Tag Archives: North Carolina

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Winston-Salem, NC – Sprinklers contain fire in 850,000 sq. ft. furniture plant; No injuries reported

A fire at the United Furniture Industries plant on Hanes Mill Road on Wednesday morning forced the evacuation of the 850,000-square-foot building, with no injuries reported after Winston-Salem firefighting crews extinguished the fire. The fire department stayed on the scene most of the afternoon, checking over the area where the fire occurred in the rear of the building on its southwest side. The fire was called in about 11:44 a.m.

Company spokesman Robert Cottam said the fire is believed to have been caused by a short circuit in some medium-voltage wiring. Insurance and fire investigators will be coming to the plant today to continue the fire investigation, he said. “We lost some furniture and have some smelly smoke damage, but we can fix that,” Cottam said. “We had no injuries and the evacuation went as planned.”

The fire started in a part of the plant where finished furniture items are kept prior to shipping them out. “There were flames visible,” Cottam said. “There were sofas on fire. It was not an excessively large fire, contained to about a 10-by-12- foot area. The Winston-Salem Fire Department did a great job. Our sprinkler system worked as it was supposed to.” Cottam said there would be a “significant product loss” of 7,000 to 10,000 pieces of upholstered furniture.

“That is in one section of the plant, but the others are going to be fine,” he said. “The inventory is not a total loss.” The fire was under control by 12:30 p.m.

Roger Brown, who works in a different part of the plant from where the fire occurred, said that he got right out when the alarm sounded. “We didn’t see smoke when we were in the place,” Brown said. “Once we got outside we could see black smoke billowing.”

Brown said he and other workers were told to take the rest of the day off and that the plant would be closed today.

Cottam said production will also probably not take place on Friday and that production at the plant would probably be up and running again on Monday. Distribution could be back in gear by Friday afternoon or sooner, he said.

United’s facility on Hanes Mill Road, formerly known as Hanesbrands’ Weeks plant, specializes in making promotional upholstery — lower-cost items used to draw customers into a store — and vinyl furniture in the $299 to $699 range.

United has about 350 employees at the 850,000-square-foot plant at 401 W. Hanes Mill Road.

When Hanes Hosiery Mills Co. opened the Weeks plant in 1960, it was the largest manufacturing plant in North Carolina. Hanes Hosiery spent about $30 million on the plant, which would be about $245 million in today’s dollars, according to calculations from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Concord, NC – Sprinkler system helps put out fire at shopping mall; No injuries reported

A fire at Concord Mills Wednesday morning caused the mall to evacuate employees and shoppers for a brief time.

Officials say the fire began inside an exhaust fan in the bathroom of the FYE store around 9:15 a.m.

Concord Fire Chief Ray Allen says the sprinkler system kicked on and was able to help put out the fire.

While the fire was not huge, crews are grateful it happened so early in the morning when the mall was not more crowded.

Most of the stores reopened inside the mall around 11 a.m. No one was injured.

Residential, Single Family Home

Asheville, NC – Fire in duplex extinguished by residential sprinkler system

A sprinkler system extinguished a structure fire Wednesday and helped the occupants escape safely, according to an Asheville Fire Department spokeswoman.  The Asheville Fire Department responded to a possible structure fire off Old Chunns Cove Road around 7 a.m. Wednesday, said department spokeswoman Kelley Klope. The duplex is east of downtown Asheville near Tunnel Road.

Light smoke was visible from one of the units in a duplex complex with four separate homes when firefighters arrived on scene, she said.  “When firefighters entered the building, they observed that the residential sprinkler system had activated and had extinguished the fire, minimizing fire damage and possibly saving lives,” she said.

Klope called this incident a success story. “Oftentimes stories like these, where there is no fire damage or injury, have little to report and therefore go unnoticed,” she said. “We cannot stress enough the importance of installing residential sprinkler systems in order to prevent death or injury and to minimize fire damage to personal belongings.”

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Huntersville, NC – Suspicious fire at Target store contained with help from sprinkler system

Investigators are considering the Target on Sam Furr Road in Huntersville to be a crime scene as they determine whether a fire Monday inside the store was set intentionally. The Mecklenburg County fire marshal revealed Tuesday that the fire was discovered in the paper product aisle of the store.  “It was already barreling up like past my height when I saw it,” Erin Soloman said.  Soloman called 911 after seeing the fire in the middle of a shopping aisle, and said she immediately knew it was suspicious.  “I saw the toilet paper and paper towels on fire,” Soloman said.

The Mecklenburg County fire marshal and Huntersville police are handling the investigation. They have not confirmed how the fire was started. As many as 36 firefighters from multiple agencies responded on the ground and on the roof, and extinguished the fire within 45 minutes. The fire was contained to the paper product aisle, but there is extensive smoke, soot and odor damage throughout the store, as well as water damage from the fire sprinkler system, according to the Mecklenburg County fire marshal.

“We’re looking at a lot of damage inside that building,” said Bill Suthard, spokesman for the Huntersville Fire Department. Three customers and one employee were treated for smoke inhalation, but no one was seriously hurt.  “It definitely started getting hard to breathe and I even started to feel it in my eyes,” Jarrod Bennett said.  While many shoppers describe the fire and emergency response as somewhat inconvenient, they’re thankful no one was hurt.  “It would’ve been a much more unfortunate situation,” Soloman said.

Target released a statement on Tuesday regarding the fire: On Monday, the fire and police departments responded to a fire at our Huntersville Target store. At Target, the safety and security of our guests and team members is of the utmost important to us. We worked to quickly evacuate the store and provide medical treatment to a handful of guests and team members who needed it. At this time, the store remains closed as we assess the damage and determine when the store might reopen. This is an active investigation and we encourage you to contact local law enforcement with additional questions.

