Tag Archives: Morning (7am-12pm)

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Martinsville, VA – Sprinklers extinguish fire at ALCOA facility; No injuries and minimal impact to business

A small fire created heavy black smoke at Alcoa’s facility at 101 RTI Way, but the sprinkler system extinguished the fire, employees were evacuated from the building and no one was injured, according to Kenny Shumate, division chief of operations for Henry County Public Safety.  

He said the cause of the fire had not been determined and probably will be investigated by engineers. Something apparently caused hydraulic fluid to be released unto a huge press, he said. He did not have a damage estimate. The fire was reported shortly before 11:30 a.m., Shumate said. In all, 18 or 19 people from Henry County Public Safety, Martinsville Fire Department, Henry County Sheriff’s Department, Collinsville and Bassett fire departments, Henry County Public Service Authority and Appalachian Power responded.

A company spokesman said in an email: “We can confirm there was a fire at an Alcoa facility in Martinsville, VA on Tuesday. There were no injuries and the facility sprinkler system extinguished the fire. The impact to production is expected to be minimal, with no impact to customers.”

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Salisbury, MD – Residential fire caused by lightning strike extinguished with help from sprinkler system

The Office of the State Fire Marshal says they responded to reports of a home fire in Salisbury, Tuesday morning.  Around 9 AM, the owner of the home, located on Stream Valley Court, noticed fire damage, called it in, and the Salisbury Fire Department became the first responders.  The fire reportedly happened earlier in the morning, while the home was unoccupied, at which time the sprinkler system activated and extinguished most of the fire.

The damage was not discovered by the homeowner until they apparently returned to the home around 8:30 AM on Tuesday.  According to the report, it took 15 firefighters about five minutes to control the flames, which originated from the basement wall/ceiling assembly.  Officials say that the preliminary cause is thought to be accidental, with the fire resulting from a lightning strike.

Apartment Building, Residential

Cheyenne, WY – Apartment kitchen fire put out by sprinkler system; No injuries

A fire in a three story, multi-unit apartment complex in the 300 block of Montalto Drive Monday morning was short-lived because of an installed sprinkler system, said Chief Darrick Mittlestadt of Laramie County Fire District 1.

When firefighters arrived at the scene shortly after 8:40AM they noticed that the apartment complex was evacuated and water coming out of a first floor apartment. When firefighters went inside the apartment they found light smoke and a sprinkler head in the kitchen area activated. The fire was out when firefighters made their way into the kitchen.

According to investigators, an occupant of the apartment was cooking oil in a pan on the stove. The stove was unattended when the oil caught fire and started to burn the cabinet directly above the stove. The heat from the fire caused the sprinkler head in the kitchen to activate. The damage was limited to the kitchen area.

Firefighters said properly working smoke alarms and that the quick action of the sprinkler system limited the damage to the residence and prevented injury to the occupant.  Damage was estimated at $1,000.

LCFD #1 wants to remind everyone the importance of working smoke alarms and sprinkler systems. You should test your smoke alarms monthly and change the batteries twice a year, when you change your clocks. Smoke alarms should be replaced every 10 years.

Government Office, Government/Military

Media, PA – Sprinklers activate to help control car fire in courthouse’s underground parking garage

The county courthouse and government center was closed Tuesday morning after a car fire in a below-ground parking garage flooded the building with smoke.

“They tried to fight it with fire extinguishers, but it just got ahead of them,” said Delaware County Council Chairman Mario Civera. “The sprinklers went off and the fire department was called in.”

Civera said the fire broke out about 8:20 a.m. and was brought under control within 20 minutes. The car was in a corner of the B-level of the parking garage directly underneath the government center.

The building does not open to the public until 8:30 a.m., but Civera said some employees and cafeteria staff were already inside. Park Police attempted to use fire extinguishers and hoses before the sprinklers kicked in, he said.

“Everybody was evacuated, everybody came out safe,” Civera said.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known. Civera said there were about 75 or 100 cars already in the garage at the time the fire broke out and that employees would be able to retrieve their vehicles Tuesday morning.

Employees and citizens crowded the surrounding sidewalks Tuesday morning as they waited for word on the building. Civera made the call to close the buildings for the day at about 10 a.m., but said the building would re-open Wednesday.

“We want to make sure all the numbers are right, the carbon monoxide level is where it’s supposed to be, the sprinkler systems is intact, so it can accept the public and the employees (Wednesday),” he said. “We just want to make it’s a safe place for tomorrow for the residents and for the employees.”

Upper Darby Mayor Tom Miccozie, who also serves as the county’s director of risk management, said the county does a lot of planning and drills twice a year for just such an emergency. He praised the park police for employing extinguishers as they were trained to do and employees who “acted 100-percent the way they should.”

Micozzie said there was no need to open windows in the complex, which has carbon monoxide detectors installed.

“The fire company is checking now for carbon monoxide levels throughout the whole complex,” he said. “Cleanup companies are already on scene, they’ll do their work with some aromatic sprays, make sure that all our buildings are safe and then we’ll reopen tomorrow morning.

