Tag Archives: New Jersey

Office Building, Other Business

Trenton, NJ – Sprinkler system helps control fire after SUV crashes into building

A woman was injured after her vehicle crashed into a Trenton building that is home to the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission headquarters. The crash took place at 10:10 a.m. last Tuesday at 225 East State Street, said Trooper Alejandro Goez, a spokesman with the New Jersey State Police. A Honda CRV driven by 40-year-old Jennifer Rosa of Plainsboro crashed into the building. Trenton Fire Battalion Chief Todd Willever said the vehicle caught fire after crashing through the plate glass window and was partially extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system. Firefighters took care of the rest.

The building is also home to Blimpie Subs & Salads and The Renaissance Grill, among other offices and businesses. Rosa was taken to a local hospital with injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening, Goez said. No other injuries were reported.

The building was briefly evacuated, Willever said. The driver was removed from behind the wheel by good Samaritans, before first responders arrived. Mairin Bellack, a spokeswoman with the MVC, said operations at field offices around the state were not interrupted Tuesday. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

College/University (on campus), School / University

Princeton, NJ – Fire at Princeton University chemistry lab contained to storage room by sprinkler system

Firefighters were called to campus early Friday morning to extinguish a fire that broke out in a third-floor storage room in the Frick Chemistry Laboratory. The building’s sprinkler system was activated and contained the flames to the storage room, where a firefighter was able to put them out with a fire extinguisher.

The cause was traced to a light fixture in the supply room that failed and ignited boxes of supplies on a storage rack, which held vials, pipes, and other chemical laboratory supplies but no hazardous materials, according to Assistant Vice President for Communications Dan Day.

A graduate student noticed the fire and called the Department of Public Safety at 1:39 a.m. Firefighters arrived on campus from the town of Princeton, Princeton Junction, the Princeton Plasma Plasma Physics Laboratory, Plainsboro, and Rocky Hill, according to a University statement.The building was briefly closed while firefighters were on scene but has now reopened.

According to Day, there is “a lingering odor in the area of the storage room” that cleanup crews are taking care of.

Water from the sprinkler system dripped from the third to the second floor, getting some papers and computers wet, but a University Facilities crew mopped up the water early in the morning. There was no significant structural or equipment damage in the building from the fire or from smoke, Day said.

Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

Union, NJ – Residence hall fire put out by sprinkler system; No injuries

A lit candle caused a fire on Jan. 17 in Upperclassman Residence Hall and triggered the sprinkler system causing water damage to parts of the building, according to University spokesperson, Margaret McCorry.

The candle fire broke out in a student’s bedroom on the seventh floor of the Upperclassman Residence Hall. The fire was quickly put out by the building’s sprinkler system, keeping the fire from stretching beyond the bedroom. No injuries were sustained in response to the fire.

“The safety of our students is our top priority,” said Maximina Rivera, Assistant Vice President of the Office of Residential Student Services. “We thank our first responders and others who helped ensure our students were safe during this incident.”

Water from the sprinkler system flowed into the hallway of the seventh floor, as well as into rooms on the sixth floor, fifth floor, and the dining hall kitchen area. This resulted in saturated carpets and damage to personal property, according to Rivera in an email sent to Upperclassman Hall residents.

“It sucked because we couldn’t get to our rooms till two in the morning,” said Andrea Antall, junior and Upperclassman Hall resident, in reference to the night of the fire. “ I didn’t have anything to do. I had full day of classes the next day and I couldn’t really sleep. It was just a real shitty night.”

On the night of the fire, the students were mostly lingering around outside the dorms. Antall said it was about three or four hours before they finally got back to the room. She couldn’t remember if there was an official notice sent out to let them know they could return to their dorms. She just remembers people yelling they can go back inside of the building.

“It was really cold,” said Antall. “We actually went to Freshman Residence Hall because my teammates were living in there. So we stayed with them for a few hours until we were let back in the rooms.”

Antall lives on the fifth floor of Upperclassman Residence Hall. It did not just affect her night, but also her week. Antall was unable to get food from the dining hall due to maintenance from the water damage. She had to find food from other places on campus. Cougar’s Den had extended its hours to assist those inconvenienced by the water damaged dining hall, according to Antall.

