Tag Archives: New York

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Sprinkler system puts out hotel fire (West Seneca, NY)

A fire that began in the kitchenette of one of the Staybridge Suites Buffalo the morning of October 20th caused an evacuation of 83 guests as well as hotel employees. No one was injured, thanks in part to the fire sprinkler system, which extinguished the flames. 

Seneca Fire Chief Eric Conley said, “Everybody got out safely, and that’s the important thing. The fire was put out quickly by the sprinkler system, and it was confined to the kitchen area where it started.”

Apartment Building, Residential

Mother, two daughters escape apartment fire thanks to sprinkler system (Ithaca, NY)

An unattended pan left on the stove caught fire Wednesday evening in the West Hill Circle apartment complex but was quickly knocked down by the unit’s sprinkler system, according to Ithaca firefighters. A mother was home with her two young children when she left the kitchen. Firefighters said cooking oil left in an unattended pan ignited, causing a flash fire on the stove and the surrounding cabinets. The apartment was equipped with an automatic sprinkler system, and the head in the apartment’s kitchen immediately activated, extinguishing the fire.

Apartment Building, Residential

Damage minimized at apartment thanks to fire sprinkler system (Rochester, NY)

A second story apartment unit had a kitchen fire the afternoon of September 1. Fire crews were alerted to the fire by the activation of the building’s fire sprinkler system. The sprinklers quickly suppressed the fire.

“This was a great save,” said Rochester Fire Marshal Larry Mueller. “Had the sprinkler not been installed in the structure, the fire would have rapidly grown and caused extensive damage to the structure.”

No one was reported injured, and the cause of the fire was slated as unattended cooking on the stove.

Department Store, Retail

Fire sprinkler system aids firefighters in suspected arson fire (Amherst, NY)

A fire that broke out in a department store on the afternoon of August 15 is now being ruled as “suspicious” by the Amherst Police Department. A stack of men’s shorts spontaneously caught on fire, and the store was evacuated while the store’s fire sprinkler system activated and kept the fire from spreading. There were no reported injuries from the incident, and the store was slated to open the following day.

*** Blog Editor’s Note: Tell us what you think of the coverage by WKBW News and Megan Erbacher. Only the substantial heat from potentially deadly and damaging fire will operate a fire sprinkler, not smoke. Also, the sprinkler saved the store from experiencing a much larger fire, where the damage would have been much worse, and could have possibly caused injury or loss of life. ***

Other Business, Place of Worship, Residential

Sprinkler system helps to limit damage at historic church (Albany, NY)

The fire was discovered just after 2 a.m. at Willamette Community Church by a pastor who found smoke after he responded to a security alarm.  Albany Fire Marshal Michael Trabue said the damage was limited to the interior of the church. According to Trabue, the building will require some structural repairs, but the damage was not widespread thanks in part to the basement’s fire sprinkler system. There were no injuries. The cause remains under investigation.