Responding crews included Media, Rose Tree, Springfield, Aston and emergency medical services. Eddystone also lent a hovercraft to the effort, which was backed up to the garage exit with its fan active in an attempt to clear out smoke. Civera praised the first responders for their quick and professional response to the alarm.

“They were here right on the money,” he said. “Thank God nobody got hurt.”

This is a breaking story, return for more updates later in the day.

Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic

Orlando, FL – Sprinklers activate to help stop fire at Lake Nona VA Medical Center; No injuries

A fire struck the fourth floor of a domiciliary at the Orlando Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Lake Nona Wednesday, according to the Orlando Fire Department, and residents are likely to be moved from the center to another yet-to-be opened facility at Lake Baldwin.

Just before 11:30 a.m., firefighters responded to a two-alarm fire at the residential facility at 13800 Veterans Way, according to the fire department. It is on the same campus as the newly opened VA hospital center, but is in a separate building.

Fire sprinkler alarms were activated in the fire that struck the patient intake processing area of the facility, VA medical center spokesman Mike Strickler and the OFD said.

Once firefighters arrived on the scene, they extinguished the flames by 11:40 a.m., according to the OFD. There were no injuries reported in the fire, Strickler said.

Office Building, Other Business

Chattanooga, TN – Office fire controlled by sprinkler system

Firefighters responded to a business fire around 7:21 Tuesday morning.  It happened at the Data Storage Center on Crutchfield Street.  Fire officials say an employee smelled smoke around a computer in an office. Crews say when they arrived  found a small fire.  Six fire trucks responded as s a part of protocol for a business fire.  Officials say the company’s sprinkler system activated containing fire to one room. Crews are cleaning excess water from the fire sprinkler system. There were no injuries. The cause is under investigation.

Apartment Building, Residential

Campbell River, BC, Canada – Storage locker fire at apartment building knocked down with help from sprinkler system

No injuries were reported, but there is smoke and water damage in a storage locker room and adjacent living units after a fire in a multi-unit apartment building in the 300 block of Dogwood St. on Tuesday.

“At 9:45 a.m., Campbell River fire crews responded to a report of alarms ringing and fire inside a multi-unit apartment building, and they arrived to find a smoke-filled hallway on the first floor with an active fire inside a storage locker room at the end of that hallway,” deputy fire chief Chris Vrabel said in a press release. “A water sprinkler suppression system had activated and prevented a much more serious situation, which enabled the entry crew to quickly knock down the remaining fire.”

The majority of residents were allowed back into the building by 11:30 a.m. The cause of the fire is still under investigation at this time.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Somers, CT – Sprinkler system limits spread of fire at senior housing complex

Five occupants were injured early Sunday morning as a result of a fire that broke out in a woman’s apartment at the Woodcrest Senior Housing complex at 75 Battle St., a fire official said.

The fire was contained to the living room of a second-floor apartment, Fire Chief John Roache said today. The elderly woman who lived in the apartment was rescued by firefighters and bystanders and taken to Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford, he said.

Another elderly woman from a different apartment suffered minor back injuries during the evacuation of the building and was transported to Johnson Memorial Hospital, Roache said.

Both women have been released from the hospital, he said. Three additional occupants suffered smoke inhalation but refused to be taken to the hospital and were treated at the scene, he said.

The Fire Department responded to an automatic fire alarm at the apartment complex just after 1 a.m. Sunday, Roache said. Firefighters extinguished the fire “in seconds” and the building’s sprinkler system was instrumental in keeping the situation from escalating, he said.

“Smoke detectors and automatic sprinklers stopped this from being much worse,” Roache said.

He said a lamp cord that ran along a couch in the living room of the apartment where the fire started appears to have caused the blaze. The cord had likely sustained damage over time due to being placed in the couch’s reclining section, Roache said. This damage appears to have caused a short, he added.

The tenant of the apartment where the fire started is currently staying with family members while her residence is repaired, Roache said. He did not have the names of those who were injured.

Residential, Residential High Rise

Chicago, IL – Kitchen fire in downtown residential high-rise smothered by sprinkler system

** FIRE DEPT REPORTED *** Chicago Fire Department – Fire in a High Rise – 30 S Jefferson St Chicago, IL

A minor kitchen fire was put out by a sprinkler system at 10:54 am. BC3 reports smoke conditions in a high-rise building and requests a fill out to a “Still in a High-Rise.” Aerial Tower 1 checking the East Stairwell Fire Attack Stairwell. T1 assigned west stairwell.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Las Vegas, NV – Sprinkler system helps extinguish fire caused by exploding fuel tank

An automatic sprinkler system extinguished a “flash fire” before it could spread last Friday morning at a warehouse near Valley View Boulevard and Desert Inn Road, according to Las Vegas Fire & Rescue. Two workers were wielding a 250-gallon diesel fuel tank when vapors ignited to cause the explosion at the shop in the 3000 block of Sirius Avenue.

The sprinkler system kicked in and the employees used fire extinguishers to quickly put out the blaze before firefighters arrived. There were no injuries. The building remained intact and damage was estimated at $1,500. The fire was deemed accidental.