Tag Archives: Night (9pm-5am)

Apartment Building, Residential

Denmark, WI – Sprinkler system prevents spread of early morning apartment fire

Three units of a Denmark apartment complex are seriously damaged after an early morning fire. The Brown County Sheriff’s Office responded at 4:09 a.m. Sunday to the 300 block of Danish Way. The fire started in the kitchen area of one of the units.

No one was hurt. A sprinkler system prevented the fire from spreading to other units. The Red Cross is helping the people who lived in the three apartments that were damaged.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Louisville, KY – Apartment kitchen fire contained with help from sprinkler system

A 3-alarm fire forced residents to evacuate the Brown Suburban Condominium Homes Thursday night. Firefighters responded to the fire at the condo at 3320 Bardstown Road near Goldsmith Lane around 9 o’clock. The fire started in an apartment on the third floor and was contained to that unit, but smoke filled the hallways, and residents were forced to evacuate. Many of the residents are elderly and in wheelchairs, which made the evacuation more difficult, but everyone got out safely.

Firefighters say several apartments have smoke and water damage. Buechel Fire Chief Adam Jones says two people were checked by EMS at the scene.

“We made several medical assists to get them out of there — nobody was transported,” Jones said. “Louisville Metro EMS did check out two different residents that came out — didn’t transport them to the hospital or anything like that so everybody’s safe.”

It took about an hour to put out the fire.

After an investigation, Jones says the fire started when a stove was unintentionally left on after someone accidentally bumped a knob. The overheated stove set a wall on fire,triggering the sprinkler system.

There is substantial smoke and water damage to the third, second and first floors of the building.

The Red Cross helped 10 adults and six children displaced from several apartments with the most damage.

Residents without damage are back in their homes. Others are working with cleanup crews and insurance adjusters.

Other - Residential, Residential

Hastings, NE – Early morning fire at homeless shelter controlled by sprinkler system; No injuries

Those living in a Hastings homeless shelter were displaced overnight following a fire early Wednesday morning. The Hastings Fire Department says they were called to the Crossroads Rescue Center just after midnight. Smoke could be seen in the building as fire crews arrived.

Staff said all 87 people were out and uninjured when fire crews arrived. The fire was found in the north basement of the building. Hastings Fire Chief Kent Gilbert says the sprinkler system was able to keep the fire from spreading much before firefighters arrived.

Hastings Rural and Juniata Rural firefighters also responded. While crews were working on extinguishing the fire in the basement, others assisted with searching the other floors and reducing smoke damage with ventilation. Part of 14th Street was closed for more than two hours because of the fire.

Adams County Emergency Management was called to the scene to assist with relocating the residents displaced by the fire. The fire department says most were relocated to 20 rooms in the C3 Hotel.

A state fire marshal determined the fire was started accidentally when bedding came in contact with a heater. Wednesday, the shelter was cleaning up after returning to the building around 8 a.m.

“We have great guests here at Crossroads. Everybody pitched in, especially the men, just pitched in. We took up flooring. We cleaned up soot. We took out burnt items. Probably by noon we were mainly cleaned up,” said Crossroads Program Director Daniel Buller.

Buller said the damage is mostly contained to the basement laundry room where the fire started, but work continues to help prevent mold. He said insurance should cover the damage, but the need for things like food and toiletries at the shelter is ongoing.

The estimated cost of the damage is not yet known.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Jackson, MI – Suspicious fire at downtown sports bar contained by sprinkler system

Investigators are calling a fire that damaged Chase Sports Bar in downtown Jackson suspicious. The fire started Sunday night just after 9 p.m. then spread to the back of the building.

“It was kinda like your worst nightmare,” said Owner Randy LeMaster. LeMaster was working at his other bar down Michigan Avenue when he got the call.  “The back next to the walk-in freezer was all up in flames,” he said.

Investigators say the fire started in a storage area outside the bar and just kept spreading. “It started to extend up the back side of the building which was a steel sided building. That presents its own problems because there are gaps between the steel and the brick behind it, so the fire mainly got into that gap space,” explained Deputy Fire Chief David Wooden with the Jackson County Fire Department.

