Tag Archives: New Jersey

Apartment Building, Residential

Brick, NJ – Apartment fire kept from spreading by sprinkler system

A fire at the Forge Pond Apartments Monday night sparked by a woman burning loose threads off a sweater with a lighter was brought under control by the building’s sprinkler system before it got out of control, Brick Township’s fire chief said Tuesday.  Brick Fire Chief Kevin C. Batzel said the sprinkler system’s response doused the fire and prevented firefighters from having to evacuate the 101 tenants of the Chambersbridge Road building into the frigid outdoors.

Police, firefighters and Brick EMS responded to the fire about 6 p.m. and found a rack of clothing in a common area kitchen off the first floor of the B wing that had caught on fire, but was doused by the sprinkler, Batzel said.  The preliminary investigation showed the woman had been trying to burn loose threads from a sweater after leaving the laundry room and accidentally ignited the sweater. When the fire became too big, she tried to put the clothing in a sink to put out the smoldering clothing, catching more clothing on fire, Batzel said.

She suffered minor burns to her arm, but there were no other injuries, he said.  The tenants were moved to a safe location in the building while firefighters cleared the hallways and kitchen of smoke, Batzel said. Water damage was minimal and the sprinkler system was repaired and back in service later Monday evening, he said.

Responding were the Pioneer Hose, Breton Woods, and Laurelton fire companies, Brick Township police, Brick EMS, the Brick Office of Emergency Management and the Brick Bureau of Fire Safety. An investigator from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office also responded, Batzel said.  “Residents are reminded to be extremely careful with any open flame around combustible material including clothing, particularly synthetic items which tend to combust at a rapid rate,” he said.

“The rapid action of a single sprinkler head held the fire damage to a minimum. That, with the quick work of the fire department and emergency services, prevented the potential of extensive damage and full building evacuation from happening,” Batzel said.  The fire cause remains under investigation by the Bureau of Fire Safety.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Jackson, NJ – Sprinkler system activates in fire at senior assisted living complex; No injuries reported

A fire Sunday morning at the Bella Terra assisted living complex at 2 Kathleen Drive resulted in approximately 100 people being evacuated to Jackson Liberty High School, Jackson Township Chief of Police Matthew Kunz said.

Mayor Michael Reina said the fire broke out in the D-wing of the facility and resulted in the evacuation of 44 rooms. More than 30 people living in that wing were taken to Jackson Liberty High School for temporary shelter.

“The only thing I know is that the fire was in the attic area above the third floor. It might have been initiated in a heating, air conditioning unit and spread out into the attic area,” Kunz said late Sunday morning at Jackson Liberty as the evacuees were being transported into the high school. “The sprinkler systems were activated, as a result of the heat and the fire causing extensive water damage on that side of the building.”

Both Kunz and Ocean County Sheriff Mike Mastronardy said the high school was being used as a temporary staging area for the evacuees.

Kunz said: “There were no injuries, but because of the fire and water damage, there had to be an evacuation of the building so the building department and inspections could get in and take an assessment as to what was damaged or if it (Bella Terra) could be rehabitated. That’s going to be an all-day process.”

Denise Olejarz, Deputy Coordinator for the Jackson Office of Emergency Management, said early Sunday afternoon that some of the evacuees had either gone home with family members or been transported back to Bella Terra. Olejarz said not all the rooms at Bella Terra are habitable.

Reina said the D-wing had roof damaged and would remain closed until further notice. Bella Terra had enough open units to relocate the D-wing’s residents, he said.

Ethel Levine, 89, resident of Bella Terra for 13 years, said the fire alarm at the complex went off at about 7 a.m. She said members of the Jackson Township Fire Department arrived at about 7:30 a.m., knocking on the doors of the residents and telling everyone to move into the lobby area.

“Then they told us, which of us had to be evacuated,” Levine said. Levine, who lives on the second floor of the complex, said said she remained calm.

“I’ve been through a bomb scare when I worked at the post office so this didn’t bother me,” Levine said.

