Crews responded to a fire Thursday morning at The Palms Theatres & IMAX in Waukee.
Fire chief Clint Robinson told KCCI towels caught on fire in a mechanical room around 8 a.m. and triggered sprinklers at the complex, located at 200 NE Westgate Dr.
An employee on the scene said they don’t believe the fire caused any structural damage, but there is some smoke and water damage. They expected to reopen Thursday afternoon.
Around 8:00 a.m., firefighters were called to El Rosal Restaurant in the 3100 block of West
Noble Avenue for a fire alarm.
Once on scene, officials say crews made entry to the restaurant and discovered smoke inside.
Officials say the fire was found in the attic and was contained by the sprinkler system.
There was also a report of a person on the roof, but nobody was found.
No injuries were reported and officials say the cause of the fire is under investigation
According to officials with Murfreesboro Fire-Rescue, the sprinkler system worked perfectly, and it came on and put-out the fire.
Firefighters used fans to clear smoke from the building.
Crews were sent to Kingswood Place, a senior living facility near Bell Road and Parkview Place, where a small fire had broken out in a bedroom. Sprinkler systems were able to keep the majority of the fire at bay as firefighters arrived, according to Surprise Battalion Chief Larry Subervi, a spokesperson for the department.
About 25 residents were displaced during the fire, but after an hour all were able to return to the building. Four residents were not able to return to their rooms due to damages from the fire or the sprinkler system. They were relocated to different rooms at the facility.
A medical treatment center was set up for residents during the fire for heat-related complaints, but no residents were significantly injured, according to the department.
The cause of the fire was still under investigation.
Kingswood Place could not be reached for comment.
NFD said a kitchen fire started on the 27th floor of the 505 apartment complex. The sprinkler in the unit put the fire out, however, the water caused the unit to flood and created another electrical fire.
“A resident had placed a wicker basket on a stove that had burned, and their sprinkling system did activate so that fire was technically out upon arrival of our crews, but that water had begun to flow throughout that unit and the floor, because of the sprinkler activation,” Kendra Loney with NFD said.
Firefighters said the water poured into an electrical room and sparked another fire on the 24th floor.
“There were multiple fires that started throughout the building, and they had to be put out, the sprinkler system did what it was set to do, but water and electricity just don’t work,” Loney said.
NFD said 528 units were evacuated. the unit the fire started in is significantly damaged and several units have water damage.
“Honestly we thought it was like one of those drills,” said Eya Dufresne, a 505 resident. “I woke up to the fire department knocking on our door and saying you have to be evacuated. We had like what felt like minutes to be out.”
Dufresne and her boyfriend Chris Clark had to rush out of their 26th-floor apartment at 505 Church Street.
“We had 52 flights of stairs to go down and we had to bring our 40-pound dog down,” Clark said.
Even though Clark and Dufresne brought their dog down, they had one other worry.
“I’m a little nervous, we brought our dog down, but we left our cat,” Dufresne said.
While firefighters worked to make sure that some of the units were safe to re-enter, Dufresne prayed for her cat, Pluto.
“Things could come and go, but as long as Pluto is okay, we’ll be fine,” Dufresne said.
NFD said no one in the building was hurt. People living on floors 30 through 45 were able to go back inside, but those living on floors 3 through 29 were not let back inside and NFD said it could be a couple of days before they can return.
NFD added that floors 3 through 29 will remain without power and that the building remains on a fire watch.
Firefighters made their way up to the smoke filled apartment and began searching for the source of the fire and any remaining occupants. They quickly discovered that two of the building’s fire sprinklers had activated, one over a fire in the living room and one over a fire in a walk-in closet. Firefighters also observed evidence that the fire was intentionally set and immediately secured the area as the first of several fire investigators arrived on scene.
After insuring that the fire was out, firefighters shut down the fire sprinkler system and turned their attention to salvaging resident’s belongings on the floors below the fire. MCFMO Investigators spent several hours examining the scene and interviewing witnesses before placing the resident of the apartment, 28 yr old Jasmine Johnson, under arrest for setting the fires.
The investigation continues into the circumstances and motive behind the fire, but there is no further danger to the public at this time. MCFMO Investigators are currently booking Ms. Johnson into the Montgomery County Jail on 1st degree felony arson charges, where she will be held on a $250,000 bond.
MCFMO Inspection personnel worked with apartment management to insure that the building’s fire sprinkler system was restored to service and that the remaining residents would be protected once they are able to return to their apartments.
Montgomery County first enacted a County Fire Code in 2008 when Commissioner’s Court issued an order adopting the International Fire Code, a consensus safety standard that requires all new and remodeled apartment buildings be equipped with fire sprinkler and alarm systems.
Without these modern safety systems, a fire like this could easily have led to injuries and even deaths, as well as significant property damage. National fire sprinkler statistics reveal that approximately 90% of fires in sprinklered buildings are controlled by the first sprinkler head that activates.
The 911 dispatch call came in at 8:41 a.m. to the complex, located at 10670 14th AVE SW (map below).
Multiple crews were able to extinguish the flames and isolate the hallway sprinkler system.
At this time, there are no reports of injuries, but some residents will be temporarily displaced due to smoke, fire, and water damage. Red Cross was requested, and the King County Regional Housing Authority was on scene to coordinate assistance efforts for tenants.
A building fire was reported around 6:50 a.m. at the Renaissance on Paradise Road south of Desert Inn Road, Clark County Deputy Fire Chief Warren Whitney said in a statement.
The first arriving engine investigated and found the room where the fire alarm was activated. They found a “light ballast” that malfunctioned and caught fire.
A fire sprinkler nearby activated and put out the fire before the crews made it to the room, according to Whitney.
The fire did not spread to anything else and no injuries were reported. Damage has not yet been estimated.
According to Deputy Fire Chief Bill Bartos, firefighters responded to Deals & Discounts just after 9:50 a.m. Upon their arrival they found heavy smoke coming from the front of the store.
Handlines were used in conjunction with the building’s sprinkler system to bring the fire under control by 10:10 a.m.
Sprinklers extinguished a fire in an apartment complex on Saturday morning.
According to officials, on Saturday, July 8 at 11:22 a.m., Fargo Firefighters were dispatched to a report of fire alarms sounding in an apartment building at 4462 30th Ave S. When firefighters arrived, light smoke was observed in a first floor hallway.
Firefighters found water coming from under a doorway midway down the hallway.
When Fargo Firefighters opened the door, they were met by smoke banked down to the floor.
Officials say a search of the apartment found no one inside and a small bedroom fire that had activated a fire sprinkler; the sprinkler had fully extinguished the fire. The resident of the apartment was found outside on her first floor patio.
Fire and smoke damage to the bedroom and its contents was minor due to the sprinkler activation. Prior to the sprinkler being shut down by Fargo Firefighters, the water had migrated into several neighboring apartments.
A local water removal contractor was brought to the scene by property management. Tenants were allowed back into the adjoining apartments and will not be displaced.
The cause of the fire is under investigation and a preliminary damage estimate is not yet available.
