burned mostly outside where the business takes in scrap plastics.  The fire was out within a few hours, but crews were still monitoring hot spots late Tuesday afternoon.  Officials said the sprinkler system went off in both buildings, which helped to contain most of the fire outside.  Several fire departments including Oconee, Pickens, Anderson, Greenville, Spartanburg and Laurens assisted, Myers said.

“Once you get plastic burning, it’s very hot. It gets so hot, you can’t put it out with just water. You have to put foam on it to smother the fire. It was a very intense fire,” Fire Chief Ronnie Myers said.  Ameri-Pak is a packaging company. Its website says that the company services manufacturers including 3M, Sealed Air, Tape Logic, Rubbermaid and Ivex.

Other Business, Recycling / Waste Facility

Springfield, OR – Fire at recycling facility contained by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Employees evacuated as sprinklers and firefighters extinguished a fire in the recycling facility at International Paper in Springfield on Tuesday morning.

Fire crews responded to the 48th Street facility at 7:48 a.m.

“Crews arrived to find all employees safely evacuated outside and the building filled with smoke. Employees reported fire in a pile of general recyclable materials. The building is protected by an automatic fire sprinkler system. The sprinkler system activated keeping the fire in check until fire crews arrived to complete extinguishment and over haul.”

A Eugene-Springfield Fire Department official said firefighters initially sounded a second-alarm fire and that all available crews headed to the scene.

Officials say it appeared a second alarm was called because of a large amount of smoke in the recycling portion of the plant.

Quick response by fire crews, along with the sprinkler system in place, took care of the fire before it had a chance to grow, according to the fire department.

No injuries were reported and workers will be allowed to return before the day is over.

The cause has been deemed accidental.

Place of Worship

Federal Way, WA – Church fire cause by cigarette discarded in mulch controlled by sprinkler system

A Tuesday morning fire at Brooklake Church caused an estimated $150,000 worth of damage to the exterior of the building.  South King Fire & Rescue Captain Jeff Bellinghausen said there was no damage to the inside of the building, 629 S. 356th St.  The fire was most likely caused by a cigarette butt left on the bark outside the church, Bellinghausen said. The fire was determined to be accidental, he said.  The awning over the entrance to the church caught fire, and the sprinkler system was able to keep the fire contained until the firefighters could get there, Bellinghausen said.  The carpet inside may need to be replaced from possible smoke damage, and repairs are needed in the entrance area, but there was no severe fire damage inside, Bellinghausen said. The church is still in operation.

Apartment Building, Residential

Yakima, WA – Apartment fire caused by improperly disposed cigarette contained by sprinkler

Yakima firefighters say a fire sprinkler kept flames on a third-floor deck from spreading to the rest of an eastside apartment building. The fire at the East Beech Apartments, 1402 E. Beech St., was reported at 8:50 a.m. when smoke was seen coming from the third floor.  Someone on the deck placed a cigarette in a cardboard box believing it was out, said fire Capt. Jeff Pfaff. The burning cigarette caught the box on fire, which activated an automatic sprinkler system.  “The saving factor was the fire sprinkler,” Pfaff said.  Damage was estimated at $2,500, including a patio door that shattered when the sprinkler water hit the heated glass, Pfaff said.  Officials are calling the fire accidental.