Tag Archives: Morning (7am-12pm)

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Elysburg, PA – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire at packaging manufacturer

An Elysburg business was saved Tuesday morning thanks to a sprinkler system that worked to perfection, according to Elysburg Fire Chief Dennis Kroh. Polar Tech, which manufactures packaging materials, ice packs and shipping containers, was the scene of a Tuesday morning fire that saw more than 75 firefighters and emergency responders from 10 fire departments covering three counties rush to the structure located along Route 487 at around 7:05 a.m., Kroh said.  The fire began in a storage area behind the plant but the sprinkler system kicked it “just like it was supposed to,” Kroh said. “I truly believe without the system in place the fire would have continued to spread and it would have been a total loss.”

“The sprinkler system worked exactly as it was supposed to and gave us time to get there and get inside.” Kroh said the fire was tricky because it started in an area where there were several items stored which made it hard for firefighters to locate the exact spot in which the spark occurred.  Soon after 7 a.m., at least 30 employees were evacuated and were not allowed back into the structure for several hours.  The fire lasted about 45 minutes and Kroh said the blaze was contained to one area and that nothing was damaged inside the production area.  Kroh was thankful for the efforts of the firefighters and said Mother Nature also played a part in avoiding a disaster.

Temperatures on Tuesday morning were near 50 degrees. “It’s always better when it is not so cold out,” Kroh said. “We got lucky with the weather and everyone did a great job.”  Polar Tech purchased part of the former Fleetwood complex in Ralpho Township in 2011.  Kroh said he was unable to determine a dollar amount in damage and has ruled the cause of the fire as undetermined at this time.  Fire crews from Elysburg, Shamokin, Stonington, Coal Township, Kulpmont Mount Carmel and Atlas in Northumberland County, Catawissa from Columbia County and Danville and Mahoning Township of Montour County all assisted at the scene.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Waterville, ME – Factory fire controlled with help from sprinkler system

An early morning fire at the Huhtamaki factory resulted in an evacuation and partial road closure Monday morning. No one was injured in the fire.  Waterville Fire Department Capt. Shawn Esler said they received the call around 7:30 a.m. on Monday for a large fire at the mill on College Avenue, where they responded with the assistance of the Fairfield Fire Department. Upon arrival, he said they discovered a large fire on the dryers requiring firefighters to deploy on the mill’s roof. Esler said two ladder trucks were committed to reach the roof line, and a crew of about 20 firefighters responded.

“The fire was contained to that area,” Esler said. “We had a very, very quick knockdown.” The cause of the fire at this time is unknown, Esler said. Crews were at the mill for about four hours, and Esler said most of that time was spent ensuring there was no extension of the fire to other portions of the mill.  Esler said several Huhtamaki employees were in the building at the time of the fire and were evacuated. A portion of College Avenue was shut down to allow the ladder trucks enough room to get firefighters onto the roof of the building. Esler said the Waterville Police Department assisted by directing traffic. Two papermaking machines were damaged by the fire, and Esler estimated the machines would be repaired by the end of the day Monday. The employees were back in the building before noon.

The fire department responds to a number of calls annually to Huhtamaki, but Esler said this one was a little larger than most they respond to because it involved firefighters going onto the roof. However, outside of the damage to the papermakers, Esler said there was no structural damage and no injuries to either employees or firefighters. He said the building’s sprinkler system activated, which also “significantly reduced the fire load.” Esler commended everyone’s knowledge of the mill and safety precautions, saying the firefighters did a good job quickly responding to the fire.  “The guys did a great job,” Esler said. “I can’t say enough about them.”  Representatives from Huhtamaki were not available Monday for comment.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Oakland, CA – Warehouse fire at leather company stopped by sprinkler system

A fire at a leather company warehouse in East Oakland Friday morning was almost extinguished when firefighters arrived on the scene, thanks to the building’s sprinkler system, authorities said. Some wooden pallets and debris were the only items burned in the blaze, the cause of which is under investigation.  Battalion Fire Chief Demond Simmons credited the sprinkler system for preventing further damage.  “It pretty much stopped the fire and made sure it did not spread,” he said.