Flames even got into the air ducts, but firefighters say the damage stayed to a back bathroom and the kitchen thanks to a sprinkler that went off. Investigators say they’re treating the scene as suspicious. “When you have a fire that started outside of a building, you don’t have the amount of accidental causes that could have started the fire,” Wooden explained.

Security cameras from both the bar and the apartment building next door could be key to helping investigators, they’re looking over all the video and hope it will show them just how the fire started. “We’re just hoping to see if there was anybody in the area to see if there’s something else we need to follow up on,” Wooden said.

Jackson called in 3 other fire departments through mutual aid because the fire was at a commercial building and there was a high-rise retirement apartment building next door. About 30 residents were evacuated but the fire never spread to the inside of the apartment building.

LeMaster says he’s just happy no one was injured. With significant smoke and water damage to the back of the building, he’s now focused on getting it repaired. But LeMaster is counting himself lucky since the flames didn’t spread to the main bar.

Still with the holidays coming up, he can’t afford to be out of business. “I’ve got a crew lined up to move forward on getting things cleaned up,” he said.  Chase will be closed for at least a month.  LeMaster tells News 10 he has about 30 employees at that bar and he’s trying to keep them busy with cleanup or get them extra hours at his other bar.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential High Rise

Southfield, MI – Early morning fire in senior high-rise complex put out by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

The all-clear has been given after some scary, smoky moments inside a senior living complex in Southfield early Thursday morning.  Fire crews were called around 3:30 a.m. to Highland Towers off Greenfield Road near Interstate 696 because the fire alarms were going off. Many residents saw and smelled smoke.  Firefighters were door to door on all 12 floors trying to wake everyone up and learn where the smoke was coming from.

“We didn’t know where the fire came from,” says Deborah Taylor-Kiel. “I just smelled the smoke because the doors shut and the fire alarm went off in my apartment where I live, and that’s very scary.”

Eventually, firefighters learned someone threw something down the trash shoot which started a fire in the trash room. The sprinkler system was able to put the fire out.

No one was hurt and nobody’s individual apartment was damaged, so everyone was allowed back in their homes. Some parts of the building have water damage now, though. 

Other - Retail, Retail

Madison, WI – Overnight fire at retail store extinguished by sprinkler system

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Chester, VA – Suspected arson fire at Amazon facility put out by sprinkler system

Chesterfield Fire crews responded to a fire at the Amazon facility in Chester early Saturday.

The call came in at 3:55 a.m. for a fire in the restroom. 

However, within an hour after officers arrived on the scene, they found fires in two separate restrooms. Both of the fires started in the trash can.

Lt. Jason Elmore with Chesterfield Fire says an employee extinguished one of the fires, and it did not spread outside the trash can.

The other fire activated the sprinkler system and was extinguished by the sprinkler. Flames spread to the counter and to the walls.

The business was shut down for two to three hours.

The Fire Marshal is investigating, and it is believed the fires were set with arson in mind.

Lt. Elmore says no one was injured, but Chesterfield Fire and Amazon officials are still trying to determine any suspects involved with these fires.

Charges could be pending.

Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business

Grapevine, TX – (No Media Coverage) Two clubhouse fires at Cowboys Golf Club extinguished by sprinkler system

*** NO MEDIA COVERAGE – FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORTED *** Cowboys Golf Club is distinguished as the first and only NFL themed golf club in the world. Franchise owned by the Dallas Cowboys; the property is described as one of the region’s only all-inclusive world class golf resort properties. The club is open to the public not only golf, but also dining, hospitality and private events, weddings, golf tournaments, corporate outings, business meetings, fundraising galas and other special occasions.

The clubhouse is a multi-level building that encompasses a lobby, restaurant, bar, pro shop, and administrative staff. The club house is protected by a fire alarm and a sprinkler system. The sprinkler system that protects the clubhouse is both a wet and dry system.

