Tag Archives: Night (9pm-5am)

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Yuma, AZ – Condominium garage fire kept from spreading by fire sprinkler head; No injuries reported

On Wednesday August 28, 2019, at about 4:50 am, smoke was reported in a garage at a residence in the Eldorado Condominiums, 2239 South 35th Avenue. Yuma Fire Department personnel arrived to find a sprinkler head had activated in the garage and water was flowing. The water flow was stopped and it was found that a fire appeared to have been extinguished. Firefighters confirmed the fire was out and had not spread.

Firefighters located the area in the garage where the fire had originated and found what was left of a radio controlled car. The car was on an office type chair and had been left charging. Damage was limited to the radio controlled car and the chair. The chair had been directly under the sprinkler head and would have activated early in the fire. The homeowner had been home at the time the fire occurred and was able to reoccupy the residence. There were no injuries.

Fire sprinkler systems can keep fires from spreading and can also extinguish them. Fires spread quickly and can double in size every minute. Even small fires can cause significant damage to property and endanger those nearby. Contrary to many Hollywood portrayals, only sprinkler heads directly exposed to the heat activate, not those in the rest of the room, building, or complex. Sprinkler systems save lives and protect property.

Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

Cincinnati, OH – University dorm fire started by battery-operated skateboard kept in check by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Meredith Barckert said she was watching TV with her boyfriend in his fifth-floor dorm room at Calhoun Hall when the fire alarms went off.

“I looked down the hallway and smoke filled up the entire hall,” Barckert, 18, told WCPO. “I said, ‘Let’s get out.’ Everyone ran down the stairs. It was super crowded … Everyone got out, so it wasn’t too intense.”

A malfunction in a battery-operated skateboard caused a fire in a fifth-floor room, forcing hundreds of students to be evacuated from the 12-story University of Cincinnati dorm Tuesday night, officials said.

A student in the room that caught fire and everyone else in the building escaped without injury, according to a release from District Fire Chief Louis Arnold.

“Fortunately the sprinkler system was keeping the fire in check and most of the damage was from the water,” Arnold said.

Damage was estimated at $20,000, he said.

Barckert said the fire occurred a few doors away from her boyfriend’s room. She said a bed caught fire, though officials did not confirm that.

Forty-four firefighters responded to the dorm after the call came in around 10:15 p.m., according to Arnold.

“I think out of every dorm this would be the scariest one to have a fire,” Barckert said, commenting on the number of floors.

Two students were displaced, Arnold said. An announcement on UC’s Public Safety Notifications page said “affected residents will be given alternative housing.”

Barckert and other students waited outside while fire and UC crews cleaned up inside.

“They told us all to go inside the CCM (College-Conservatory of Music) auditorium and stay in there, but some people are finding friends to stay with,” she said.

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.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Fond du Lac, WI – Fire at local business quickly contained thanks to sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A sprinkler system saved a downtown Fond du Lac business from serious fire damage early this morning. According to a news release from Fond du Lac Fire and Rescue, firefighters were called to the business at 88 South Main Street around 1:30 AM for a report of a sprinkler system being activated. Fire crews found the sprinkler system flowing at one location inside the building – and the fire was quickly contained thanks to the system.

The fire did not extend to other areas of the building, and firefighters began ventilating smoke from the business. The release says the cause of the fire is unknown at this time, and Fond du Lac Police will conduct a follow up and continue the investigation into the cause. No injuries were reported as a result of the fire.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Owensboro, KY – Compressor fire at grocery store contained by fire sprinkler system

A Tuesday morning fire broke out at Price Less Foods on Scherm Road, which caused mostly heavy smoke and water damage.

The fire was reported at 3:19 a.m. by Owensboro police officers responding to a burglary alarm at the store, at 1731 Scherm Road. Steve Leonard, battalion chief for the Owensboro Fire Department, said the fire appears to have started in a compressor in one of the grocery store’s coolers.

The fire is believed to have smoldered for an hour or more before spreading to other coolers and activating four of the store’s sprinkler heads.

The sprinklers contained the fire to the area of the affected coolers. Leonard said falling ceiling tiles activated a motion alarm. When officers arrived, they found smoke and water coming out of the store and called for fire units, Leonard said.

Firefighters were at the store for about two and a half hours, Leonard said. The fire itself did minimal damage, but the building and contents sustained heavy smoke and some water damage, Leonard said.