The fire was reported about 7:52 a.m. Friday at a warehouse in the 800 block of 81st Avenue that is a storage and distribution center for California Leather Creations, officials said. The building is on a large piece of property that used to be the site of Mothers Cookies.  When firefighters arrived they had to force entry through a large metal door.  The items that had caught fire were mainly smoldering thanks to the building sprinkler system that had activated.  Firefighters made sure there were no flareups and called the fire under control at 8:14 a.m.  There were no injuries.  Simmons said a damage figure has not been determined.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential, Residential High Rise

Evanston, IL – Fire at senior residential high rise controlled by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Evanston fire crews responded to a report of a fire on the 9th floor of The Mather at 425 Davis St. shortly before noon.  Fire Division Chief Paul Polep says a resident of the retirement community had left a stove top burner on which ignited a basket of goods on the counter top.  Polep says the the sprinkler system in the apartment had brought the fire under control by the time fire fighters arrived.  Residents of the floor evacuated safely, Polep says, and there were no injuries reported.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Florence, WI – Boiler room fire at nursing home suppressed by sprinkler system

Emergency responders evacuated 45 residents of the Golden Living Center nursing home in Florence on Tuesday morning after a fire broke out in the boiler room, Florence County Chief Deputy David Gribble said.  No one was hurt, but the boiler room had smoke and water damage, Gribble said.

Midwest Alarm reported the fire to the Florence County Sheriff’s Office about 9:37 a.m. Florence firefighters found the sprinkler system suppressed the fire, which was contained to the boiler room. Residents were moved to the Florence Elementary School until a determination could be made on the damage to the boiler system and what repairs are needed, Gribble said.

The Florence Rescue Squad, Golden Living Center employees and volunteers, Florence County Health Office, Florence County Aging and Disability Resource Center, Florence County School District, Town of Florence, Pride Sports and Red Cross assisted deputies.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Lafayette, LA – Fire at Super 8 Motel caused by child playing with matches is put out by sprinkler system

At 9:57 a.m. Monday, Lafayette firefighters responded to the Super 8 Motel at 2224 NE Evangeline Thruway for a mattress fire in a room on the second floor. When firefighters arrived, the sprinkler system had activated and extinguished the fire. Moderate smoke was still in the hotel room. Firefighters used equipment to exhaust the smoke from the room and area adjacent. The water for the sprinkler system seeped down to the lower floor and caused water damage to lobby area underneath. No other rooms were affected.  Fire officials determined the fire was started by a 6-year-old who was playing with a lighter and ignited the mattress. No injuries were reported.  The fire was ruled an accident.

Apartment Building, Residential

Miami, OK – Sprinkler system assists firefighters in controlling apartment fire; No injuries

An early Sunday morning fire at the Miami Towers building managed by the Miami Housing Authority at 41 North Main in Miami could have been devastating. However, thanks to quick thinking and fast response, what could have been tragic ended with no injuries and only minor smoke and water damages.  Many residents were evacuated from the 75 unit, seven-story building as a precaution. The apartments in the building are leased to residents meeting HUD income limits with age requirements of 62 years of age and or with a disability.

“It was quickly averted,” Miami Housing Authority Executive Director Mark McDowell said. “It started in a mattress and after they found it the fire department removed it.” Some water damages did occur from efforts to douse the flames, but McDowell said the building maintenance crew would be able to make repairs.

“We have good maintenance men who will be able to repair the building. Water damage was very minimal and we’re still working on that. We had some dry wall damage and of course some ceiling damage below,” he said. “There were no injuries to speak of, really. Some residents may have coughed because of the smoke, but it was pretty much uneventful. It could have been a bad thing. We have all of our evacuation routes posted more than once on each floor. We go through evacuation routes at move in.”

Firefighters received a dispatch call to the Miami Towers at 7:02 a.m. regarding a fire on the seventh floor and arrived on scene at 7:05 a.m. Two units and two engines arrived and the firemen took the stairs and found smoke in the hallway of the sixth floor. According to the Miami Fire Department’s incident report, the fire started on the sixth floor in apartment 601 by an occupant who fell asleep while smoking, starting the fire.

