Tag Archives: Night (9pm-5am)

Apartment Building, Residential

Colonial Heights, VA – Unattended apartment kitchen fire extinguished by fire sprinklers

An apartment catches on fire after cooking was left unattended in the kitchen.

On July 13 at 9:50 p.m., Colonial Heights Fire and EMS with Chesterfield Truck 12 were dispatched to the 200 block of Archer Avenue for an apartment fire.

Units arrived on the scene to find a fire in the kitchen had been extinguished by the fire sprinkler system.

Crews say minor damage was done to the apartment.

Two residents received burns after attempting to move the burning cookware from the stove to the sink.

The burns were non-life-threatening with one person being treated at the scene and the other was transported to MCV.

Occupants in the apartment and adjacent apartments were displaced. Red Cross was on scene to assist them if needed.

Apartment Building, Residential

Johnston, IA – Sprinkler system contain apartment garage fire after fireworks discarded improperly; No injuries reported

The Johnston-Grimes Metropolitan Fire Department has now determined the cause of an apartment fire last Sunday to be improperly discarded fireworks.

Just after 3:00 a.m. on July 5, JGMFD units responded to a fire alarm call at the Providence Point Apartments in Johnston.  The fire, which was contained by two sprinkler heads, was coming from the dumpster in one of the attached garages.

The crews took the dumpster out of the garage and finished putting out the fire from there.

Upon further investigation, they found the fire had been caused by fireworks that were thrown away in the dumpster.  No residents were displaced or hurt in the event of the fire.

Apartment Building, Residential

Loudoun, VA – Apartment kitchen fire controlled by fire sprinkler system

Damage from a Sunday night kitchen fire in a Sterling apartment was limited by an automatic sprinkler system, according to Loudoun County Fire-Rescue.

The fire occurred just after 9 p.m. June 28 at a second-floor Ridgehaven Terrace residence in the Cascades Overlook neighborhood. Emergency units from Cascades,Sterling Park, Kincora, Ashburn, and Fairfax County were called to the scene.

The fire was extinguished before crews arrived. Two apartment units were damaged by water from the sprinkler system and a total of six residents from the two residences were displaced. 

The fire was determined to accidental and a result of unattended food on the stove.

According to the Fire Marshal’s Office, the incident illustrates both the dangers of unattended cooking—a frequent cause of house fires—as well as the importance of lifesaving sprinkler systems.

“It’s important to educate the public about how automatic fire sprinklers help to contain and prevent fires from becoming more significant emergencies,” stated Fire Chief Keith Johnson. “Fire sprinklers save lives, including those of first responders, and greatly reduce the physical, emotional and financial damages that fires bring to a community.”

Apartment Building, Residential

Franklin, TN – Single fire sprinkler controls apartment kitchen fire, protecting occupants and building;

A single fire sprinkler head controlled a kitchen fire in a three-story, 24-unit apartment building Thursday night, protecting the occupants as well as the building.

According to Franklin Fire Investigator Will Farris, the family of four was not home when their second floor unit in the IMT Cool Springs apartments, 101 Gillespie Dr., caught fire. 

Farris said the fire appeared to have been caused by a pan of oil that was left heating on the stovetop which ignited after the family left the residence. 

Farris said one fire sprinkler head above the stove activated, and the flow of water triggered an automatic fire alarm.  The Franklin Fire Department was dispatched by the fire alarm monitoring company just after 6:30 PM.   Upon arrival firefighters forced entry to the apartment.  They found the fire being controlled by a single sprinkler, completed extinguishment, and shut off the fire sprinkler system.

Farris said in addition to the apartment where the fire originated, two other apartments sustained water damage.  He estimated total damage at $30,000.  Farris stressed that the fire would have become deadly within minutes and the building would have sustained far more fire, smoke and water damage had it not been equipped with sprinklers.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Gardnerville, NV – Fire sprinklers put out box of hot dog buns that ignited at senior center

A steam table that ignited a box of hotdog buns resulted in an early morning kitchen fire at the Douglas County Community & Senior Center on Thursday.

A single sprinkler head in the senior center’s fire suppression system doused the blaze in the 4:20 a.m call.

Douglas County Sheriff’s deputies and the East Fork firefighters responded shortly thereafter.

The steam table was accidentally left on, causing the cardboard box containing the hotdog buns to ignite. No damage to the Douglas County Community and Senior Center kitchen was reported.

“Staff of the Douglas County Community and Senior Center are extremely thankful to the well-designed fire suppression system within the building and the first responders of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and the East Fork Fire Protection District who prevented what could have been a very serious structure fire,” county officials said.

Apartment Building, Residential

Beloit, WI – Sprinkler system prevents apartment fire from spreading after improper use of smoking materials; No injuries reported

 No injuries were reported following a house fire caused by improper use of smoking materials on Tuesday, according to the Beloit Fire Department.

