Tag Archives: Morning (7am-12pm)

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Irondale, AL – Sprinkler system helps limit hotel fire to one room

Fire crews are on the scene at the Hampton Inn off Grants Mill Road in Irondale.

Irondale and Birmingham Fire Department responded. According to officials, the fire was contained to one room. After the blaze began, the sprinkler system kicked in and helped limit the fire from spreading.

At this time, everyone is still outside of the hotel. The fire is under control now.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Riverside, CA – Arson fire at shopping mall extinguished by sprinkler system

A homeless man was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of starting a small fire at the Galleria at Tyler in Riverside.  The fire was reported about 8:45 a.m. in a part of the mall that is under construction. Riverside Fire Investigations Supervisor Ray Mendoza said the fire was extinguished by the mall’s sprinkler system, but part of the mall was still evacuated as a precautionary measure.

The fire alarm closest to the fire was in test mode, which caused a delayed response from city firefighters. Mendoza said it’s common for fire alarms to be in test mode in buildings under construction.
When firefighters did arrive at 1299 Galleria at Tyler to investigate the extinguished fire, which caused about $5,000 in damage, they determined it was intentionally ignited.  Mall security told firefighters they knew where the suspect, 28-year-old Brian Haugh, was at the time.  Hough was arrested on suspicion of arson and taken to the Robert Presley Detention Center, where bail is set at $35,000.

Adult Care/Rehab Center, Hospital/Care Facility

Orange, VA – Suspected arson fire during renovation of homeless shelter controlled by sprinkler system

The Orange fire marshal is investigating a suspected arson at the former President Madison Inn on Caroline Street. Right now the Paul Stefan Foundation is in the process of renovating the building into a regional home for pregnant homeless women.

Foundation president and co-founder Randy James got a call from town authorities around 7:30 Monday morning telling him water was coming out of the building. By the time he arrived, the first floor was flooded due to the sprinkler system being set off by flames.

Investigators say they suspect the fire was set to one of the rooms in the back. No one was inside the building at the time “The sprinkler system worked and that’s a blessing because we’ve remodeled the upstairs, put $200,000 into the third floor. So, no water went off on the third floor, and didn’t damage the work that was already done, so that was a blessing,” James said.

James estimates the damage to cost about $60,000 to $70,000. This is an ongoing investigation but the Sheriff’s Office says foul play is suspected. Anyone with information is asked to call the Orange County Sheriff’s Office at 540-672-1200.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Hampton Beach, NH – Sprinkler system helps firefighters control fire at restaurant in historic building

Firefighters battled a fire Wednesday morning at the Purple Urchin Seaside Cafe at Hampton Beach.  The Purple Urchin is located on the second floor of 169 Ocean Blvd.

The fire started just before 8 a.m. and took crews an hour to put out. The fire went to three alarms in the iconic building that has been a part of Hampton Beach since the early 1900s.

In February 2010, a fire destroyed an entire block in Hampton Beach, and Fire Chief Jameson Ayotte said that fire was in their minds as they responded to the fire. Ayotte was the first person to spot the fire at the Purple Urchin.

“I was driving into work and saw smoke coming from the building,” Ayotte said. “The smoke was coming from the roof just over the Purple Urchin.”

Firefighters initially battled the fire from the front stairs. Authorities said sprinklers and the fire alarm system activated during the fire.  Firefighters from 16 New Hampshire and Massachusetts towns joined in the fight.  Ayotte said it appeared to have started on the second floor, but it didn’t stay there.

“The fire was in the roof structure and started to run along the underside of the roof, so you can see they’re placing cuts in the roof and going after it under the shingles,” he said.

The chief said the building was built in 1901, so firefighters had to deal with seasoned wood. But the building had a sprinkler system, which helped them get the fire under control.

Donnie Miller, who owns a few businesses in the building, said that his reaction was immediate.  “Panic, immediately,” he said. “You panic, and your mind thinks the worst, obviously. Your heart drops in your stomach, and you want to see what’s happening.”

Eventually, he was able to get a look inside. “What I could see from where we’re at, it’s just smoke damage, not any water damage,” he said.

Several adjacent businesses were damaged by water and smoke. Firefighters said the building was unoccupied at the time, as most of the seasonal businesses were closed for the winter season.

Three firefighters suffered minor injuries and were treated and released. They are all expected to make a full recovery. Hampton fire officials, the state Fire Marshal’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco of Firearms investigated the cause of the fire.