John Dittman, 60, a resident at Bella Terra for eight years, also said everyone remained calm before they were transported to Jackson Liberty.

“The only pain was being inconvenienced. It wasn’t scary,” Dittman said.

Mastronardy said there were over a dozen ambulances on site and a bus from the Monmouth County EMS Task Force to assist in the evacuation process.

The fire occurred at about 7:20 a.m, and the Jackson Township Police Department and officers with stations 54 and 55 of the Jackson Township Fire Department responded to the alarm, Jackson Police Deparment Lt. John Decker said.

Fire departments from neighboring towns also came to help, Reina said.

“The evacuation, rescue went seamless and not a single injury,” he said. “I’m a very grateful mayor tonight.”

Apartment Building, Residential

Jersey City, NJ – Fire in compactor shaft at high-rise apartment building put out with help from sprinkler system

Jersey City firefighters responded to a two-alarm fire at a residential building in the Newport section of the city Thursday night, an official said.  The fire began in the compactor shaft on the first floor of Parkside West — a high-rise apartment building on Newport Parkway — shortly before 11:45 p.m., Jersey City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill said.

The sprinkler in the shaft activated to help extinguish the fire, Jersey City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill added. The residents on the first and second floor evacuated the building, but there were no injuries and the fire was brought under control in about 20
minutes. All tenants returned to their apartments, Morrill said.

The fire reached a second alarm because the building is a high-rise, Morrill said.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Vineland, NJ – Sprinkler system contains building fire started by sparks from a grinder

Just after 12:15 p.m. Wednesday, a 911 call summoned firefighters to Rudco Products Inc. for a reported building fire.

Firefighters arrived to find smoke seeping from the plant, located at Oak Road and the Boulevard, and the employees evacuated.

It appears sparks from a grinder ignited air filters on a nearby storage rack, according to fire reports.

The building’s sprinkler system properly activated and contained the fire, which was deemed under control at 12:26 p.m.

No injuries were reported. Fire stations 3, 4, and 6 responded to the call.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Hillsborough, NJ – Sprinkler system helps put out fire at plastic container manufacturing facility

A plastic container manufacturing facility in Hillsborough Township was the scene of a two-alarm fire on Monday, which prompted a large response from multiple fire companies in the surrounding area.  According to fire officials on the scene at the Tri-Delta Plastics facility on Cougar Court, the incident was first reported at approximately 12:40 p.m.

Fire Marshal Chris Weniger said the fire originated from a piece of machinery. “One of the machines caught fire and the flames spread,” Mr. Weniger said. “The fire department arrived and put out the fire with the assistance of the sprinkler system.”  No injuries were reported at the scene and officials said the fire was under control by 1:19 p.m.

Tri-Delta Plastics, which was purchased by Pretium Packaging in 2014, produces plastic bottles, caps and other packaging products. Mr. Weniger said the piece of equipment that caused a fire was a blow-molding machine. Due to the spillage of chemicals and oils used in that process, the marshal said a hazmat unit was deployed to the scene.

“These machines contain cutting oil – different types of oils – and because we used water, the oil is all over the floor,” Mr. Weniger said.  Along with all four of the Hillsborough Township Fire companies, personnel from the Fire Marshal’s Office, the Hillsborough Rescue Squad, Millstone Valley Fire Department, the Finderne Fire Department in Bridgewater, the Elizabeth Avenue Fire Company in Somerset and the Manville Fire Department responded to the scene.

Though the site is less than a mile away from the scene of a massive fire that took place at Veterans Industrial Park back in February, Mr. Weniger said the response on Monday was no different than any other instance.

“With the size of the building and the fact that this happened at a time when our response is not as good – as well as the fact that our firefighters don’t last as long fighting fires in this heat – we ended up calling more people,” Mr. Weniger said.

An investigation into the exact cause of the fire is ongoing. 

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Randolph, NJ – Laundry fire at assisted living home extinguished by sprinkler system

A small dryer fire at an assisted living home forced residents out of the building for about an hour Thursday evening, according to officials.

