Tag Archives: Night (9pm-5am)

Apartment Building, Residential

Grapevine, TX – (No media coverage) Apartment fire caused by unattended cooking doused by sprinkler system

***No media coverage – Fire Department reported*** On October 1st, 2017 at 03:32 the Grapevine Fire Department was dispatched to the Montelena Apartments at 501 Turner street #622 for an alarm activation. The first on-scene fire crews arrived to find audible fire alarms activating with nothing showing. Apartment #622 on the second level was investigated and fire crews found a single side wall sprinkler head had activated and extinguished a fire on the stove. The cause of the fire was from unattended cooking. There was fire damage to kitchen cabinets around the stove and smoke damage to the ceiling above the stove. The single sprinkler head contained, extinguished the fire; saving lives and property on the same floor and below. Even though the fire alarms had sounded, residences in the affected fire apartment were still in their bedroom. Fire damages were estimated around at $4000 saving and protecting a property valued $33,450,000.

The numbers are accurate for repairs and value of building. The contents of the apartment was estimated on renters insurance of $10,000

Dry Cleaner, Retail

Newark, NJ – Sprinkler system helps extinguish overnight fire at laundry business

A fire that started earlier in the day caused thousands of dollars in damage and temporarily closed Buckeye Linen Services.

The fire was reported around 11:10 p.m. Thursday. Crews remained on scene until about 1:45 a.m. Friday. 

Newark Fire Chief Pat Connor said the fire started in a dryer duct, spread to the attic and ultimately to the roof of the building on Jefferson Street. 

The building had a sprinkler system that activated and helped to extinguish much of the blaze.

Connor said there appears to have been a fire earlier in the day at the facility that crews at the building believed they had put out with fire extinguishers. However, that fire was not extinguished fully and likely caused the fire in the evening, he said.

There was significant damage to a portion of the building to the point where a structural engineer was called in to make sure the building was safe to occupy.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Destin, FL – Sprinkler system helps contain deck fire at seafood restaurant

Crews responded to a fire that broke out at Tailfin’s Seafood House and Oyster Bar on the Destin harbor early Thursday morning.

According to Destin Fire Department Batallion Chief Jimmy Taylor, the call came in at 4:37 a.m. and crews from the Destin Fire Department and the Okaloosa Island Fire Department responded.

Taylor said no one was inside the building at the time the fire began and there were no injuries. The cause of the fire has not been determined and is under investigation by the DFD. The fire damage is estimated at $25,000.

 The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office said the fire began on the back deck. The restaurant’s sprinkler system contained most of the fire before crews arrived and extinguished the remainder of the fire, and there was no known damage to the interior of the business.
A woman who answered the phone at Tailfin’s said the second and third floor of the restaurant are open.
Uncategorized

Juneau, AK – Sprinkler knocks down arson fire in hospital waiting room bathroom

For the second straight day, in much a similar way, a bathroom was burned by an arsonist in Juneau.

Shortly after 3 a.m. Wednesday morning, the Juneau fire department was brought to Bartlett Regional Hospital by a 911 caller reporting fire and an explosion.

“Someone had set something on fire in the bathroom in the waiting room lobby adjacent to the emergency room,” said Capital City Fire/Rescue Assistant Fire Chief Ed Quinto.

The fire came less than 24 hours after an as-yet-unidentified arsonist set a fire in a Thunder Mountain High School bathroom.

Katie Bausler, a spokeswoman for the hospital, said a man identified as Arlo Bradstreet set a small fire in a bathroom trash can. The fire melted the trash can and was sufficiently hot to trigger the bathroom’s sprinkler system.

According to court records online, Bradstreet has been charged with second-degree arson, a class B felony. He is scheduled to be arraigned on those charges at 1:15 p.m. today at Dimond Courthouse.

Two patients and 15 staff were working in the hospital’s emergency department at the time: All were exposed to smoke, but none sought medical attention, Bausler said.

Quinto said a triage nurse in the emergency department reported hearing a loud boom and feeling the room shake as the fire took place. It is yet not clear what, if anything, exploded during the fire.

