Tag Archives: Morning (7am-12pm)

Apartment Building, Residential, Residential High Rise

Redington Shores, FL – Fire at high-rise condo building extinguished by single sprinkler

Firefighters responded to the 2-alarm structure fire at 8:06 a.m. Tuesday at the Anglers Cove Condominium located at 17450 Gulf Boulevard. The firefighters discovered that there was a fire in a storage room adjacent to the condominium office that had been extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system. There were no injuries, and damage was limited to smoke and water damage to the office area. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Management of Anglers Cove stated that the 48 unit building was at nearly full occupancy at the time of the fire. Upon arrival Firefighters found the building being evacuated and light smoke showing from the north side of the building on the ground floor. Gulf Boulevard was shut down for about 20 minutes, and more than 200 residents had evacuated and were waiting in adjacent parking lots for the firefighters to complete their work.

“It is important to recognize the significance of this fire being controlled by the building’s sprinkler system, one single sprinkler head prevented this from being a much greater incident and prevented injuries and greater loss of property,” said City of Seminole Fire Rescue Public Education Officer Brad Dykens in a news release.

The fire had escalated to two alarms due to the special hazards that exist when dealing with a fire in a high rise building and to ensure the safety of all the residents. During the course of the evacuation one resident in a wheelchair was assisted down the stairwell by firefighters.

Units from Seminole, Pinellas Suncoast, Madeira Beach, Pinellas Park, Clearwater, and St. Petersburg fire departments responded.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Harvey, LA – Dumpster fire outside TGI Friday’s extinguished by sprinkler system

A dumpster fire outside a Harvey restaurant Friday morning (Feb. 20) was quickly extinguished by a sprinkler system, an official said. The incident was reported around 9:40 a.m. inside a structure attached to the TGI Fridays, 1201 Manhattan Blvd., according to Capt. Michael McAuliffe of the Harvey Volunteer Fire Co. No. 2. Workers inside the restaurant smelled smoke and found the trash bin ablaze. One person attempted to use a portable fire extinguisher but could not get close enough because of the smoke, McAuliffe said.

The sprinkler system activated, triggering an alarm that notified the fire department, McAuliffe said. The system suppressed most of the blaze, with firefighters extinguishing a few remaining hot spots upon their arrival. “A little smoke got into the restaurant, which was ventilated,” McAuliffe said. “The restaurant was able to open by lunchtime.”

 

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

San Diego, CA – Sprinkler system assists firefighters in controlling fire at senior living facility

A two-alarm fire inside a four-story senior living facility in the East Village Friday left about 25 residents displaced.  The fire at the 200-unit Potiker Family Senior Residence at 525 14th St. was reported shortly before 8:30 a.m.

Firefighters arrived to find smoke pouring from the window of a fourth-floor unit, San Diego Fire-Rescue Department spokesman Lee Swanson said. Its resident was rescued and taken to UC San Diego Medical Center to be treated for smoke inhalation.

Swanson said the building’s fourth-floor sprinkler system was triggered.  Firefighters helped around 20 people evacuate and rescued several others who were wheelchair-bound or otherwise unable to get out on their own, Swanson said.

Up to 150 residents got out of the 12-year-old building safely on their own, and some were allowed to stay inside their homes, according to Paul Downey, CEO for building owner Serving Seniors, a nonprofit organization.

Downey said that after the building is deemed safe and reopened, staffers would assess the damage and determine an exact number of residents who will need temporary housing.  Swanson said the cause of the fire was accidental and that smoking materials ignited combustibles.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Irvine, CA – Sprinkler system prevents restaurant fire from spreading

At 8:15 a.m. Monday, firefighters responded to a report of a grease fire at Taco’s and Company in the 18000 block of Culver Drive in Irvine, OCFA Capt. Steve Concialdi said. The fire started in a grease vat while a restaurant employee was making french fries, Concialdi said. Flames quickly spread to ducting and vents that also had grease buildup, he said. A sprinkler activated, however, stopping the fire from reaching adjoining restaurants. There were no injuries in the blaze

Adult Care/Rehab Center, Hospital/Care Facility

Rapid City, SD – Sprinklers help contain arson fire at detox center

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No one was hurt in a fire at a detox center in Rapid City that prompted the evacuation of more than 50 people and the arrest of a client.

Authorities responded to the City/County Alcohol and Drug Program facility shortly before noon Wednesday. The building’s sprinkler system had helped contain the fire, and it was confined to a small area.

Thirty-six clients and 15 staff members were evacuated for a time.
Police determined that a client had set the fire in an isolation room. The suspect was taken into custody pending formal charges.

Adult Care/Rehab Center, Hospital/Care Facility

Killeen, TX – Dryer vent fire at substance abuse center extinguished by sprinkler system

The Killeen Fire Department responded to a small structure fire on the corner of Avenue B and Gray Street just after 8 a.m. today. The fire started in the laundry room of the Word of Life building in downtown Killeen, according to Battalion Chief Clay Brooks, most likely caused by lent in the dryer vent.

“Lent accumulates, and it’s very combustible,” Brooks said.  Brooks said the facility’s sprinklers put out most of the flames. “The sprinkler head did its job,” he said.  No one in the building was injured, and there is no permanent damage to the structure.

Apartment Building, Residential

San Francisco, CA – Arson fire at multi-tenant residential building contained by sprinkler system

An unidentified man set a fire at the Crown Hotel and SRO at 16th and Valencia late Monday morning. According to witnesses, the man broke the glass of a fire extinguisher case inside the building and used it to attempt to break into a resident’s room, and then reportedly spread gasoline on the hotel’s walls and floors. The man was taken into custody by police, witnesses said, and by noon a manager informed residents they would have to wait about another hour for water used to extinguish the fire to be cleaned up from the building.

Samantha Helstrom, a resident of the Crown Hotel for about a year and a half, said she came out of her room after she heard glass breaking. She saw a man banging on a resident’s door, apparently trying to break in and possibly manipulating a gasoline can. Shortly after, she saw smoke coming from the resident’s room and the man running downstairs.

Helstrom said she ran back inside to get water to put out the fire and managed to get a few buckets on the flames before the sprinkler system turned on and the building was evacuated. “The fire was pretty contained at that point between the sprinklers and me being a crazy fool,” Helstrom said, referring to her efforts to extinguish the flames.

Benji Francois, who has been in the building less than a week, said he usually ignores yelling and commotion since they’re so common, but when water started coming into his room from the sprinkler system, he knew something serious had happened. He said he opened his door to see flames, and then ran out of the building. “Not a good way to wake up,” Francois said.

Government Office, Government/Military

Concord, NH – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire at Merrimack County Courthouse

A sprinkler system helped put out a fire and save county property at the Merrimack County Superior Courthouse in Concord Sunday. The fire is believed to have started in a vending machine on the first floor of the building. A preliminary investigation by the Concord Fire Department, the state fire marshal’s office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives determined the fire to have been accidental, according to a press release issued yesterday by the state fire marshal’s office.

The Concord Fire Department was called to 163 N. Main St. at 10:13 a.m. after receiving an alert from an automatic fire alarm. Firefighters arrived on scene at 10:18 a.m. to find smoke in the building and an active sprinkler in a room of vending machines. The building was closed and secure at the time of the fire. Fire Marshal J. William Degnan said the sprinkler system “prevented a much larger fire and loss of county property, as well as reduced the danger to firefighters.”

The fire came two days after another one in a similarly unattended public building, in that case owned by the town of Henniker. The Henniker Highway Department garage, which wasn’t outfitted with a sprinkler system, and several town vehicles were destroyed in that fire, with damage estimated to be about $1 million.