A sprinkler system is credited with extinguishing a potentially serious unattended kitchen fire on Friday, May 20, Central Arizona Fire Division Chief Rick Chase said.
The fire started about 11 a.m., when fire crews were called to investigate an active sprinkler system in one unit of a two-story four-plex in the 4000 block of Viewpoint Drive. The residents were not home when the water began flowing but came home to find that it had turned on, Chase said.
“What (firefighters) found was a box on the stove that had a bunch of food, trash and stuff in it and it had caught fire,” Chase said. “The sprinkler put it out.”
Because the flames ignited when no one was home, he said, there was a possibility that a major fire could have resulted.
Home sprinkler systems are a good idea, he added, and they don’t work as some people believe.
“That’s kind of one of the myths that people have,” Chase said, “’I don’t want to flood my whole house,’ (but) only the sprinkler head where the heat activate it and pops that bulb is what activates. This head happened to be in the kitchen, closest to the stove, and was able to put it out.
“The moral was that it prevented the fire from spreading.”
Roofers inadvertently sparked a small fire inside the Feick Contractor Building just after 9:15 a.m. last Wednesday. Sandusky firefighters responded to Hancock and East Water streets, near Civista Bank’s downtown branch, where they saw white smoke billowing from an elevator shaft.
A ladder truck lifted several firefighters atop the structure’s roof, where they extinguished the fire. With help from an automated sprinkler system, activating before firefighters arrived, first responders quickly neutralized the situation.
“The fire started when (the roofers) were trying to attach some rubber flashing around the roof so it would adhere to glue,” Sandusky fire Chief Dave Degnan said. “We’re investigating it right now, but we’re leaning toward roofers just heating up the wood and starting the fire.”
The fire didn’t spread beyond the elevator shaft. People residing in an adjacent apartment, meanwhile, shouldn’t fret about their living situation, Degnan said. “I don’t believe anyone is going to be displaced,” Degnan said. Additionally, it doesn’t appear anyone sustained any injuries as a result of the fire.
A destructive structure fire was avoided early Saturday morning due to a business’s water suppression system. At 8:11 a.m., North Davis Fire District responded to a fire alarm at trailer manufacturer, Utility Trailer, in Clearfield, located at 1111 S. 1000 West. When crews arrived, water and smoke were coming from the east side of the building, according to a press release from North Davis Fire District.
About 500 employees working at the time, had already been evacuated and set up outside at meeting points designated by Utility Trailer. Firefighters found a 40-foot trailer had been destroyed by the blaze. The release states the sprinkler system in the building kept the flames from expanding.
There was damage to two trailers: one by fire and the other by water from the sprinkler system, according to the release. The cost of damage was estimated at $50,000. “If not for the water suppression system working, this business could have been devastated and could possibly experienced loss of life,” the release states.
Hamden High School students were briefly evacuated Friday after fire broke out in the nursery/daycare room, fire officials said. No one was injured as a result of the fire, but one teacher did suffer a minor injury attempting to open a window to help clear smoke from the building, a fire official said.
The fire was reported at 7:41 a.m. in the south end of the building. The Hamden High School administration and staff had already started with an orderly evacuation of all students, assisted by both HHS security and Hamden Police Officers, fire officials said in a news release.
The evacuation was taking place as the first HFD apparatus arrived on scene. The entire student body was relocated to the football stadium away from fire department activity. Fire officials said an activated sprinkler head in the nursery helped contain the fire, which was extinguished at 7:53 a.m.
Water damage from the activated sprinkler and fire department suppression was limited to the room or origin and adjacent hallway. The structure was ventilated to remove smoke and the products of combustion.
The entire school was metered by HFD personnel to ensure the safety of the atmosphere, according to the news release. At 8:55 a.m. students were allowed back to class. Hamden Fire Marshal Brian Dolan concluded that the area of fire origin was the stove in the nursery/day care room.
During this event, a second but unrelated fire was reported in an electrical shed adjacent to the Louis Astorino Skating Rink located at 595 Mix Avenue (in the rear of Hamden High School). This secondary alarm was reported at 8:04 a.m. by the Hamden Public Works Electrician working on scene, and was brought quickly under control by the responding units.
Deputy Fire Marshal Tim Lunn is investigating the fire, which appears to have originated in the electrical panel that controls the outdoor lighting at the facility. There were no injuries at this event.
Reporting on lives and property saved by fire sprinklers