According to Kean’s 2017- 2018 Resident Student Handbook under violations two, setting or fueling a fire of any size and/or possession of highly flammable materials inside the residence halls, including gasoline, gas can or container ( whether containing fuel or empty), gas-powered vehicles, kerosene, fireworks, candles or incense, live Christmas trees, neon signs, and string of lights are prohibited.

Those who commit violations for the first time receive a warning. After the second time, they are placed on House probation which can last for up to a year. If they receive another violation, the students residence hall contract is terminated. They will have to vacate after 48 hours, they will no longer be allowed to trespass on to the residence hall and a period of termination is placed. If further University disciplinary action is necessary, a written notification to the Office of Community Standards and Student Contact is sent.

“We also thank our students for their patience while we assessed the damage,” said Rivera. “This incident shows how important it is for students to follow policies that strictly prohibit candles in the residence halls.”

Hospital/Medical Clinic

Holmdel, NJ – Fire in hospital ICU limited with help from sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A fire at Bayshore Medical Center caused patients to be transported to Riverview Medical Center. Hospital officials said the fire started in a toaster oven inside the break room of the ICU. Six patients were transported to Riverview Medical Center, according to April Dunic, a spokeswoman for the hospital.

“While the fire damage was very limited, water from the sprinkler system damaged certain areas of the hospital,” Dunic said. “As a result, several patients were relocated to different parts of the hospital and six patients were transferred to Riverview Medical Center. Clean up is underway and we expect normal operations very soon.”

The hospital did not yet have a damage estimate. No patients or staff were harmed by the fire. Bayshore has 211 beds and Riverview Medical Center has 492. Holmdel police said that several agencies responded, including Holmdel Fire and First Aid as well as the Monmouth County Fire Marshal, Hazlet, Union Beach, Keyport Fire Departments and Hazlet, Keyport and Union Beach First Aid.

Apartment Building, Residential, Residential High Rise

New Brunswick, NJ – Fire on 11th floor of luxury high rise apartment building put out with help from sprinkler system

City officials say no one was injured in a kitchen fire, ignited in an apartment at The Aspire, 135 Somerset St., on February 22. The emergency call came in at 3:05 p.m., with firefighters arriving on the scene within three minutes. The fire, on the eleventh floor of the luxury building, was quickly knocked down and firefighters were able to clear the scene by 5 p.m., said city spokesperson Jennifer Bradshaw. Firefighters believe the fire was caused by a cooking accident. The building sprinkler system activated and helped extinguish the flames. While there were fortunately no injuries, the apartment sustained water damage.  A second alarm was called because the blaze was in a 17-story high rise, with support coming from Edison, Sayreville, East Franklin, North Brunswick and East Brunswick fire departments.  The Aspire, built by Boraie Development in New Brunswick, opened in 2015. It is steps from the New Brunswick Train Station and across the street from the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Rutgers Medical School and the Rutgers University campus.  It includes 238 studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments.

Hotel / Motel

Atlantic City, NJ – Fire on 44th floor of Tropicana Casino and Resort contained by sprinkler system

Four floors of the Tropicana Atlantic City’s West Tower were temporarily evacuated last Wednesday morning when a fire broke out in a hotel room.  Fire Chief Scott Evans said the fire broke out just before 10 a.m., in a room on the 44th floor.  Evans said a Tropicana employee used a fire extinguisher to put out the room fire before firefighters arrived. The hotel room bed and bathroom were both on fire. The hotel’s sprinkler system kept the fire from spreading, said Evans. The fire was put out by 10:34 a.m.  Smoke quickly filled the hotel room hallways and adjacent rooms. Crews then worked to remove smoke from the building, which proved difficult because the hotel windows do not open. Fans were used throughout the emergency staircase to push smoke out to the roof.

