Tag Archives: New York

Apartment Building, Residential

Oswego, NY – No injuries reported in apartment fire contained by sprinkler system

Oswego Fire Department personnel were called to a multiple-story building at 131 W. First St. at 6:42 p.m. Monday with reports of smoke filling an apartment. Crews were first alerted to smoke in an apartment on the 6th floor, ultimately locating a fire in an occupied apartment on the first floor.  Firefighters and Oswego Police personnel assisted the resident from the apartment and brought her to safety.  The fire was kept under control by the sprinkler system until firefighters were able to make entry to the apartment and knock it down.  The fire was declared under control at 6:53 p.m.  Fire damage was confined to kitchen, with smoke and water damage throughout the apartment of origin.

Smoke also filled several apartments and multiple floors of the building. Residents in the smoke-affected parts of the building were evacuated with the help of the Oswego City Police Department and the US Border Patrol, while other residents were asked to shelter in place.  Firefighters used multiple means to ventilate the structure of the smoke.

After several air quality checks, all of the residents were allowed to return to their apartments, with the exception of the fire apartment. No injuries were reported, all personnel were back in service at 8:10 p.m.  Special thanks to the building manager and maintenance personnel for their assistance during the emergency.

Apartment Building, Residential

Ithaca, NY – Sprinkler system puts out apartment fire before fire department arrives

At around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, the Ithaca Fire Department was dispatched to a reported fire at 217 S. Cayuga Street “The Loft” apartment building.

Firefighters arrived on the scene minutes later to find the building’s sprinkler system flowing. They were told by a maintenance worker that there was a fire in the bedroom on the second floor. Crews immediately headed up to search for occupants and to confirm that the fire was out. Other firefighters worked to shut down the sprinkler system and ventilate smoke from the building.

Ithaca firefighters worked alongside building maintenance personnel to minimize the water damage to the fire apartment and those directly below. Occupants were displaced for about 45 minutes before they were allowed to return.

The Ithaca Police Department and Bangs Ambulance assisted at the scene. There were no injuries to occupants or firefighters.

The fire was determined to be caused when a combustible object made contact with a halogen lamp in the apartment. The Ithaca Fire Department reminds everyone that light bulbs, especially halogen bulbs, can get extremely hot. Always exercise caution when using them and keep flammable objects a safe distance away.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Rochester, NY – Spontaneous combustion fire at textile plant contained by sprinkler system

No one was hurt after a fire on St. Paul Street Wednesday night. An automatic fire alarm went off at the Alsco plant on St. Paul around 7 p.m. A third alarm was declared because of the heat, manpower and the size of the building – approximately 65,000 square feet. Firefighters said the fire was put out without anyone being injured. They said the fire started in the back of the building, and that a sprinkler system helped keep the fire from spreading. The extent of damage to the building is not yet clear. The cause was due to a spontaneous combustion of textiles, according to Rochester firefighters. There was no one inside and no one injured.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Lake George, NY – Basement fire at Courtyard Marriott hotel extinguished with help from sprinkler system

One person was hurt and dozens of guests evacuated late Friday after a fire broke out in the basement of the new Courtyard Marriott hotel on Canada Street, officials said. At least 15 firetrucks from around the region responded to the hotel for the 8:40 p.m. call as smoke filled parts of the building.  The fire was out within minutes, and Lake George Fire Chief Jason Berry said guests were expected to be able to return to their rooms late Friday. But they had to wait for a few hours for the building to be ventilated and for sprinkler system heads that were activated to be replaced, the chief explained.

Warren County sheriff’s Sgt. Ben Geisler said one person was taken to Glens Falls Hospital after they were hurt during the evacuation, but the injuries were not considered serious The fire broke out in an industrial trash can in the southwest corner of the basement of the building, apparently from spontaneous combustion of construction materials in it, the chief said. That area is unfinished and construction has been ongoing.  Berry said firefighters arrived to find material on fire and smoke in the building, but the fire did not damage the structure itself. He said it was unclear what was in the trash container.

