Tag Archives: North Dakota

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Grand Forks, ND – Hotel dryer fire extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A sprinkler system extinguished a fire at a Grand Forks hotel early Sunday morning.

The fire department says around 4:10 a.m., crews responded to the Expressway Inn and Suites on 11th Avenue South on a water flow alarm.

Arriving crews encountered a light haze coming from the lobby area and discovered that there had been a fire in one of the commercial laundry dryers. The automatic sprinkler system had activated and extinguished it before crews arrived.

Guests and staff had exited safely. No one was hurt.

The fire caused about $10,000 in damages.

The cause of the dryer fire is under investigation.

Apartment Building, Residential, Residential High Rise

Fargo, ND – Fire on 14th floor of residential high-rise contained with help from sprinkler system; No injuries reported

An automatic sprinkler helped contain a fire in an apartment on the 14th floor of the 22-story Fargo Lashkowitz High Rise. Firefighters were called to the fire at 101 2nd St. S. at around 6:15 a.m. Saturday. A man inside the apartment was removed to safety and evaluated by FM Ambulance. No one was injured. The Fargo Housing Authority had crews on scene to take over clean up before fire crews had cleared. The cause of the fire is being investigated.

Apartment Building, Residential

Grand Forks, ND – Sprinkler system saves apartment building following cooking fire

An apartment sprinkler system saved a building in Grand Forks after a cooking fire got out of control Friday night. Firefighters say overheated cooking oil was to blame for the fire. Emergency personnel quickly shut off the water to minimize damage. One person was treated for minor injuries.

The full press release can be seen below:  Grand Forks, ND – A fire sprinkler system saved a building at 8 1/2 S. 3rd Street from extensive damage due to overheated cooking oil that caught fire, activating the sprinkler system.

At approximately 8:50pm December 14th, 17 firefighters responded to a fire alarm activation with the report of water flowing in the building. Firefighters arrived on scene to find a sprinkler head had activated over a cooking fire in an apartment unit on the second floor. Firefighters quickly controlled the flow of water and tried to minimize water damage to the apartment and other tenants located in the building.

The apartment occupant sustained some minor injuries related to the cooking fire. There were no reported injuries to firefighters.  Grand Forks Police Department and Altru Ambulance were also on scene assisting.

Apartment Building, Residential

Fargo, ND – Fire in fourth floor apartment extinguished by sprinkler system; No firefighter or civilian injuries reported

Fargo firefighters responded to a report of an activated fire alarm in an apartment building at 2:55 p.m. at 123 Roberts Street North. The building contains 62 apartments. On arrival, they found a fire in an apartment on the fourth floor.  The fire was contained to a couch in an apartment by the building’s fire sprinkler system. The fire created heavy smoke on the fourth floor; moderate smoke on the third and fifth floors; and, light smoke on the second floor. Because of the couch’s placement in the apartment, the fire caused two sprinkler heads to activate. The fire was extinguished by the sprinkler heads as the crew arrived at the apartment. There was water that needed to be cleaned up on the fourth, third, and second floors.  The cause of the fire is under investigation. Damage is estimated to be approximately $1500.00. There was minor fire damage in one unit, which was limited to the immediate area around a couch. There were no firefighter or civilian injuries. The one tenant in the apartment will not be able to stay in the apartment until it is cleaned.

Food Processing, Manufacturing

Minot, ND – Equipment fire at food processing company suppressed by sprinkler system

The Minot Fire Department responded to AGT Food <Friday> morning and upon arrival they could see smoke coming from the exhaust duct on the roof.  It was discovered that a piece of food processing equipment had product burning inside of it.  An automatic sprinkler system extinguished most of the fire but some of it expanded to the exhaust ductwork where residual product was burning.  After the fire department cleared the area, there was concerns that burning product transferred into a holding bin.  With the use of a thermal imaging camera, they discovered there was burning product in the bin and AGT employees emptied it.

Apartment Building, Residential

Fargo, ND – Third floor deck fire at apartment building contained by sprinkler system

At 3:31 p.m. Sunday, the Fargo Fire Department responded to a report of a deck on fire at 2560 55th Street South. The first arriving crew investigated and found smoke and flames coming from a 3rd floor deck. The deck fire was controlled and contained to a small area by an external fire protection sprinkler system.  Fire crews on scene used a hose line to fully extinguish the remaining fire. 

There were no reported injuries to civilians or firefighters.  A fire investigation was conducted and the cause of the fire was determined to be inappropriately discarded smoking materials.  The total cost of the fire loss is unknown at this time.

The Fargo Fire Department responded with 17 personnel on 4 engines, 1 truck, 2 Command vehicles and the Fargo Police Department. 

The Fargo Fire Department would like to remind everyone to properly discard smoking materials by making sure they are extinguished and discarded in a non-combustible container such as a metal container with a lid.

Other Business

Bismarck, ND – Sprinkler system extinguishes laundry fire at uniform business; No injuries and no damage to building

At 6:27 p.m. <last Tuesday>, AmeriPride’s remotely monitored fire alarm system went off, alerting the fire department.  Crews found a sprinkler head had activated and contained a fire in the laundry area. Damage was limited to some baskets of fabrics and some cotton mop heads. There was no damage to the building, which was unoccupied at the time of the fire. There were no injuries to firefighters.  “Without these systems in place, the fire damage to this property would most likely have been substantial,” Fire Marshal Owen Fitzsimmons said. “This is a perfect example of a well-maintained fire protection system operating as designed.“

Apartment Building, Residential

Grand Forks, ND – Two dogs rescued after sprinkler contains apartment fire; No injuries reported

Two dogs were rescued from an apartment fire in Grand Forks Monday evening.  The fire department says shortly after 5:15 p.m., fire crews were sent to the 4340 Pioneer Drive on a report of a fire alarm and smoke coming from a first floor apartment.  Firefighters entered that apartment unit and encounter heavy black smoke and found a fire on top of the stove area. A sprinkler head helped contain the fire.  No people were home but crews did rescue two dogs.

The fire unit and surrounding units sustained heavy smoke and water damage.  The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Other / Not Specified

Fargo, ND – Fire at FARGODOME indoor stadium doused by sprinkler system

A sprinkler did its job and put out a fire at the FARGODOME in north Fargo Monday night.  Firefighters got the call around 11 p.m. and discovered a dryer fire in a storage area on the lower level. They say a sprinkler head in the area had activated and had completely extinguished the flames, which kept damage to a minimum — about $3,000. The cause is under investigation, but is considered to be accidental.