Guests from the 43rd, 44th, 45th and 46th floors were evacuated for safety reasons. Evans said guests of 27 rooms on the 44th floor are being relocated to other hotel rooms. The three other floors were allowed to return to their hotel rooms.  Evans said one hotel employee was taken to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center’s City Campus for treatment of smoke inhalation. The employee’s condition was not released.  A spokeswoman for Tropicana said the fire was immediately put out. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Parsippany, NJ – Sprinkler system assists firefighters in extinguishing laundry room fire at Hampton Inn

Rainbow Lakes Volunteer Fire District 2 along with the Mount Tabor Volunteer Fire District 1 were dispatched to the Hampton Inn & Suites, 3737 Route 46 for an activated fire alarm at 11:33 a.m. on Monday, January 15.  While responding the dispatcher got a call stating there was a fire on top of the water heater in the laundry room.  Mutual aid was requested and prior to getting water on the fire the sprinkler activated extinguishing the bulk of the fire.  The building was evacuated and the evacuation of the above floors was ensured by members of the Parsippany Police Department.

The building was checked to ensure the fire did not spread. Members on scene ventilated the entire building as smoke had spread throughout the common areas on all floors. There were no injuries and the hotel resumed operations.

In addition to Rainbow Lakes Volunteer Fire District 2, Mount Tabor Volunteer Fire District 1, Parsippany-Troy Hills Volunteer Fire Department District 5, Parsippany Volunteer Fire District 4 Rapid Intervention Team, Boonton Township Fire Dept Rapid Intervention Team, Parsippany Police Department, Par-Troy Emergency Medical Services and Parsippany Fire Prevention were dispatched to the scene.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Vineland, NJ – Sprinkler system limits spread of school arson fire; No injuries reported

Police arrested two students on Friday and charged them with arson after an investigation into a fire earlier this month at Veterans Memorial Intermediate School.  Two 14-year-olds were allegedly involved in an incident where a fire started in a boys’ bathroom, police said.  On Jan. 2, school officials evacuated the South Main Road school, sending the student body out into frigid conditions, when an alarm sounded.  A small fire in the boys’ bathroom activated the sprinkler system.  Once fire officials were on the scene, students returned to the building and were held in the auditorium and cafeteria while firefighters ventilated the ground-floor corridor and cleaned up the standing water.   Damage at the school was deemed minimal and confined to the bathroom, school officials said.  Both teens were processed and released to their parents pending further court action. They were also suspended from school, district officials said.

 

Residential, Residential High Rise

Jersey City, NJ – Sprinklers assist firefighters in containing early morning fire in luxury high-rise; No injuries reported

The Jersey City Fire Department responded to a small fire at the Monaco luxury high-rise early last Wednesday morning, authorities said. After arriving to the Washington Boulevard apartment complex at 1:30 a.m., firefighters located a fire in the heating component of one of the building’s units, Jersey City spokeswoman Kimberly Scalcione said. The small fire, which set off two sprinkler heads, was determined to have been caused by a faulty heating system, Scalcione added. One apartment sustained fire damage and two others had minor water damage, the spokeswoman said, adding that no injuries were reported.

Auto Dealership, Retail

Fairfield, NJ – Sprinkler system assists in firefighters in suppressing overnight fire at Mercedes-Benz dealership

An electrical fire at the Mercedes-Benz of Caldwell at 1230 Bloomfield Avenue in Fairfield last week was suppressed with the help of an automatic fire sprinkler system.  According to the Fairfield Police Department, officers received a call from cleaning workers about a fire in the shop area of the business around 10:10 p.m. on Dec. 9. The workers were in a different part of the building when they saw smoke and flames in the shop area, police said. A Fairfield police officer responding to the scene was able to determine that the building was evacuated, but had to retreat due to a “very heavy” smoke condition.

The Fairfield Fire Department arrived soon afterward and extinguished the conflagration. Authorities provided the following statement about the possible cause of the fire:

“Preliminary investigation indicates that a 2015 C300 Mercedes Benz was up on a lift and was apparently attached to a computer diagnostic machine. It appears that an electrical fire started and traveled up the lift and eventually caught the car on fire. The sprinkler system activated and helped to assist in keeping the fire suppressed.”

Police said that while the direct fire damage appears to have been confined to the Mercedes, the business itself received a substantial amount of smoke and water damage. Additionally, other vehicles that were located on lifts in the shop may have also experienced both water and smoke damage. The financial toll of the damage was not immediately available, police stated.