Tag Archives: Night (9pm-5am)

Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill

Whitestown, NY – Sprinkler system activated for fire at manufacturing facility; No injuries reported

No one was injured when a milling machine caught on fire at Whitcraft manufacturing on Halsey Road in Whitestown very early Sunday morning, according to the New York Mills Fire Department.

Fire Chief Rick Ulinski said the employees were working through the night when one machine caught on fire at about 1:45 a.m. The employees called 911 and evacuated the building at 8273 Halsey Road.

The fire was largely under control when volunteers from three local departments arrived on the scene.

“The sprinkler system did what the sprinkler system is supposed to do,” Chief Ulinski stated.

The chief said crews took less than an hour to knock down the flames for good. They remained on scene for two hours total.

The fire damage was contained to the machine, while a ventilation system directly above the machine was “warped” from the heat, Ulinski noted.

The New York Mills, Westmoreland and Whitesboro fire departments were dispatched to the scene.

Apartment Building, Residential

Lafayette, IN – Sprinkler system activated for apartment fire; No injuries reported

Lafayette Fire responded to a call just after 9 p.m. Sunday regarding an apartment fire.

Lafayette Fire confirmed to News 18 at the scene that a smoke alarm went off at a ground floor apartment at 1740 Salem Street in Lafayette.

The fire was contained to the front room of the apartment.

It was quickly put out.

Nobody was injured.

First responders say the apartment will likely be uninhabitable for the time being due to smoke damage and water damage from the sprinkler system.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Corbin, KY – Sprinkler system activated for fire at warehouse facility

Officials at Webbed Sphere Inc. were alerted to a small fire at the company’s facility that triggered the alarm and sprinkler systems about 3 a.m. Tuesday morning.

“Webbed Sphere really appreciates the first responders who arrived so quickly to ensure everyone’s safety,” said Jon Huston, founder of Webbed Sphere. “Their professionalism and dedication are second to none.”

Members of the West Knox Volunteer Fire Department were alerted to the blaze by the building’s alarm system. They were assisted in their response by the Corbin Fire Department.

The fire started in an area of the building leased by a tenant of Webbed Sphere. It was contained quickly by the building’s fire suppression system. There was no structural damage and the fire only impacted a small, 20’x20’ area consisting of a workstation and some shelving.

“It was just a lot of smoke from all the products that caught fire,” said John Ward, CEO of Webbed Sphere. “The safety of our employees is the top priority. They did report for work normally (Tuesday), but were reassigned to areas not impacted by the smoke.”

The company expected a full return to normal operations Wednesday.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Draper, UT – Sprinkler system activated for fire at water park changing rooms

Cowabunga Bay was closed after a fire broke out in the water park’s changing rooms early Saturday morning.

Draper Fire Department officials said crews responded to a tripped fire alarm at the water park just after 2 a.m. Upon arrival, they observed light smoke and found that the fire was primarily contained to the attic of the building.

Fortunately, the emergency sprinkler system had been activated, which helped to suppress the flames in the lower part of the building.

“Crews did a really good job knocking it down,” said Deputy Chief Bart Vawdrey. “They did have to cut an access hole through the top to get to it just to clear it out, and then they pulled the ceiling from below.”

The cause remains under investigation, but Draper Fire said that it doesn’t appear to be suspicious. While no official estimate has been made, crews on scene speculate that the cost of the damage to the building could be anywhere between $75,000 to $100,000.

In a post on Facebook, Cowabunga Bay said the fire damaged their phone lines, and the water park would remain closed as they survey the damage.

“We will be temporarily closed until we can assure that all of our facilities are safe for our employees and our guests,” the statement read in part. “We apologize for any inconvenience, be assured that we will be working hard to get back open so you can enjoy the best summer ever.”

Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business

Boston, MA – Sprinkler system activated for fire at press box grandstand

In the aftermath of a six-alarm fire that tore through a section of the old Suffolk Downs grandstand roof late Monday night, May 30, and into early Tuesday morning, on-site simulcasting has been interrupted as officials continue to investigate the cause of the blaze and assess the situation.

“The fire was contained to the press box structure on the roof. The press box, the television control room, the former placing judges’ stand, the stewards’ stand, and the announcer’s booth, that entire area was destroyed,” said Chip Tuttle, the CEO of Sterling Suffolk Racecourse, which sold the property to HYM Development Company in 2017 but continues to lease and operate the simulcasting and advance deposit wagering business.

The grandstand has not been in use since live racing ended at the end of June 2019, although the clubhouse has remained open for simulcasting. Suffolk Downs conducted simulcasting Memorial Day and closed at 6:30 p.m. The fire broke out at 10 p.m. in the building that was constructed in 1935.

“Because the television control room was destroyed, we’re going to have some interruption of on-site simulcasting,” Tuttle said. “We’re just trying to ascertain today how long that’s going to be.”

He added that as soon as the fire started, the sprinkler system was deployed, and the Boston Fire Department responded immediately. Boston EMS crews were also on the scene.

