Tag Archives: New Jersey

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Pennsville Twp, NJ – Sprinklers credited with preventing spread of fire at independent living facility

A fire authorities say was caused by unattended cooking prompted the evacuation of residents from an age 55-plus high-rise Saturday morning.

The fire at the five story Kent Avenue Apartments at 11 Kent Ave. was reported around 11 a.m.

Deepwater Fire Chief Joe Hogan said the fire was sparked by unattended cooking. He said there was no one in the apartment where the blaze started when firefighters entered.

The fire was located in Apartment 507 in the east wing of the building — on the top floor.

No one — residents or firefighters — were hurt in the incident, Hogan said.

Approximately six to seven apartments were damaged from fire, smoke and water, Hogan said.

There was also reported water throughout various parts of the building.

Hogan credited the building’s sprinkler system with helping to quickly help douse the fire and prevent its spread.

Apartment Building, Residential

Toms River, NJ – Overnight apartment fire extinguished by single sprinkler

A flash fire caused when a resident tried to extinguish burning candle wax was controlled when the building’s automatic sprinkler system turned on, fire officials said Monday.

Two apartments at Greenview Way in The Villages at Bey Lea apartment complex were left uninhabitable due to damage from the fire Sunday evening, said James Mercready, director of the Toms River Bureau of Fire Prevention. One person suffered minor injuries, he said.

Firefighters from the Pleasant Plains Fire Company responded to the call at 11:20 p.m. and upon arrival found the fire — in the bathroom of one apartment — had been extinguished by a single fire sprinkler head that activated, Mercready said.

Toms River Fire Inspector Dominick Roselli determined the fire was accidental. Candle wax caught fire on the kitchen stove, and when the resident put it in the bathroom’s shower to put it out, it created a flash fire, Mercready said.

 The resident suffered minor injuries but refused medical attention, he said.

 Firefighters checked for extension of the fire and performed ventilation, as well as shutting off electric and gas service to the two units because of the damage, he said.

 Mercready said it is the second fire extinguished by the automatic sprinkler system at the complex and fifth sprinker-controlled fire in the township since October.

 “In each case, one fire sprinkler head activated and controlled and suppressed the fire,” he said. “A properly designed, installed and maintained fire sprinkler system is an essential component in fire and life safety as well as property protection.”

 “The rate of effectiveness has been very good during the more than 100 years they have been in use in the United States,” Mercready said.

 Due to the extent of the damage, Roselli ruled two apartments uninhabitable, but six others in the building were able to be reoccupied, Mercready said.

Other - Retail, Retail

Galloway Twp, NJ – Sprinkler system activates to help limit damage in fire at nail salon

At 12:21 p.m., police received a 911 call reporting a structure fire at Lucky Nails located on New York Road.  Emergency personnel found determined a camp stove was being used inside the building and set the contents of a room on fire, police said.

The sprinkler system was activated inside the building and the building sustained smoke and water damage, police said.  An investigation by Galloway Township Fire Marshal Ron Garbutt and Officer Bill Schroer determined the fire to be accidental in nature.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Paramus, NJ – Overnight fire at nursing home contained by sprinkler system

The blaze at a Paramus nursing home began in a resident’s room and was contained by the sprinkler system at the Care One at Pine Rest Nursing Home on West Ridgewood Avenue shortly before 12:15 a.m. early Thursday.  A female resident was transported by ambulance to The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood with what were reported to be minor injuries.  There were also unconfirmed reports of two residents with smoke inhalation.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Brick, NJ – Sprinklers save restaurant after fire breaks out in bathroom

A fire broke out in one of the restrooms at a new Brick Township restaurant. The Flaming Grille, a buffet-style restaurant in the Kennedy Mall shopping center, nearly lived up to its name Tuesday afternoon when a fire broke out about 4 p.m., officials said.

The Breton Woods and Pioneer Hose fire companies responded to the scene and found the fire had already been put out by the restaurant’s sprinkler system, said Kevin Batzel, director of the Brick Township Bureau of Fire Prevention.

Batzel said investigators determined the fire was started when smoking materials had been disposed of in the bathroom trash can. The activation of the sprinkler system helped avert a much larger fire, Batzel said. One sprinkler head activated during the incident.