“The sprinkler system definitely did its job,” he said. Sprinklers went off only in the area where fire was detected, but sprinkler heads that activate have to be replaced before the building can be re-opened, Berry said.  Among the guests in the hotel were 30 or so members of the New York State Fire Districts Association, who took the situation in stride as they watched firefighters deal with the situation. They stood near the main entrance on the west side of the building, watching their brethren handle the situation. Some still had their bar drinks.

“We got up and got out in an orderly fashion,” said Kit Thompson of Baldwinsville. “We knew what we had to do.” Jerry DeLuca, a fire chief from Ravena and executive director of the state fire chiefs association, was among the hotel guests, and he said there was no smoke evident on the side of the building where he was as he evacuated.  He praised the local fire department response.  “You guys did a great job,” he told Chief Berry.  Two blocks of Canada Street were closed for several hours, as firetrucks from around the region lined up in front of the building. Mutual aid came from North Queensbury, Bolton, Warrensburg, Queensbury Central, Bay Ridge, Luzerne-Hadley and South Queensbury. Several tower trucks were among the apparatus called to the scene.

Apartment Building, Residential

Poughkeepsie, NY – Early morning apartment fire put out with help from sprinkler system; Fire started in closet

An early morning apartment fire that began inside a closet was quickly put out with the help of a sprinkler system Monday, according to City of Poughkeepsie Fire Chief Mark Johnson. An automatic fire alarm at 4:15 a.m., shortly followed by a phone call, alerted firefighters to the fire at 150 Hudson Ave., Johnson said.  Once on scene, firefighters discovered a fire in a first-floor apartment. Firefighters were met with heavy smoke, and heat from the fire had caused the sprinkler system to activate. The sprinkler system helped contain the fire, according to Johnson.  The occupant of the apartment was not home at the time, Johnson said. No civilians or firefighters were injured.  Firefighters from the Arlington Fire District and the Fairview Fire District assisted at the scene. All fire personnel had left the scene by 5:40 a.m., Johnson said. The fire is believed to have started “in a clothing closet,” he said, and its cause is under investigation by police and fire investigators.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Endicott, NY – Sprinkler system puts out fire at Weis Market; Suspect arrested and charged with arson

A Johnson City man has been charged with arson after officials say he intentionally set a fire in the Weis Market in West Corners.

The West Corners Fire Department responded to the Weis, located at 412 Day Hollow Road in the Town of Union, around 3 p.m. on Thursday, February 16th for a report of a small fire inside the store.

Officials say the store was occupied by both employees and shoppers at the time, and that the fire was extinguished by the automatic fire sprinkler system.

They say the fire caused almost $10,000 in damages and lost income.An investigation by the Broome County Bureau of Fire Investigation found that the fire was intentionally set in a coat room at the rear of the store.

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As a result of the investigation, Zachary Constable, 22, of Johnson City, was arrested and charged with arson in the 2nd degree and criminal mischief in the 2nd degree, both felonies.

He was arraigned in the Town of Union Court and was taken to the Broome County Jail.

Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business

Elmont, NY – Barn fire at Belmont Park race track extinguished by sprinkler system; No horses or people injured

As reported on ESPN.com,  there were no injuries to horses or humans reported as a result of a small fire in a tack room in Barn 61 at Belmont Park on Thursday night. Michelle Nevin has most of the horses stabled in that barn. According to Glen Kozak, the New York Racing Association’s vice president of facilities/racing surfaces, some equipment was placed too close to an electric heater in a tack room, sparking the fire. The sprinkler system in the barn went off and doused the fire before the Elmont Fire Department arrived.  “No horses were moved, no horses were hurt,” Kozak said. “We were lucky, it was a very minor event with minimal damage.” Kozak estimated the damage to be $2,500 and mostly to a wall in the tack room.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Oneonta, NY – Fire at Southside Mall contained by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A sprinkler system contained a fire in a service room at Southside Mall early Wednesday morning, officials said. The flames were extinguished and the mall was open as usual.