A sprinkler system at an apartment building in the 400 block of Olympian Boulevard “likely saved lives,” a fire department Facebook post said. The sprinkler system prevented a fire in the common room from spreading further.

The fire started at around 11:20 p.m. on Tuesday. A couch in the common area caught fire from the careless use of smoking materials, but the fire was extinguished by the sprinkler system, with the blaze causing approximately $7,000 in damages, the department said

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Bend, OR – Sprinkler system puts out restaurant fire after oil rags caught on fire

A northwest Bend restaurant’s bagged, laundered kitchen rags still had enough oil on them to spontaneously combust and spark a fire early Thursday morning that was stopped quickly by a sprinkler head, an official said.

Bend Fire & Rescue crews were dispatched around 4 a.m. to the report of a possible structure fire at Broken Top Bottle Shop & Ale Café on NW Pence Avenue, Battalion Chief Trish Connolly reported.

Crews arriving on scene saw smoke in the building, forced entry into the business and found a small sprinkler-controlled fire in the dining area, Connolly said.

The sprinkler system also set off all alarms in the building, alerting occupants in the apartments above the business, who evacuated with the help of police as fire crews arrived on scene. They were able to return to their apartments within an hour, Connolly said.

Fire crews made sure the fire was out and ventilated the businesses to reduce smoke damage, Connolly said.

The sprinkler system put out the fire, which began in the dining room from kitchen rags placed on a table, in laundry bags. Connolly said the fire was caused by spontaneous combustion from laundered rags which still had kitchen oils on them and were not separated after being dried.

Because the linen rags were in laundry bags and were not separated, the heat from the rags rose high enough to ignite the bags of linen.

Connolly said it’s more likely to occur in restaurants, spas and businesses where linens are used to clean up combustible substances, such as oils.

“Laundering does not get out all the residual oil, especially when the rags are used over and over with oil substances, so the residual oil builds up over time,” Connolly said.

Suggested laundry safety guidelines say separating rags after being laundered is important to avoid such fires.

Damage was estimated at $5,000 to the restaurant and $2,500 to the contents.

Fire damage to the building was minimal due to the quick dousing of the fire by the sprinkler system. On average, Connolly said, fires are controlled by activation of one or two sprinkler heads, which not only put out the fire but keep water damage to a minimum.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Warrenville, IL – Fire at construction business kept in check thanks to sprinkler systems; No injuries reported

A fire at a construction business in Warrenville has been ruled accidental, authorities said Monday.

The fire began about 10:30 p.m. Friday on the 30W200 block of Butterfield Road, when firefighters were alerted that something was wrong by an automatic alarm, Warrenville Fire Protection District Assistant Chief Andy Dina said in a news release.

The first crews made it to the scene six minutes after the alarm, then called in extra forces, Dina said.

Once a structure fire response team assembled, including personnel from the Warrenville fire district, West Chicago Fire Protection District, Wheaton Fire Department, Winfield Fire Protection District and Warrenville Police Department, crews brought a hose inside to extinguish the fire.

Dina said an automatic fire sprinkler system kept the blaze in check until firefighters arrived. He said crews put out the fire quickly, then ventilated the building and checked to ensure the flames hadn’t spread to adjoining units. No one was injured.

Investigators on Monday wrapped up their interviews and their probe into the cause of the fire, determining it was accidental, Dina said.

Apartment Building, Residential

Mountain View, CA – Fire sprinkler system suppresses apartment fire; No injuries reported

Three people were displaced by a fire at a Mountain View apartment building Wednesday night, authorities said.

Crews were called to the 600 block of Franklin Street about 8:30 p.m. for a report of a fire alarm sounding from an apartment in a three-story building, the Mountain View Fire Department said in a news release. A smoldering box was found on top of the kitchen range.

The fire department said the blaze had been suppressed by the building’s sprinkler system.

Crews turned off the sprinkler system and made sure the fire was fully extinguished, the fire department said. No injuries were reported.

The fire department said a total of three residents from the apartment and one below it were displaced by the fire. Damage to then contents and structure was estimated at $50,000.

The precise cause of the fire is under investigation.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Fallston, MD – Single sprinkler head knocks down fire in staff lounge at middle school; No injuries reported

Crews responded to a fire alarm that activated overnight at Fallston Middle School.

At just after 4:15 a.m. on Thursday, crews from the Fallston Volunteer Fire and Ambulance Company were dispatched to the school, which is located at 2303 Carrs Mill Road, for an automatic fire alarm activation.

Upon entering the area indicated on the alarm panel, firefighters found a single automatic sprinkler had activated and there was light smoke in the room, which was a staff lounge area that also contained IT servers.

An electric floor fan had been placed in the room to maintain air flow to assist in cooling the room. The fan malfunctioned and ignited directly below a sprinkler head, which activated extinguishing the fire and activating the fire alarm, thereby limiting the damage to the school building.

The fire was extinguished and the scene was cleared by 5:30 a.m.

No injuries were reported.