At about 7 p.m. Thursday, firefighters responded to Bright View Randolph, an independent and assisted living home located between Quaker Church Road and Route 10, for a report of a fire, Fire Official Richard Briant said.

The fire originated in a basement dryer located in one of the senior living facility’s buildings and was extinguished by a sprinkler before officials arrived on scene, Briant said.

The fire was contained to the dryer itself, with no additional smoke or fire damage caused to the surrounding area, Briant said.

Residents and employees evacuated the building as a precaution, but were able to re-enter by 8 p.m. No injuries were reported and a specific cause of the fire was not determined.

An employee at Bright View said everything was operating normally Friday morning.

Apartment Building, Residential High Rise

Hackensack, NJ – Kitchen fire in high-rise apartment building contained with help from sprinkler system

Grease on a stovetop caught fire Wednesday evening, spreading flames to an apartment’s microwave and cabinets before firefighters put it out. The single-alarm blaze at 140 Prospect Ave. was reported at 7:11 p.m., Fire Lt. Justin Derevyanik said. Firefighters found smoke on the 14th floor of the apartment building and discovered that the fire had been partially extinguished by the sprinkler system in apartment 14A. Several other apartments suffered water damage.

Firefighters put out the flames within 10 minutes, Derevyanik said. Three residents suffered smoke inhalation as they were getting out of the building; a man and a woman were treated at the scene while another man was taken to Holy Name Medical Center. Twenty-six firefighters from Hackensack and Teaneck responded, as well as Hackensack EMTs..

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Middletown, NJ – Sprinkler system contains residential fire to single room; No injuries

At 3:05 PM on Wednesday March 16, 2016, the Middletown Township Fire Department was dispatched to a “fire alarm” at Building 2, Unit 210 Wedgewood Circle in the Belford section of the Township.  Approximately 25 firefighters from 3 companies of the Middletown Township Fire Department (Belford Engine, Belford Independent and Community Fire Companies), under the command of Department Deputy Chief Anthony Citaralla, responded to the scene. 

The first arriving units on the scene encountered a smoke condition in the 2 story multiple unit residential structure. The firefighters quickly located a fire in a first floor bedroom. The unit was unoccupied at the time of the incident. The residents in the adjacent units were alerted by the fire alarm system and evacuated the structure. The building’s fire sprinkler system automatically activated and contained the blaze to the single room.

Fire crews ensured that the fire was fully extinguished and used thermal imaging cameras to confirm that the fire had not extended beyond the bedrooms.

The bedroom sustained fire damage and there was smoke and water damage throughout the unit.

The Fire was declared under control by 3:30 PM. The last units cleared the scene by 5:50 PM.

There were no reported injuries during the incident. 

The fire is being investigated by the Middletown Township Fire Prevention office.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Brick, NJ – Single sprinkler head contains laundry fire at nursing home

Laundry ignited inside a nursing home early Wednesday morning, but one sprinkler kept the fire from spreading, Brick Fire Safety Chief Kevin Batzel said.

Brick police and firefighters were called to the Meridian Nursing and Rehabilitation center on Jack Martin Boulevard at 4:40 a.m. where they found smoke in the facility’s basement, Batzel said.

The fire was inside a large, industrial-sized laundry cart filled with towels that had been pulled from a dryer, he said.

“It was being contained by a single fire sprinkler head, which had activated and caused an alarm in the building,” the fire safety chief said. “What could have been a potential catastrophe was prevented.”

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Lawrence, NJ – Laundry fire at condominium complex doused by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Police are investigating a fire that broke out early Saturday in the laundry room of a condominium complex, according to the fire department.   Firefighters responded to the complex on Town Court South around 1:30 a.m. Saturday after getting a call about a fire in the laundry room, Lawrence Fire Chief Gary Wasko said.

When they arrived they found that everyone had evacuated the room and that the sprinkler system had extinguished much of the fire. They had the rest of the fire under control almost immediately and worked to deal with the smoke removal for a long time after that, Wasko said.  

The investigation into how the fire started was turned over to Lawrence police, who were not immediately available for contact Saturday evening.