Crews went to the rear side of the main mall building at about 4 a.m. after responding to multiple alarms at the property reported by an alarm company through Otsego County 911, Oneonta Fire Department officials said, and crews were at the mall minutes later.

Oneonta crews put out flames in a small area of a service room in the main building at the mall on state Route 23 in the town of Oneonta, said Fire Chief Patrick Pidgeon.

Pidgeon said no one was hurt and the cause of the fire was under investigation.

Upon responding, crews checked buildings on the mall property and found water coming out of a doorway in the back of the main mall structure, Pidgeon said. Three sprinkler heads in the service room had provided sufficient water to suppress the blaze so that crews were able to enter the building and service room, he said, and crews used a fire extinguisher with water to put out flames that were showing.

Southside Mall was open as usual, according to Luisa Montanti, general manager at the mall. The fire was in a stock room, sprinkler heads were replaced and the electrical panels were being checked, she said.

“It was a small incident,” Montanti said. She expressed gratitude that the sprinkler system worked and for the quick response of the Oneonta Fire Department.

Oneonta crews were back in service after the fire at about 6:15 a.m., officials said.

Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic

Rochester, NY – Electrical panel fire at hospital contained with help from sprinkler system

Firefighters say a major short in a power box is responsible for sparking a fire at Monroe Community Hospital early New Year’s Day.  Firefighters say an electric panel on the fourth floor caught fire around 2:30 a.m.   Crews got in quickly extinguished the fire.  The sprinkler system caused some water damage, but contained the fire was contained to the utility room.  Firefighters say no one occupies the section of the building where the fire started, however there was a power outage to part of the building.

Apartment Building, Residential

Binghamton, NY – Apartment fire contained to one unit with help from sprinkler system

Firefighters spent the evening on the scene of an apartment fire at 58 Park Avenue in Binghamton.

According to the Binghamton Fire Department, apartment 1A caught fire.

BFD officials say the fire damage was contained to apartment 1A, which they say now needs extensive renovations.

BFD says the fire sprinkler in the apartment hallway was activated, but the fire was contained to apartment 1A. Smoke, however, moved up the stairwell to both the second and third floors.

A woman and child were pulled out of an apartment window on the third floor because smoke moved to the third floor, trapping the mother and her son in apartment 3A behind a cloud of thick smoke.

“What I heard was the guy on the first floor, he was leaving the building and the fire was going on in his apartment,” said apartment 3A resident and mother Lydia Lopez.

With the tenant from 1-A already out of the building, it was up to Lopez’s downstairs neighbor on the second floor to alert other residents to the fire on the first floor.

“She said ‘tell everybody get out!’ and he just got out, he didn’t tell nobody get out. So by the time I could get out, the house in 3-A was already flooded in smoke and I couldn’t get out with my son. They had to take me out the window from the back,” Lopez continued.

“The tower took a ladder around to the backside of the building, put it up to the third floor, and rescued the mother and her baby from the third floor,” said BFD Assistant Fire Chief Mark Whalen.

The thick smoke made it almost impossible to see the walls of apartment 3-A and Lopez didn’t want to take her son through the smoke.

Chief Whalen says firefighters arrived 2 minutes after the 9-1-1 call, and had her out of the apartment moments after arriving.

She tells 12 News that after being surprised by smoke billowing into their apartment, she’s lucky to be alive.

“I’m happy they got here on time, cuz other times some people are not lucky to get out alive, so we got out safe and sound, thanks to the fire department,” Lopez said.

Asst. Chief Whalen says the apartment complex was turned back over to the owner and the owner will decide whether or not tenants will be allowed back in before repairs are made.

The exact cause of the fire is still under investigation.