Tag Archives: Night (9pm-5am)

Apartment Building, Residential

Rochester, MN – Kitchen fire contained to one apartment by fire sprinkler system

The Rochester Fire Department was called to the 1700 block of Quarry Ridge Place Northwest around 11:44 pm. Firefighters say they arrived on scene to find residents evacuating and visual and audible alarms going off. Water was seen flowing from underneath an apartment door and crews forced their way to help a person inside get out of the building.

Firefighters say a small kitchen fire in the apartment had been put out by an activated sprinkler system. Crews shut off the sprinkler, ventilated the apartment, and then used vacuums and squeegees to remove the excess water.

One apartment resident was transported by Mayo Clinic Ambulance for evaluation and treatment. The Rochester Fire Department says the cause of the fire is not know but there was flame damage to the kitchen, water damage to the apartment and adjacent hallway, and smoke damage throughout the apartment.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Manassas, VA – Sprinkler system keeps laundry room fire under control

The first blaze, at Wyndham Garden Hotel on Vandor Lane, started in a laundry room about 12:55 a.m. Firefighters arrived to find smoke spreading through the building, Prince William County fire and rescue said in a news release.

A second alarm was initially requested due to the type of occupancy and smoke conditions. The fire was located and contained to the laundry room located in the hotel’s basement.

The fire had been kept under control by the building’s sprinkler system. Crews further controlled the scene and initiated smoke removal. The hotel was temporarily evacuated during the incident but occupants were allowed to return. Three occupants were evaluated on the scene but did not need to be hospitalized.

Fire damage was limited to the a dryer and was determined to be the cause of the fire as observed by the Fire Marshal’s Office.

Apartment Building, Residential

Venice, FL – Stove fire extinguished by fire sprinkler; No injuries reported

Just before 9 p.m. on Tuesday, June 4, Venice and Sarasota County Fire Departments responded to 221 Harbor Drive for a structure fire.

Upon arrival, firefighters found light gray smoke coming from unit two of the residence.

Crews entered the structure and found a fire sprinkler spraying water onto a stove fire.

Crews extinguished the fire and shut the water to the unit. The Salvation Army was contacted to assist a mother and child with relocation efforts. No injuries were reported.

Other - Residential, Residential

Visalia, CA – Dryer fire at homeless shelter stopped by fire sprinkler activation; No injuries reported

Visalia’s largest homeless shelter had a close call after a industrial-sized dryer caught fire early Tuesday morning, according to Visalia Fire Department.

Thankfully the damage was minimal but Visalia Rescue Mission (VRM) will be in the market for a new dryer and possibly a fresh coat of paint. 

At 1:07 a.m., firefighters responded to a reported fire at the rescue mission, located at 322 Northeast First Avenue. The fire was reported in a laundry room toward the back of the men’s facility.

VRM offers meals and laundry services to many Visalia families and residents. 

When the first crew arrived, they didn’t see smoke coming from the building. Eventually, fire crews found the fire coming from a dryer in the laundry room, according to Battalion Chief Darrin Hughes.

The fire was contained to the laundry room. The fire caused a sprinkler to activate which stop the spread of flames, Hughes said. 

Mission staff and Visalia police helped evacuate those who were in the building. It’s unknown how many people were inside the building when the fire was reported.

No injuries were reported, firefighters said. 

Utilities to the facility were left on so the mission could operate normally, Hughes said.

The cause was “undetermined,” Hughes added. The fire caused more than $5,000 in damage to the dryer. Water damage was minimal. 

The property is worth approximately $350,000.

Finance Director Shon Baldwin encouraged anyone looking to support the mission in light of Tuesday morning’s fire to donate through the nonprofit’s website. 

Apartment Building, Residential

Fort Bend County, TX – (No media coverage) One sprinkler head extinguishes apartment fire; No injuries reported

On June 1, 2019 at approximately 21:18 hours, Investigators from Fort Bend County Fire Marshal’s Office responded to an apartment fire located at 16731 Beechnut St. Houston TX 77083 (Greens at Brentford Apartments). Community Fire Department requested investigators from the Fort Bend County Fire Marshal’s Office respond. Upon arrival, investigators found that a small cooking fire had occurred in an apartment. One sprinkler head activated and extinguished the fire. The affected apartment had minor damage. No damage was reported to any other living units. No injuries were reported.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Waco, TX – Packaging plant fire held in check by fire sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Waco fire investigators estimate $1,000,000 damage to contents of a packaging plant facility in an early Monday morning fire.