“It’s an old building,” Batzel explained. “[The fire] would have traveled up pretty fast into that building.” There were a small number of patrons in the restaurant at the time, Batzel said. All were evacuated. The bureau is following up today at the restaurant, which is back in operation. “If it was not for the sprinkler system, that restaurant would be shut down,” said Batzel.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

West Windsor, NJ – Arson fire at senior apartment complex extinguished by sprinklers

A trespasser was arrested for allegedly starting a fire at the Gables of West Windsor on Feb. 13.  The suspect started a fire was started just before 3 p.m. The building manager told police he did not belong in the building, according to West Windsor police.

When police and firefighters arrived at the building they found an activated sprinkler head and smoke in the vestibule.  Further investigation revealed that a small fire had been extinguished by the sprinkler system, according to police.

Apartment Building, Residential

Englewood, NJ – Sprinkler system credited with saving apartment complex from fire; No injuries and fire contained to one room

Firefighters battled a two-alarm fire at the Towne Center apartment complex on Friday evening, with the city’s fire chief crediting the building’s sprinkler system with containing the blaze to one room and preventing more extensive damage.

The fire was caused by a candle that fell over in a living room about 5:40 p.m. in an apartment on the fourth-floor of the 4½-story complex and led to the temporary evacuation of about 150 people, said city Fire Chief Gerald Marion. It was under control about 30 minutes later, he said, adding that no one was injured and the fire’s cause was determined to be “accidental.”

Marion said the building, comprising two connected towers, is made of the same lightweight construction as the Avalon apartment complex in Edgewater where about hundreds of people were displaced indefinitely last week when one of its two buildings was destroyed by fire despite the presence of a sprinkler system. The Englewood complex’s robust sprinkler system “did most of the work” of putting out Friday’s fire, the chief said.

“Had there not been a sprinkler, we would have potentially seen something similar to Edgewater,” Marion said. He said that owners of the Towne Center, which has more than 180 units, on Friday night began repairing damage to the apartment where the fire occurred. The family that resides there is staying elsewhere during repairs, he said. Other residents were allowed to return to their apartments about an hour after the fire began.

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Toms River, NJ – Fire sprinklers praised for effectiveness in condominium fire

A fire at the North Point Hollow condominium complex Thursday night caused only minor heat, smoke and water damage, after the condominium’s sprinkler system was activated by the fire, said James Mercready, director of the Toms River Bureau of Fire Prevention. Smoke alarms alerted a neighbor, who called the fire in at 5:25 p.m., he said.

The Pleasant Plains and Silverton fire companies responded and upon arrival, Pleasant Plains Fire Chief David George forced entry into the first-floor unit and found a heavy smoke condition, Mercready said. Upon further investigation, George found a single fire sprinkler activated and spraying water in a bedroom where it appears the fire originated, he said.

“The effectiveness of fire sprinklers has once again been proven as there was only minor heat, smoke and water damage in the affected unit, with no structural damage occurring to the building,” Mercready said.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Wayne, NJ – Fire at senior condominium community contained by sprinkler system

A “minor kitchen fire” at the Four Seasons Active Adult housing complex in Wayne Saturday was “contained by the sprinkler system and extinguished by the Wayne Fire Department,” Wayne Detective Captain Mark McGrath said.

Authorities were called just after 11 a.m. on Jan. 10 and upon arrival, “observed heavy smoke down the hallway of the second level,” according to the police narrative.

The resident and person who called 911 advised authorities “there was an active fire in her kitchen and that there was nobody else inside.”  Moments later, Fire Chief 4 arrived on scene and was able to use the fire extinguisher to put out the flames, according to the narrative. Heavy smoke was vented out by the Wayne Fire Department once the fire was extinguished.

All occupants of all four apartments were left under the care of the building supervisor and made proper arrangements to be picked up by family.

College/University (on campus), School / University

Piscataway, NJ – Arson fire at Rutgers University put out by sprinkler system

The investigation determined that a former student set fire to a 30-foot section of the hallway and the adjoining classroom on the second floor of the ARC Building at 1:03 p.m. on Dec. 20. 

The fire was extinguished by an overhead sprinkler, but damaged portions of the hallway and the classroom.  The flash fire also set off an alarm, forcing the evacuation of 210 students who were taking a final exam in a first-floor auditorium located beneath the burning hallway.  No one was injured.