Tag Archives: North Carolina

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Statesville, NC – Boiler room fire at high school put out by sprinkler system; No injuries and classes not disrupted

A fire that broke out Monday night in a boiler room at Statesville High School did “minimal damage” and will not disrupt classes, school officials said Tuesday.  The school’s sprinkler system put out the blaze shortly after it began around 6:30 p.m., according to a press release from Iredell-Statesville Schools.  The boiler room is in the basement of the Center Street campus. Some staff members were at the school when the fire started but no injuries were reported.  The Statesville Fire Department worked with school maintenance staff to secure the area, ISS said.

Air quality tests showed that the school was safe and classes were held as scheduled Tuesday.  Principal Hans Lassiter said the area “has pretty much been cleaned up. There are remnants of the burned insulation that smelled pretty bad, but that, too, has been neutralized.”  One basement classroom will temporarily be relocated while repairs are made.

Apartment Building, Residential

Fayetteville, NC – Single sprinkler extinguishes apartment kitchen fire; No injuries reported and no one displaced

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Two units in the Cliff Creek Apartments off Cliffdale Road were damaged by water Friday after a pan caught fire and set off the sprinkler system, according to the Fayetteville Fire/Emergency Management Department.  The fire at 731 C.L. Tart Circle was reported at 5:45 p.m.  Firefighters responded to a reported apartment fire in the complex and upon arriving, saw smoke coming from a second-floor unit, a fire department news release said.  A single-sprinkler head was activated and put out the fire in the pan left on the stove. No one was displaced or injured, and no damage estimate was given.

Other Business

Avon, NC – Sprinkler system “did its job and saved our building,” according to spa owner

Spa Koru in Avon is closed this morning following a fire late Wednesday.  The spa said on its Facebook page no one was in the   building at the time and the sprinkler system “did its job and saved our building.”

“However we still have quite a bit of smoke and water damage that we will need time to clean up,” the spa said.  Despite the fire, Yoga by the Beach was still scheduled for 8 a.m. at the Beach Club.

Apartment Building, Residential

Hickory, NC – Sprinkler system keeps dryer fire in apartment building contained until fire crews arrive

The Hickory Fire Department responded to a fire at the Estates at Legends apartment complex on Wednesday.

Battalion Chief J.L. Barger said a dryer was a source of the fire. Sprinkler systems kept the fire contained until firefighters could ensure it was out.

The building has no fire damage but the sprinkler system has flooded several apartments, Barger said. No one was hurt, but several people will be displaced.

Barger said that the fire department is asking owners of the complex to find temporary housing for those displaced. If units aren’t available they will seek assistance from the Red Cross, Barger said. The complex sits behind AMC Hickory 15 movie theater.

Catawba County Emergency Medical Services were also present as a precaution. 

Mildred Barbitta lives on the ground floor a couple floors below where the fire occurred.

“Just everything’s wet, really,” Barbitta said after taking a look in her apartment. “There is some water damage, I guess, on the ceiling. Things happen.”

Barbitta estimated the fire happened between 11:30 a.m. and noon.

Devon Payne was in her apartment on the floor just above where the fire occurred.

“I was microwaving something and I thought, ‘Oh no,’ and then I realized it was the fire alarm,” Payne said.

Payne left her apartment with her two children and dog.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

James City, NC – Late night fire at assisted living facility contained by sprinkler system; Fire started in laundry room

Fire fighters responded to <a fire> at Croatan Village, an assisted living facility in James City.  Crews were called there at 11:30 p.m.  The fire started in the laundry room, but the sprinkler system contained fire. Everyone was evacuated, and no one was injured. A canopy was set up for residents until they could return to their rooms.

Apartment Building, Residential

Durham, NC – Sprinkler system extinguishes apartment fire

A child playing with a lighter set a blanket on fire in an apartment in Durham, North Carolina, on Monday, a day after a fire in Johnston County killed a man and his 2-year-old son, who was playing with a lighter, Durham fire officials said.

The Durham fire, which happened shortly after 3 p.m. in the apartment at 111 N. Elizabeth St., was put out by a sprinkler system, but water damaged the whole apartment, Deputy Chief Chris Iannuzzi said.

The child’s age was not immediately available.

