Tag Archives: New York

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Dunkirk, NY – Sprinkler system at manufacturing plant extinguishes electrical fire

 An accidental fire at the Refresco plant at 1 Cliffstar Drive had city firefighters on the scene for two hours.

The Dunkirk Fire received an alarm activation call at 4:40 a.m. Friday. Upon investigation, plant maintenance reported smoke visible on the second floor of the plant office area.

Firefighters made entry and noticed the smoke condition. Hose lines were advanced and the fire was found in the ceiling above the second floor advancing into a third floor storage area.

The plant sprinkler system had activated and contained the fire to the general area of origin. Fire crews extinguished the remainder of visible fire and performed ventilation of smoke in the building.

East Dunkirk Fire and ALSTAR ambulance assisted at the fire with West Dunkirk Fire on standby.

Investigators from the City of Dunkirk and Chautauqua County determined the cause of the fire to be started by electrical wiring.

One firefighter was evaluated for a minor injury but remained on duty.

Residential, Residential High Rise

Niagara Falls, NY – Fire sprinkler helped suppress fire on 15th floor of high rise apartment building

A driver for the Meals on Wheels program helped avert a potential tragedy in an apartment building in the 900 block of Cedar Avenue late Friday morning.

Falls firefighters said the driver was making a lunchtime delivery on the 15th floor of the Niagara Towers apartment building when he discovered a fire there.

“He saw smoke coming out of an apartment and a person on the ground,” Falls Fire Chief Joe Pedulla sad.

Pedulla said crews from the 10th Street Fire Station, just around the corner from the apartment building, were returning to their hall at the time the fire call came in.

“It’s ironic but they had spent the morning at the fire training tower working on high-rise structure fires,” the fire chief said. “It’s mot something we train for extensively, but the timing was good today.”

As firefighters arrived on the scene, they found the Meals on Wheels driver and the occupant of the 15th floor apartment outside the building on the front lawn. Both were suffering form smoke inhalation. “(Firefighters) saw smoke coming out of the 15th floor, and the driver had helped the resident downstairs,” Pedula said. “We feared that they might be more people on the 15th floor with smoke inhalation.”

But when firefighters arrived on the 15th floor they found no additional victims.

The driver and the occupant of the apartment were hospitalized for treatment.

Pedulla said firefighters attached a hose to a 14th floor standpipe and then battled the fire in the apartment. A sprinkler system in the building helped suppress the fire and kept it from spreading.

The chief said the fire damage was “extensive” but limited to the apartment where the blaze began. He said other floors in the building suffered water damage from the sprinkler system.

The cause of the fire was listed as electrical, stemming from an air conditioner being powered off of an extension cord.

Government Office, Government/Military

New York, NY – Fire sprinkler system keeps fifth floor office fire to a minimum; No injuries reported

A fire in a Department of Buildings headquarters on Monday afternoon caused damage to several offices after computer paper somehow caught fire, FDNY officials said.

The fire was mostly contained to a fifth floor storage area at 280 Broadway, but was kept to a minimum by the building sprinkler system that a requirement in all commercial buildings over 40 feet high, including city-owned buildings.

No injuries were reported, though traffic on Broadway at Chambers Street was snarled for nearly an hour.

The fire went to an “all-hands” bringing in more than 50 firefighters on scene, who conducted a search throughout the building and were able to establish that the offices were safe to return. There were few workers in the building because of the Presidents Day holiday.

DOB officials did not respond as to how much damage the offices may have incurred.

The building, the former newspaper headquarters for the New York City Sun from 1833-1950, still has the original clock on the building, but hasn’t worked in years.  The City Sun was resurrected from 2002 to 2008 by investor Conrad Black, but then shut it down. The Department of Buildings later established their headquarters in the building. The building was made a landmark in 1986.

At one point, firefighters were unable to remove a hose that was connected to a fire truck. Efforts to remove the hose resulted in the hydrant exploding from underneath, causing a geyser in front of the building. It was quickly controlled, though DEP would be called to repair and hydrant.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Allegany, NY – Fire contained to electrical room at lumber company thanks to fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

A fire reported at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Potter Lumber Company kept firefighters on the scene until 4:30 a.m. Thursday, Allegany Volunteer Fire Department officials said.

A report issued by the fire department Thursday said the fire at the Potter Road business, located off Five Mile Road, was determined to be accidental in nature following an investigation by Allegany fire investigators.

Gordon Scott, spokesman for the Allegany department, said there were no injuries as firefighters from several area departments were called to the scene battled the blaze.

In addition, Scott said no employees had been at the lumber company when the fire broke out.

A report from the fire department said, “due to the large industrial building and large amount of timber within the building, a large mutual aid request was put out to include Westons Mills, Knapp Creek, town of Olean, Hinsdale, Limestone, city of Olean, Portville, Cuba, Deputy 4 and National Grid.

“Engine 31 arrived on scene and began an interior fire attack while the Truck 6 crew set the tower and went to the roof,” the report stated. “Due to the sprinkler system and an aggressive interior attack, the fire damage was contained to the electrical room and a small portion of the roof above the mill.”