Bausler said the noise and shaking may have been caused by the sheer force of the sprinkler system starting.

“The sprinklers really did their job,” Bausler said, adding that an inch of water covered the floor of the emergency department’s waiting room before cleanup began.

When the Empire visited the hospital Wednesday morning, there was little sign of damage and more sign — literally — of cleanup. “Wet floor” signs were scattered around the waiting room near floor fans attempting to dry the scene.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Tyler, TX – Sprinkler system helps contain electrical fire at Golden Corral; No injuries reported

The smell of smoke was in the air Wednesday, and a portion of the west side of Tyler’s Golden Corral building near the roof showed where a fire had burned the night before. An exterior door and some windows were also boarded up.

The Tyler Fire Department received the call shortly before 11:30 p.m. Tuesday that heavy smoke and flames were coming from the restaurant at 5602 S. Broadway Ave. Firefighters reported smoke and flames when they got to the scene, but got the fire under control.

A total of four engine companies, two ladder companies, an investigator and a District Chief were dispatched to Golden Corral, according to the Tyler Fire Department news release.

Units were cleared from the incident at 1:05 a.m.

Investigators determined the fire started near the southwest corner of the building in the exterior eave. Fire officials said the only ignition source in that area is lights. Fire investigators noted that the breaker controlling the lights had been tripped, and that an electrician had recently worked on the lights.

Most of the fire damage was to the outside of the building, with smoke and light fire damage to the interior.

The inside of restaurant sustained water damage from the building’s fire sprinkler system as well as from the firefighters putting out the blaze.

No injuries were reported.

The restaurant will be closed for at least three or four days for repairs and cleaning.

Food Processing, Manufacturing

Brandon, MB, Canada – Overnight fire at food processing plant suppressed with help from sprinkler system

Brandon firefighters and police responded to a report of a fire at the Maple Leaf Foods plant at 2:36 a.m. Tuesday morning. In a brief phone call this morning, Capt. Wade Ritchie confirmed news of the fire, which burned deep inside the hog processing plant. Ritchie said there was heavy smoke coming out when firefighters arrived on scene.  Brandon firefighters and police responded to a fire at the Maple Leaf Foods plant in Brandon in the early morning hours of Tuesday, Oct. 3. No injuries have been reported.  Details regarding the nature of the fire were not yet available this morning, though Richie stated that the sprinkler system activated within the building, aiding efforts to douse the blaze.  Both police and firefighters said there were no injuries reported to authorities.

Brandon Police Sgt. Dave Andrews told the Sun that the fire was not considered to be suspicious in nature. Police attended the scene shortly after the fire began, but soon ended their involvement on scene.More information is expected later this morning.

Apartment Building, Residential

Bridgewater, MA – Sprinkler system limits fire damage in apartment blaze; No injuries reported

Eighteen residents of a large apartment complex building are displaced due to water damage to multiple floors after a dryer fire Monday night. The Bridgewater Fire Department responded to Axis at Lakeshore, which is off of Pleasant Street (Route 104), about 11:10 p.m. after receiving a fire alarm activation at the station, then a subsequent 911 call.

“There was a fire in a dryer which was in a laundry room in an apartment on the fifth floor,” Chief Thomas Levy told The Enterprise. When firefighters arrived, there was heavy smoke on the fifth floor of the building, which has six floors. Although there was still an active fire inside the dryer when firefighters arrived, the sprinkler system was keeping it from spreading throughout the apartment.

“Within 20 minutes, they knocked the rest of the fire down,” Levy said. About 150 people had to evacuate the apartment building. Although there was smoke and water damage to all floors but the sixth, most of the residents were allowed back in. Levy said about 18 people who live in the apartments on each floor directly below the unit where the fire occurred were displaced. They either found places to stay overnight or were put in a nearby hotel by management.

“The fire was contained to that one apartment, but we had smoke in the hallway and water damage on all five floors underneath where the fire occurred due to sprinkler activation,” Levy said. Investigators are still working to determine what caused the fire inside the dryer. The fire chief said neither the lint trap or lint buildup in the duct work are initially believed to be the cause.