On January 15, 2016 at approximate 22:12 the Grapevine Fire Department responded to a structure fire at 1600 Fairway Drive (Cowboys Golf Club). Fire crews investigated and found that on the lower level, where the carts are serviced and stored and where supplies are kept, that a sprinkler head had activated due to a fire. The fire was contained and extinguished by one sprinkler head. After reviewing the video cameras, it was determined that the cause of the fire was due to careless smoking of an employee. The damage was minimum and the business was able to open the next day and sustain normal operating hours. The monetary loss of the fire was minimized to sprinkler repair and minor restoration and cleanup cost.

And then on October 8, 2016 at 22:19 the Grapevine Fire Department responded to another structure fire at the same above address. The fire crews determined that there was a sprinkler head activation on the lower level. Fire investigators determined through video surveillance that fire was caused by the recklessness of an employee playing around with a lighter. The employee was using the lighter to catch a cardboard box full of golf tees on fire. He mistakenly thought he had put the fire out. After about 2 hours of a slow smoldering fire, the fire was able to grow eventually large enough to activate one sprinkler head. The fire was contained and extinguished by the single sprinkler head.

Both fires at the Cowboys Golf Club have many similarities. Both fires were initiated by careless human acts and both fires were extinguished by the same sprinkler head. Not only did the same sprinkler head protect the building, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in replacement cost, content loss and revenue, but the sprinkler head also protected the people that were remaining on the floor above. During both incidents the fire was able to grow without notice to the point of being put out by a sprinkler head and the only knowledge of the fires was when the fire alarm activated alerting everyone of a problem.

The simple installation of a sprinkler system proves that it is much more than code compliance. It is about when lighting strikes and in this incident twice, the sprinkler saved and protected property and lives.

Other - Retail, Retail

Bedford, TX – Arson fire at convenience store put out by sprinkler system

Bedford police want to find the man who tried to set a convenience store clerk on fire who possibly ended up burning himself.  Police say the robber walked into a Bedford store Thursday night, took money from the clerk and set the place on fire, pouring some kind of flammable liquid in the store and on the clerk.

“The guy got the money out of the register and got it from Harry,” Quick Track Manager Sharron Meeks. Police say the man had a brown hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans. His only weapon appeared to be a bottle wrapped in a red rag and filled with what the store thinks was gasoline.

“Your heart sinks because you think how can someone be so cruel to not value life enough that they would do something like that to another human being?” said Meeks.

The video shows the man walk into the store. He poured the liquid on the counter and then went to the cash register where the clerk gave him money. The suspect then poured the liquid behind the counter and on the clerk.

“Wanted the money of the cash register, and he gave it to him, Meeks said. It was a close call for the clerk. People with the company say the sprinkler system put out the fire and probably saved the clerk from being burned. Police believe the suspect slipped and fell as he ran out and may have burn injuries to his hands, arms and upper chest.

“You see robberies in this business a lot, but this is the worst thing I’ve ever seen,” Meeks said. “The scariest.”

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Fredericksburg, VA – Sprinkler system helps extinguish fire at Value Place Hotel

A fire at Value Place extended stay hotel at 1455 Carl D. Silver Parkway displaced half the guests Friday night, October 7, 2016. The Fredericksburg Fire Department responded at about 10:47 p.m. to an alarm activation, and upon arrival discovered smoke in the fourth floor public hallway and water pouring from under the door of room 425, said Deputy Fire Chief Mike Jones.

The call was upgraded to an active fire, and additional units responded from Fredericksburg, Stafford and Spotsylvania.  Firefighters found the bed in room 425 on fire, but almost extinguished by the sprinkler system. The occupant had already evacuated. “The sprinkler did exactly what it was supposed to do,” Jones said.

All guests were evacuated. “A few people were looked at for possible smoke inhalation, but all refused transport,” Jones said. There were no injuries to guests or firefighters.  Fire damage is estimated at less than $5,000, but water damage is significant, Jones said.

The building is a stick-built wood structure, with more sheet rock than concrete between the floors, according to Jones. The water from the sprinkler system ran down from the fourth floor, causing significant damage. The fire marshal determined about half of the building could not be reoccupied. Hotel staff worked through the early morning hours to find alternate places for displaced guests to stay. The cause of the fire is under investigation.