Fire units were dispatched to the Sunoco Packaging plant at 6501 Texas Central Parkway at 1:49 a.m. after someone in the plant pulled a manual alarm.

Occupants of the building were evacuated as the fire was observed in one of the processing machines.

All employees were accounted for and there were no injuries.

The automatic sprinkler system in the plant did operate.

The report indicated the 100,000 square feet of open space and 25-foot ceilings made ventilating the building a challenge.

The initial written fire report indicated the cause of the fire appeared to be a leak in piping carrying solvent to the printing machines with the actual ignition of the solvent being either heat from the operating equipment or a spark from the associated electronics.

Apartment Building, Residential

Orange, TX – Sprinkler system activation controls apartment fire

Firefighters in Orange say a group of Samaritans forced entry into an apartment Sunday to extinguish a fire.

Orange Fire Department was dispatched to a fire at approximately 2 a.m. Sunday at the Velma Jeter Apartments, in the 5700 block of Velma Jeter Drive in Orange.

According to residents at the scene, they were awakened by the sounding fire alarm going off from the blaze. 

Several residents noticed the fire in the apartment and quickly grabbed nearby fire extinguishers to extinguish the blaze.  

One man broke the glass to retrieve an extinguisher stored in the complex’s sidewalk, kicked in the apartment door and extinguished the fire. The man had to be treated on the scene by fire responders due to smoke inhalations after he collapsed from going inside the burning unit. 

He did not require transport to a hospital.

When firefighters arrived, the fire was mostly out with heavy smoke coming from the unit. They did spend some time verifying the fire was out and that the damage was limited to the single unit.

The occupant of the apartment was not home at the time, and according to neighbors, the resident was seen moving out earlier in the day.

The fire could have been much worse had the sprinkler system not done its job and the residents had not teamed up and worked together according to firefighters.

Nine portable fire extinguishers were used by the neighbors before the fire department arrived.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the City of Orange Fire Marshal.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Morris, IL – Fire at Menards contained by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

The Morris Fire Department and several others responded to a fire at Menards in Morris around 4:00 a.m. on Sunday.  

Morris Fire Chief Tracy Steffes said the accidental fire was caused by a malfunctioning deep freeze that caused some racks of dry goods to catch fire.

The sprinkler system was activated containing the blaze until fire personnel could arrive. Steffes said this was an excellent example of where a fire suppression system saved a building from a multi-million dollar loss.

He also said a large amount of man power was needed to place fire attack lines into service due to size of the building. They also used the MABAS Division 10 large ventilation fan to clear smoke from building, which was filled with smoke from floor to ceiling. The fan came from the Lyons Fire Department.

The incident was investigated by the Illinois Fire Marshal’s Office, MABAS Division 15 Arson Investigators, Morris Police and Fire Departments. Estimated damages including loss of revenue due to being closed are at $1 million so far.

No injuries were reported and the business was closed on Sunday.

Apartment Building, Residential

Charlottesville, VA – Sprinkler systems puts out dryer fire, keeps fire from spreading to entire apartment complex

Some people living in an apartment complex near the University of Virginia Corner are without a home after an early morning fire.

Firefighters were called to the 200 block of 14th Street Northwest just after 2 a.m. Tuesday, June 4. When they got on scene, they found a dryer on fire on the fourth floor of the building.

Crews credit the sprinkler system for keeping the fire contained to just the dryer.

“One of the lessons of an incident like this is just how important it is to have a working sprinkler system and alarm system,” Charlottesville Fire Chief Andrew Baxter said. “That sprinkler system saved lives tonight, there’s no question about it.”

No one was inside the apartment at the time of the fire.

Baxter says people living inside two apartments have temporarily been displaced due to smoke and water damage throughout the building.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Valdosta, GA – Sprinkler system extinguishes kitchen fire on fourth floor of hotel

The Valdosta Fire Department responded to an early-morning fire Sunday at a four-story hotel.

Crews arrived to the hotel at 1003 North St. Augustine Street just after 4:30 a.m.

Upon arrival, firefighters found that the sprinkler system on the fourth floor of the building had extinguished the small kitchen fire. The cause of the fire was determined to be unattended cooking.

Fire crews remained on scene to assist water removal personnel.