The fire department also thanked “all the mutual aid that responded and the multiple standby companies” that covered the mutual aid districts.

For his part, Scott said it was not only a late night but also “an early morning” for firefighters.

He said fire investigators were not able to assess the amount of damage incurred. He noted the power was shut off to the entire company by National Grid during the incident.

Messages seeking comment from officials with Potter Lumber were not returned Thursday.

An employee at Potter Lumber said the company office was open on Thursday, but didn’t indicate whether the plant was operating.

“We’re still assessing the rest of the damage,” the employee said.

A company website noted Potter Lumber specializes in the production of green and kiln dried hardwood lumber.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Geneva, NY – Fire sprinklers help extinguish fire inside Walmart

A fire broke out at the service center of a Walmart supercenter in Geneva Wednesday afternoon.

Employees were evacuated and traffic was redirected at the intersection of Routes 5 and 20 and Berry Fields Road by Geneva Fire Department.

White Springs Fire Association responded, with assistance from Geneva Fire, the Ontario County Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Services along with Finger Lakes Ambulance.

Walmart employees were not permitted to comment and referred press inquiries to the company’s public relations hotline.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The White Springs Fire Chief says a call came in at around 12:30 p.m., and some employees reported flames up to the ceiling in certain sections of the store.

A second alarm was called after firefighters arrived on the scene.

Firefighters say the sprinkler system activated, and extinguished a majority of the fire.

There was heavy smoke and fire damage to the building.

Uncategorized

Buffalo, NY – Student project at University sparks accidental fire, extinguished by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

A class project that didn’t go as planned triggered Wednesday’s fire on the seventh floor of Furnas Hall on the University at Buffalo’s North Campus.

UB spokesman John DellaContrada said Friday that a student built a device called a Stirling motor for a thermodynamics project in Room 706, the lounge of UB’s engineering fraternity.

UB’s campus newspaper, the Spectrum, reported that after the student left for dinner, an electric current ignited a piece of steel wool in the project, causing the fire, which spread to some furniture.

Della Contrada was unable to confirm that scenario, but he said the fire appeared to be accidental. The student has cooperated with university police, but a report from a state fire investigator is still pending, he said.

“Because this is believed to be an accident, University Police have not referred the case to UB’s student conduct office,” Della Contrada said.

The building’s sprinkler system and Amherst firefighters extinguished the blaze. No one was hurt.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Pearl River, NY – Sprinkler system contains fire at local pizzeria

The Pearl River Fire Department responded to the call around 3:22 a.m., Thursday, Nov. 13, at Sorrento’s Restaurant at 54 N. Middletown Road in Pearl River in a shopping plaza, the department said on Facebook.

Once on the scene, firefighters found heavy smoke conditions in the building and sprinkler activation inside the restaurant.

After forcing their way into the restaurant, crews were able to douse the flames in the kitchen area and return to the station by 5:30 a.m.

The building received heavy smoke and water damage.

No word on when the restaurant will be able to reopen.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Watertown, NY – Sprinkler system at manufacturing facility extinguishes fire

A sprinkler system inside a Watertown manufacturing facility did its job late Wednesday afternoon and put out a small fire.

Firefighters were called to the Jefferson County Industrial Park off outer Coffeen Street to Allied Motion a little before 3 p.m.

Fire officials told 7 News a spark from equipment in a testing and quality control room set off a small fire above a drop-down ceiling.

The sprinkler system put out the fire, but firefighters had to do smoke removal.

Fire officials say damage was moderate. The building was evacuated.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Cortland, NY – Fire that started in restaurant duct work quickly put out by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

City of Cortland Fire crews yesterday (September 11) responded to an early-afternoon kitchen fire at the Wild Ginger Asian Fusion restaurant on Main Street.

Deputy Chief Wayne Friedman says it started in the ductwork of the restaurant and was put out quickly around 3 p.m. by the building’s sprinkler system.

Thankfully, no one was injured in the fire and damage was kept to a minimum.

The Cortland County Health Department also responded and will now have to clear the restaurant for cleanliness before it can reopen to customers.

It will also follow up on any necessary structural repairs that need to be made.

Apartment Building, Residential

Cohoes, NY – Sprinkler system contains fire on 10th floor of apartment building

A section of the Cayuga Plaza Apartments were evacuated early Tuesday morning after a fire broke out.

Officials say the fire began around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday. The fire department evacuated a wing of the 10th floor, opening a nearby senior center to those who were displaced.

Many returned to their apartments by several hours later. Officials say everyone should be able to return to their apartments by the end of the day, except for those in the unit where the fire broke out. That apartment has smoke and water damage.

The cause of the fire is still unknown, but the apartment supervisor says the sprinkler system did go off. Some of that water has filtered down from the 10th to the first floor, where service crews are working to clean it up.

The Red Cross is at the scene assisting those residents still displaced from their apartments.