“A sprinkler system was activated and we found a mattress on fire,” Miami Fire Captain James G. Turner wrote in the report.

Miami firefighters removed the mattress and took it downstairs, and opened several windows to ventilate the building. Firefighters placed a sprinkler wedge in the sprinkler discharge to stop the water flow to avoid and mitigate further damages.

“They put a wooden wedge to stop the water flow. Those things do put out a lot of water,” Miami Fire Chief Robert Wright said. “They were able to get there quick and able to stop it quick. It was a quick response from our guys at the station, and with the building being sprinkled, they did a great job. Also, Larry, the maintenance man up there, pulled the pull station to set off the alarm which rings straight to a monitoring company to 911 dispatch”

Patrons of Alene’s Restaurant just sitting down to eat also had to forego breakfast while the firefighters worked.

The building currently allows smoking inside residents’ apartments but new policies at state, federal and local levels may soon change to ban smoking to outside or designated areas for safety and health concerns.

“The resident wasn’t breaking any rules other than she probably shouldn’t have been smoking in bed,” McDowell said. “That’s just not something you should be doing.”

McDowell received several calls from the monitoring service notifying him of the fire alarm. The alarm system also sounded throughout the building and firefighters went apartment to apartment to offer assistance with evacuation, and residents warned each other, according to McDowell.

“Some slept through it,” he said. “There’s a loud alarm that goes off, so I’m hoping that maybe that will make a few of them aware if they need an additional type of alarm. I can’t go ask under ADA regulation. Some of the residents have buddies and will check on each other and go door to door.” Firefighters train specifically for such events, according to Wright.

“We lay out hose and practice in training. For a multi-story residential building with assisted living, those are one of the hardest responses to determine where it’s at and what it is, and they did a great job,” Wright said. “And it’s good that those types of buildings have to have sprinkler systems because that catches it in the incipient phase and it helps everybody.”

McDowell is very appreciative of the Miami firefighters and very grateful no one was injured.

“These firefighters are top notch,” he said. “The residents were out of their apartment for just as short as time as possible. Overall it was handled very well and I’m just glad no one was seriously hurt because it could have been disastrous.”

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Bellevue, WA – Sprinkler system credited with quickly stopping hotel fire

A fire broke out in a downtown hotel Wednesday morning, but the fire department is saying that the hotel’s sprinkler system put the fire out quickly.

In all, seven units responded to the fire, the department said, but the fire was out when they got there. Firefighters salvaged items from the room and found no one injured as a result of the fire.

“This shows the importance of a functioning suppression system in residential and commercial structures,” the department wrote on its Facebook page.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Ridgefield, CT – Kitchen fire at senior living facility extinguished with help from sprinkler system

The Ridgefield Fire Department responded to a chair fire at Ridgefield Crossings around 9 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 4. Fire Chief Kevin Tappe said that an elderly woman who lives in the facility was heating a towel in the microwave and it ignited. “The woman grabbed the towel out of the microwave and then tossed it across the room,” Chief Tappe said. “It landed by a chair with clothing on it and started the chair and clothes on fire.”

The facility’s manager used a fire extinguisher to put out the flames and the building’s sprinkler system finished the job, Tappe said. According to the chief, there was very little fire damage and some smoke and water damage. Chief Tappe said that the fire alarms and sprinkler system worked properly. Fire officials opened the windows and used fans to clear the smoke from the building, Tappe said. No one was injured.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Las Vegas, NV – Sprinklers assist firefighters in containing wood pallet fire at shopping mall

The smell of smoke may have alarmed some Boulevard Mall workers and shoppers early today. Turns out, it was a few wood pallets burning in one of the stores shortly before 9 a.m. Saturday, according to Clark County Assistant Fire Chief Larry Haydu. Ten units responded to the call at 8:57 a.m. and the first arriving engine found the small fire within three minutes and quickly extinguished it. Battalion 2 reported there was some smoke intrusion into approximately four stores and there was some water damage caused to the structure when the fire sprinkler system activated. There were no reported injuries, and the cause of the fire is under investigation.