Firefighters called the American Red Cross to help a woman and two children find somewhere else to stay, Iannuzzi said.

Firefighters found the two after being called to the blaze at 1592 Beulahtown Road.

Officials said the fire started when Matthew was playing with a lighter on a bed.

Apartment Building, Residential

Albemarle, NC – Sprinkler system keeps apartment fire from spreading; Saves occupant’s life according to Fire Chief

An Albemarle Fire Department official says a sprinkler saved a life May 19, but he urged residents about the dangers of unattended food left cooking.  Albemarle fire units were sent to an alarm at 3:24 a.m. Saturday at 219 E. North St. in the Central School Apartments. “Our units arrived on the scene to find a sprinkler head that activated and extinguished a fire in the kitchen area of one of the apartments,” said Fire Chief Shawn Oke.

“The fire was started from unattended grease left on the stove,” Oke added. “One of the occupants discovered the fire on the stove and moved the burning pan to the sink before the sprinkler activated and controlled the fire. The fire was controlled by the activation of one sprinkler head. Thanks to the sprinkler activation the fire damage was contained to the apartment where the fire originated.”

Oke said damage to the apartment and its contents is estimated at $30,000.  The fire chief reminded everyone to not leave anything on the stove unattended.  “If you have to leave the kitchen, remove the item on the stove from the burner,” Oke said. “It only takes a short period of time for an unattended pot to start a fire, especially if the pot contains cooking oil.

“It is also recommended that you don’t ever store anything on top of your burners as the knobs can be bumped and accidently turned on resulting in a fire.”

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Mebane, NC – Early morning warehouse fire contained to area of origin by sprinkler system

Crews are working to figure out what caused an industrial fire at the Kidde warehouse in Mebane early Tuesday morning. Mebane fire officials say the fire started around 5:12 a.m. An automatic fire alarm went off, alerting Mebane and Haw River firefighters. Efland, Pleasant Grove, and Sweponsville firefighters also responded.

Crews put the fire out just before 9 a.m. They say the fire started in a storage facility on the Kidde property, which stored merchandise including smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors and fire extinguishers. Fire crews say no was hurt inside the facility or at the plant when the fire started, and no one was injured putting out the fire.

“The sprinkler system actually kept the fire contained in its area of origin, but it’s a fairly large area, there were several heads that activated,” said Mebane Fire Chief Bob Louis. Crews are still on scene investigating what started the fire. They hope to have an answer by Tuesday afternoon. Kidde has operated in Mebane for decades but expanded its plant in the last few years. Fire officials tell us the storage facility where the fire started is part of the older area of the plant.

Auto Dealership, Retail

Albemarle, NC – Sprinkler system contains fire at auto repair business

A car repair business inside the Yett Millwork Corporation building at 503 Old Charlotte Road has been displaced due to a Tuesday morning fire. Albemarle Fire Department units were dispatched at 7:29 a.m. and the first unit arrived six minutes later. Engine 121 reported smoke showing from the building, with a fire being discovered inside. “Luckily the sprinkler system worked OK and contained the fire to where it started,” Fire Chief Shawn Oke said. Two individuals escaped the building on their own and two others were located and removed during a search of the building, Oke said. Damage to the building is estimated at $20,000, with damage to contents at $5,000. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Twelve on-duty and 14 off-duty personnel responded and had the scene cleared shortly after 11 a.m. Also assisting were Albemarle Police Department, Stanly County EMS and City of Albemarle Public Utilities.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Rockingham, NC – Sprinkler system extinguishes plastics fire at packaging manufacturer

Firefighters didn’t have much fighting to do when they responded to an alarm at Direct Pack East late Wednesday night. Several bags of ground-up plastic caught fire at the manufacturing plant in the former Trane building on Airport Road, according to Bill Bayless, deputy chief of the East Rockingham Fire Department.

Crews from ERFD and Cordova responded after the call went out around 11:30, but Bayless said “the sprinkler system had it extinguished by the time we got there.” The only damage, he added, was to the bags — “It didn’t even smoke up the building.”

A front-end loader was brought in to take out the molten material where firefighters sprayed it down to make sure the hot spots were out. “We don’t know why they smoldered like that,” said Laura Murphy, vice president of marketing for Direct Pack. She said the company would be conducting an internal investigation into the cause.