“Had there not been sprinklers, it would have extended into the attic area,” and become a major fire, Leonard said. The cause of the fire has been ruled accidental.

“The compressor failed for some reason,” Leonard said. The store was closed Tuesday.

Other Business, Place of Worship

Puyallup, WA – External fire sprinklers contain fire before it reaches interior of building; No injuries reported

 Federal agents and the Pierce County Fire Marshal are investigating a suspicious fire that broke out early Tuesday outside a Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall in Puyallup.

Jason Chudy of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) said there are indications the blaze may be linked to a series of previous arsons last year at Kingdom Hall churches in Thurston County.

The Puyallup fire broke out at about 2 a.m. Tuesday just outside the Kingdom Hall in the 11500 block of 62nd Avenue East.

The blaze was mostly extinguished by an exterior sprinkler system before it could reach the interior of the building, said a Central Pierce Fire & Rescue spokesperson. The blaze left scorch marks and damage on an exterior wall.

The damage would have been much more extensive if not for the sprinkler system, Chudy said.

“It saved the assembly hall a lot of damage,” he said. “We were very thankful there were sprinklers on scene.”

No one was injured.

Chudy said the fire looked “very similar” to five fires that were deliberately set at Kingdom Halls in Thurston County last year, destroying two of them. One church also was struck by gunfire in a sixth incident that caused $10,000 in damage.

“So even though at this point we can’t conclusively tie this to the other ones, the similarities lead us to believe it is at least possibly tied,” Chudy said. “So we believe this very well could have been potentially set in an attempt to burn the building down.”

He said law enforcement officials hope to catch the arsonist responsible before more damage is done or someone is hurt.

“We want this person or persons off the street as quickly as possible,” he said.

Residential, Single Family Home

Livermore, CA – Fire sprinkler system helps contain residential fire to bedroom; No injuries reported

 Firefighters quickly extinguished a residential fire in Livermore early Wednesday morning. The blaze was reported in the 100 block of E. Stanley Boulevard at 2:13 a.m.

Smoke was visible from the back of the residence, according to Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department officials.

“With the help of the sprinkler system, LPFD personnel were able to quickly contain the fire to the second story bedroom and exterior siding,” Deputy Chief Aaron Lacey told Patch.

Lacey said the home sustained “major water damage.”

“Large fencing, a narrow driveway, and a distant local fire hydrant made initial operations and access into the property difficult,” Lacey said.

No one was injured during the blaze. The cause of the fire is under investigation. 

Apartment Building, Residential

Reno, NV – Mattress fire at apartment complex contained by fire sprinkler system

Reno Fire crews put out a mattress fire at an apartment complex on Sinclair Street in Reno around 2:00 a.m. Wednesday August 7th.

The fire activated the sprinkler system which caused water damage to several apartments.

The building was evacuated while crews put out the fire but most residents are back home now.

The cause is still under investigation.

Apartment Building, Residential

New Milford, CT – Apartment grease fire extinguished with the help of sprinkler system

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A kitchen fire drove four families out of their apartments on Monday.

The sprinkler system and homeowner extinguished the grease fire that started around 9:15 p.m. Monday in the kitchen of an apartment at Brookside Commons, said Kevin Reynolds, deputy fire marshal.

But the water from the sprinkler dripped down and damaged the three apartments below, Reynolds said. The apartment where the fire occurred also suffered water damage, he said.

“Sprinklers are great things, but boy they can do some damage,” Reynolds said. “One way or another, they are positive thing.”

Red Cross is helping the eight residents, which includes five adults and three children, by providing tips on how to recover and comfort kits with supplies the families lack, the organization said.

Water Witch Hose Co. 2 and New Milford Ambulance responded, Reynolds said.

There are 12 apartments in Brookside Commons, which is on Thomas Lane.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Massillon, OH – Sprinkler system stops fire from spreading on production line

Firefighters quickly extinguished a fire in a production line Saturday night at Shearers Foods.

Crews were called to the plant at 4100 Millennium Blvd. SE, just before 10 p.m.

When firefighters arrived smoke was coming from the roof, Assistant Chief Paul Harbaugh said. The production line was in the south side of the building.

Personnel had been evacuated from the building and the sprinkler system had been triggered, he said. The fire was contained to the line and did not impact the structure.

Shearers maintenance personnel ventilated the building.

Perry Fire Department provided a medical unit.