Officials said the cause was a beverage cooler, which had a power cord that short-circuited.

Other - Storage / Warehouse, Other Business

Fargo, ND – Sprinkler system helps limit damage in fire at beverage wholesale business; No injuries reported

No one was injured Wednesday morning, Oct. 12, in a fire that was reported about 10:15 a.m. at Beverage Wholesalers, 701 4th Ave. N.  Employees at the business said the fire started in materials surrounding a loading dock door after some work had been done on the door.

The workers said everyone got out safely and no one was injured.  A Fargo Fire Department report on the incident said when crews arrived they found a fire that was being contained by a single fire sprinkler.

The fire was burning on and in a wall separating the loading dock area from the warehouse. Thanks to the sprinkler system and fire walls and doors that functioned as they should, fire damage was limited to a small area in the loading dock area and smoke damage was limited, the report said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.  The Fire Department estimated damage from the fire and smoke at $10,000.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Dillingham, AK – Arson fire at grocery market knocked down by sprinkler system

An automatic sprinkler system kept early morning fires set inside the N&N Market down, but not out, and the Dillingham Volunteer Fire Department was called to the scene before 8:00 a.m.

“When we made entry, the building was full of smoke, pretty heavy smoke,” said Assistant Fire Chief Malcolm Wright. “There were fires in several different places, and they’d been knocked down by the sprinkler system. The sprinklers did their job, but there was still a lot of smoke, and [we] had to overhaul the materials that had burned.”

Wright said there appeared to be two spots fires were started in the store. One was back in the clothing section near the footwear, and another was where bulk paper towels are sold on an aisle end cap, next to the produce section and the freezers. Those were areas firefighters focused on pulling apart materials to stamp out the fire.

Wright, a veteran firefighter, had no doubt the fires had been set intentionally. “Yeah, there is no way I could waffle on that. But I want to leave it to police to say more when they’re ready,” he said.

As to the extent of the damage, Wright said it was “pretty heavy” inside, but credited the sprinklers with preventing the fire from spreading further. “There was a bunch of stuff [damaged] on the shelves, some shelving, some lights, but probably much more water damage I would think. Took us a while to get the sprinklers turned back off,” he said.

Two Dillingham police officers were inside collecting evidence immediately after the firefighters cleared the building. Chief Dan Pasquariello could not be reached for comment Sunday morning.

A witness at the scene, who asked not to be named, told police that noises were heard and the power was out at N&N around 3:30 a.m., and not long after a vehicle sped quickly from behind the store and drove a ways down the road before turning its lights on. Other store employees at the scene said the perpetrator or perpetrators had broken a window in the rear of the building to gain entrance.

No injuries were reported. The N&N Market was closed for business Sunday.

There are city cameras around the port entrance, and in the past N&N Market has operated cameras in the store which have helped lead to the arrest of other burglars. So far Dillingham Police have not said what evidence was collected, what if anything was stolen, or if they are looking for any suspects.

The volunteer crash rescue squad also responded to a vehicle accident north on Lake Road earlier in the morning, and the fire department was pulled away from the scene of the N&N fire after a report of a fire in HUD housing was called in. That turned out to be a false alarm; smoke from fireworks shot into the woodline to scare off a bear had been mistaken for a fire.

Update, 12:45 p.m.: Dillingham Police Chief Dan Pasquariello issued a press release, confirming an arson and burglary investigation is underway, though no suspects have been named. “Investigation revealed that person(s) had broken into the building, stole numerous items from the store, and deliberately set the store on fire,” he wrote.

Pasquariello said the ATM had been targeted, but did not want to comment on other items stolen. He did not say how many people had been involved, or if the Department has suspects in mind. The chief said the police are in the early stages of their investigation, and has asked anyone with information regarding burglary and arson at N&N early Sunday morning to contact DPD at 842-5354.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Jackson, NJ – Sprinkler system activates in fire at senior assisted living complex; No injuries reported

A fire Sunday morning at the Bella Terra assisted living complex at 2 Kathleen Drive resulted in approximately 100 people being evacuated to Jackson Liberty High School, Jackson Township Chief of Police Matthew Kunz said.

Mayor Michael Reina said the fire broke out in the D-wing of the facility and resulted in the evacuation of 44 rooms. More than 30 people living in that wing were taken to Jackson Liberty High School for temporary shelter.