Uncategorized

Raleigh, NC – Fire sprinklers save multiple buildings near construction site fire

Last Friday’s construction site fire in Raleigh, NC was a devastating incident for the City of Raleigh and all those impacted. News outlets and social media gave us all a first glimpse of the devastation, but we also observed the success stories in the properties saved because of firefighters and fire sprinklers. Buildings adjacent to the burning structure were saved by fire sprinkler systems that operated when glass windows failed from the heat of the fire exposure.  Were it not for fire sprinklers reacting fast and firefighters following up, the fire could easily have spread into several adjacent structures.

Among the nearby businesses that were saved was the office of the North Carolina State Firefighters’ Association (NCSFA). “Fire sprinklers saved our building and our office contents. Without them, we would have lost everything” shared Tim Bradley, NCSFA Executive Director. “Some of our stuff got wet, but it’s still there and will dry out.”  Because fire sprinklers are individually activated by intense heat, the only sprinklers that operated were near windows that failed from the heat of the nearby fire.  In other areas, where sprinklers weren’t needed, the contents remained dry.

Shane Ray, President of the National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA), former fire chief and state fire marshal added “Had it not been for the fire sprinklers in adjacent buildings, many more firefighters would have been in harm’s way trying to save those buildings. Fire sprinklers minimized property damage, saved the property tax rolls, ensured sales tax continues, and saved many jobs at businesses that might otherwise have been destroyed.”

Although the building under construction that caught fire was required to have fire sprinklers, the sprinkler system wasn’t completed or operational at the time of the fire. Shane Ray added that had the fire occurred after the building was complete, a fire would have been a non-event. Fire sprinklers would have operated when the fire was small, and the fire would have been controlled and contained to the area of origin until the fire department arrived and completed extinguishment and salvage of the remaining property.

For more information about the NFSA or to comment, visit www.nfsa.org. We provide resources to the fire service, building safety professionals, policy makers and citizens. Also visit www.highriselifesafety.com to see a whiteboard animation demonstrating the value of fire sprinklers and how they work.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Reidsville, NC – Arson fire at Food Lion grocery store suppressed by sprinkler system

Two fires ignited in Reidsville businesses on Saturday, Feb. 18, but officials say there is no connection … Less than 22 hours later, at 11:24 p.m., Reidsville Police, Reidsville Fire and the Rockingham County Fire Marshal’s Office responded to Food Lion in reference to a fire.  Inside, officials found a man actively damaging property.   The suspect was taken into custody and transported to Annie Penn Hospital, according to a news release.

Harris said a suspect broke a window, entered the store, caused damage and used a lighter to ignite paper products on aisle eight, including toilet paper and paper towels. This set off two overhead sprinklers which suppressed the fire.  There was limited fire damage to the building.  The officials arrived at 11:28 p.m. and the situation was under control by 11:37 p.m.

Apartment Building, Residential

Hickory, NC – Sprinkler system extinguishes overnight apartment kitchen fire; No injuries

Hickory firefighters were dispatched to a reported fire alarm at Kenworth Hall located at 426 2nd Ave SE. Firefighters responded with two engines, one ladder, one rescue truck, and two command units.  The first crew arrived to find heavy smoke on the second floor of the apartment complex. Firefighters also found the sprinkler system had activated and extinguished the fire in the kitchen. Firefighters worked to remove the smoke from the building and minimize the water damage. One apartment was damaged by the fire and two apartments sustained water damage, the Red Cross responded to assist the tenants. There were no injuries.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Greenville, NC – Afternoon fire at boat manufacturer extinguished by sprinkler system

Multiple fire and rescue units responded to a fire at Grady-White Boats on Martin Luther King Jr. Highway in Pitt County Monday afternoon.  The call came in around 3:45 p.m. for reports of heavy smoke coming from the building, and the staff was forced to evacuate.  Greenville Fire and Rescue, along with the Staton House Fire Department, responded to the scene, but the sprinkler system had already put out the fire.

“We had a small fire in our small parts area,” said Mark Doggett, who works at Grady-White.  “It was contained very quickly by our sprinkler system. We evacuated all of our people because there is some smoke. Everyone is accounted for. Everybody is safe. Now, we just need to get the smoke out of the plant, get things cleaned up tonight, and get back to work tomorrow.”  Minimal damage is expected but the staff has not been able to return inside because of the smoke.  Staff are expected to be allowed back inside Tuesday at 7 a.m.

Apartment Building, Residential

Fayetteville, NC – Arson fire at apartment complex extinguished by sprinkler system

Residents of a building in West Park Apartments in Fayetteville were evacuated about 9 a.m. Sunday after one of their neighbors threatened to kill himself by setting his apartment on fire, authorities said. The Fayetteville Fire Department said a small fire was set but quickly extinguished by the sprinkler system.  The Police Department said the man was taken into emergency custody for a mental evaluation. The Police Department had no record that a fire was set.  West Park Apartments is off Raeford Road on Laneridge Way and Fountain Grove Loop in western Fayetteville.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Weaverville, NC – Warehouse fire contained by quick response of sprinkler system; firefighters

Fire officials are trying to determine what caused a fire to break out at the Thermo Fisher warehouse near Weaverville.  Crews were dispatched to the scene around 1 p.m. Wednesday.  The chief credits the warehouse’s sprinkler system and fire crew’s quick response for the minimal damage to the building.  However, he said there is extensive damage to products that were inside. There were no reported injuries.