“The investigation is pointing toward the interior of the dryer, which was pretty melted,” Levy said. “We’re not sure if it was a mechanical failure, if it was overloaded or there might have been something inside the clothing.”

The chief said cooperation from maintenance staff and management helped firefighters quickly get into the affected apartment. Levy said they will investigate the cause further and work with management to make sure other dryers aren’t in danger of catching fire. This fire comes after there were two dryer fires in the region about a week apart in late September – one in East Bridgewater and the other in Whitman.

“These residents were home, but we would never advise leaving a dryer or any electrical appliances unattended,” Levy said. The chief estimated the damage caused by the fire to be about $75,000. The unit where the fire occurred sustained heavy water damage and there were ceiling collapses on two upper floors due to the water.

“The sprinkler system activated the proper way, the fire alarm activated and the smoke detectors were working,” Levy said. “It’s unfortunate the water damage that was sustained, but that’s out of our control.”

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Astoria, OR – Fire in mechanical room at Comfort Suites Hotel contained with help from sprinkler system

Monday night Astoria Fire Department and an Officer from Astoria Police Department were dispatched to the Comfort Suites in East Astoria for a report of a natural gas leak behind the building.  While the fire department was evacuating the building the gas leak ignited from an unknown source.  An intense fire broke out igniting the hotel triggering a working fire response.

Astoria fire department was able to quickly address the fire after the evacuation of the hotel. The fire had minimal penetration into the buildings mechanical room where a sprinkler activated.  A large water supply pipe burst inside the hotel flooding the first floor.  Displaced hotel patrons were relocated to other area hotels. Multiple agencies responded as mutual aid, including Olney Wulluski Fire Department, Lewis and Clark Fire Department, Warrenton Fire Department, Knappa Fire Department, Medix Ambulance and Clatsop County Sheriff’s Department.

The cause of the original gas leak and ignition source are under investigation. Members from the Clatsop County Fire Investigation Team and Oregon State Police Arson investigators will be meeting this morning to continue the investigation.

Other Business, Place of Worship

Methuen, MA – Sprinkler system helps firefighters control suspicious church fire

Officials are investigating a two-alarm fire that damaged the Christian Church Voice of Salvation at 5 Pleasant St. late Sunday.

Deputy fire Chief Scott Sullivan said the blaze, reported at 10:22 p.m., is still under investigation but indicated he is “leaning toward arson.” 

The State Fire Marshal’s Office is involved in the probe and took samples for analysis, Sullivan said.

Investigators used an accelerant-sniffing dog to detect possible signs of arson. A sprinkler head controlled the fire long enough for a hose team to get into the building, which housed the Red Tavern for many years, Sullivan said.

The building has many void spaces and that makes firefighters nervous, the deputy chief said. The firefighters who responded to the fire did a good job of keeping the flames from spreading, he said.

The fire damaged a rug and some furniture, Sullivan said. The Haitian-American congregation will most likely not hold worship services there next Sunday, he said.

Salem, New Hampshire, and Lawrence crews assisted Methuen firefighters. The last unit left the scene at 2:24 a.m. Monday.

Other - Retail, Retail

Gilroy, CA – Sprinkler system helps protect Salvation Army store from fire set by thieves

A 2-alarm fire at a Salvation Army facility in Gilroy destroyed $5,000 worth of donations.

Monday’s 2 a.m. blaze is being investigated as suspicious by the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office and Gilroy Police Department.

Flames spread through a trailer filled with donations.

Workers at the Salvation Army said the trailer has been broken into several times before at night, and the thieves use candles to light their way through darkness.

Workers suspect a thief’s candle sparked the fire.

The Gilroy Fire Department wrote on Facebook, “Crews responded to the Salvation Army store on Camino Arroyo, where they found a 53 (foot) trailer on fire up against the loading dock. The fire extended into the building but was held in check by the sprinkler system.”