“The only thing I know is that the fire was in the attic area above the third floor. It might have been initiated in a heating, air conditioning unit and spread out into the attic area,” Kunz said late Sunday morning at Jackson Liberty as the evacuees were being transported into the high school. “The sprinkler systems were activated, as a result of the heat and the fire causing extensive water damage on that side of the building.”

Both Kunz and Ocean County Sheriff Mike Mastronardy said the high school was being used as a temporary staging area for the evacuees.

Kunz said: “There were no injuries, but because of the fire and water damage, there had to be an evacuation of the building so the building department and inspections could get in and take an assessment as to what was damaged or if it (Bella Terra) could be rehabitated. That’s going to be an all-day process.”

Denise Olejarz, Deputy Coordinator for the Jackson Office of Emergency Management, said early Sunday afternoon that some of the evacuees had either gone home with family members or been transported back to Bella Terra. Olejarz said not all the rooms at Bella Terra are habitable.

Reina said the D-wing had roof damaged and would remain closed until further notice. Bella Terra had enough open units to relocate the D-wing’s residents, he said.

Ethel Levine, 89, resident of Bella Terra for 13 years, said the fire alarm at the complex went off at about 7 a.m. She said members of the Jackson Township Fire Department arrived at about 7:30 a.m., knocking on the doors of the residents and telling everyone to move into the lobby area.

“Then they told us, which of us had to be evacuated,” Levine said. Levine, who lives on the second floor of the complex, said said she remained calm.

“I’ve been through a bomb scare when I worked at the post office so this didn’t bother me,” Levine said.

John Dittman, 60, a resident at Bella Terra for eight years, also said everyone remained calm before they were transported to Jackson Liberty.

“The only pain was being inconvenienced. It wasn’t scary,” Dittman said.

Mastronardy said there were over a dozen ambulances on site and a bus from the Monmouth County EMS Task Force to assist in the evacuation process.

The fire occurred at about 7:20 a.m, and the Jackson Township Police Department and officers with stations 54 and 55 of the Jackson Township Fire Department responded to the alarm, Jackson Police Deparment Lt. John Decker said.

Fire departments from neighboring towns also came to help, Reina said.

“The evacuation, rescue went seamless and not a single injury,” he said. “I’m a very grateful mayor tonight.”

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Durango, CO – Sprinkler system helps knock down fire at historic bar

El Moro, a popular downtown bar and eatery, filled with smoke early Wednesday, activating the sprinkler system and closing the 900 block of Main Avenue. (BLOG NOTE: Smoke does not cause a sprinkler system such as this to activate.  Only the substantial heat from a fire will activate a sprinkler).

The fire was reported at 7:11 a.m. at 945 Main Ave. The fire had been mostly knocked down as of 8 a.m., said Karola Hanks, fire marshal with the Durango Fire Protection District.

El Moro was named one of the 12 historic bars to visit in Colorado by The Gazette.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Boca Raton, FL – Single sprinkler puts out garbage bin fire at warehouse; No injuries

A fire melted two garbage cans and caused some damage to a Boca Raton warehouse Thursday morning, a city fire official said.

Firefighters responded shortly before 11 a.m. to a fire alarm at 1181 South Rogers Circle, south of Clint Moore Road and east of Congress Avenue. Upon arrival, the firefighters found heavy black smoke in the warehouse area of a suite, Boca Raton Fire Rescue spokesman Bob Lemons said.

The firefighters entered and found two large plastic garbage cans that had melted. A single fire sprinkler had activated and extinguished the fire, Lemons said.

The fire damage was limited to the area where the garbage cans were located. Firefighters shut down the water to sprinkler system, opened the rear garage door and used several large fans to remove smoke from the business.

There were no injuries, Lemons said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Gurnee, IL – (NO MEDIA COVERAGE) Sprinkler puts out trash can fire in hotel room; Small dog found during search

*** NO MEDIA COVERAGE — FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORTED *** On September 25, 2016 at 9:57 a.m., Gurnee Fire Department responded to the Extended Stay Hotel for a True Alarm. Upon arrival, firefighters found that the building was evacuated.

The first engine went to the panel and noted a water-flow on the 3rd floor. Engine 1311 investigated and found water coming from room #302. Engine 1311 made entry and found a trash can fire that had been put out by the sprinkler in the room. A primary search revealed a small dog in the room.

Truck 1331 ventilated the room and Engine 1312 checked for extension and water damage. Rescue 1344 took the panel and had lobby control. Power was shut off to room #302. The sprinkler system was shut down and the hotel posted a fire watch. Hotel management will take care of clean-up and will contact alarm company.