The fire was classified as five-alarm by 11 p.m. Monday, and by 12 a.m. Tuesday it was a six-alarm blaze. Mutual aid partners from six additional fire departments across Metro Boston were called in. Boston Fire Commissioner Jack Dempsey was in command on the scene and by midnight ordered all firefighters off the Suffolk Downs roof before the flames surged through it.

The Boston Fire Department tweeted that due to the limited water supply in the area, firefighters had to relay pump to get water to the structure, which is a maneuver that required thousands of feet of hose. Firefighters battled the blaze all night, and although it was contained by Tuesday morning, they were still visible on the scene Tuesday afternoon checking for hot spots and containing them.

HYM Development is in the process of repurposing the 161-acre racetrack property into a multi-mixed use development that will include 10,000 rental apartments, condominiums, office parks, restaurants, retail businesses, and entertainment venues. An official with HYM said May 31 that the fire damage did not affect the portion of the development currently under construction and that the redevelopment is continuing.  

Repairs to the old grandstand are to be determined.

“Whether the building was ultimately coming down or part of it was going to be preserved, I don’t know,” Tuttle said.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Harahan, LA – Sprinkler system activated for fire at Walmart; No injuries reported

A Walmart in Harahan is closed to the public today after a fire broke out there Monday (May 30) night, and it was caught on camera.

In this video, you can see the fire blazing in a section of the store, located in the 5100 block of Jefferson Highway.

Firefighters got the call around 9:44 p.m.

Responders say that when they arrived, the sprinkler system was already activated.

“Currently, as of the cause, it’s under investigation by Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s office, and our fire investigators,” said Chief Travis.

Officials also say a second fire happened this morning as a result of that first one, and electrical issues are to blame.

No one was hurt in either fire.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Frisco, TX – Sprinkler system activated for commercial business fire; No injuries reported

Just after 2 a.m. on Monday, May 16, firefighters with the Frisco Fire Department responded to a commercial structure fire in District 3 at the Hollywood Feed location next to Market Street at the intersection of Lebanon and Legacy.

The sprinkler system activated controlling the fire, according to information from the Frisco Fire Department’s Facebook page. Crews were able to quickly finish suppressing the fire. Fire damage was limited to a small area. There were no injuries and the fire is currently under investigation. 

Food Processing, Manufacturing

Cornelia, GA – Sprinkler system activated for fire at processing plant

An in-house sprinkler system, backed up by efforts from local firefighters, pevented a potentially disastrous situation for Habersham County’s largest employer. A fire broke out early Sunday inside Fieldale Farm’s main processing plant on Industrial Boulevard in Cornelia.

Around 4:39 a.m. on May 8, firefighters from Cornelia, Demorest, and Baldwin responded to the report of an alarm sounding and smoke coming from inside the plant. Habersham County Emergency Services also responded to the commercial fire.

When firefighters arrived, they found light smoke coming from inside the main plant. No one was working inside the plant at the time of the fire, says Cornelia Fire Marshal Josh Hazle.

A four-person crew of firefighters entered the plant from the main parking lot side to begin locating the source of the smoke as other firefighters looked around the outside of the building. Within approximately five minutes, Hazel says the inside crew found a small fire on a conveyor belt in the plant’s poultry processing area.

“Five sprinkler heads had activated and most of the fire was out,” says Hazle.

After Fieldale maintenance arrived and turned off the sprinkler system and electricity, fire personnel finished the job. They extinguished the small remaining fire with an extinguisher.

“Damage was contained to the one piece of equipment and the control wires above it thanks to the sprinkler system,” says Hazle. “The smoke dissipated quickly after the fire was extinguished, and no ventilation was needed.”

Fieldale maintenance and sub-contractors immediately began working to repair the damage so that normal plant operations could resume Monday.

Firefighters determined the fire was caused by a short in a light fixture located about the conveyor belt.

Other Business, Recycling / Waste Facility

Marion, IA – Sprinkler system activated for paper fire at recycling facility; No injuries reported

Sprinklers at Quincy Recycling prevented a paper fire from spreading early Wednesday morning.

The Marion Fire Department responded to the business in the 6200 block of North Gateway Drive for a paper pile smoldering around 3:20 am.

When crews arrived the pile had already been extinguished by the business’s deluge sprinkler system.

The fire started near the shredder and was confined to the discharge pile.

All occupants exited the building and no one was injured.

Office Building, Other Business

Dallas, TX – Sprinkler system activated for fire at office building

Dallas Fire Officials say someone set an uptown Dallas office building on fire early Tuesday morning.

The building located just off the Central Expressway access road between Blackburn and Fitzhugh Ave was surrounded by emergency vehicles around 4:00 a.m.

Officials say the building’s automatic sprinkler system was activated after an unknown suspect threw an explosive device, a so-called molotov cocktail, through an exterior window.

Jason Evans with Dallas Fire says crews were able to have the flames completely extinguished in 20 minutes.

They’re still trying to figure out who the arsonist is, and what their motive was.

Fortunately, nobody was hurt in the fire as the building was empty due to the time of day it happened.

One firefighter was actually injured, but not by flames. Evans says the individual was hurt while mopping up afterwards and had to be taken to the hospital.