Tag Archives: North Dakota

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.

Auto Dealership, Other Business

Bismarck, ND – Fire at auto body shop extinguished by sprinkler system; Business resumes operations quickly

A fire, caused by welding sparks which ignited the filters of a spray booth ventilation system at an auto body shop, was largely contained by the business’ sprinklers on Tuesday. The Bismarck Fire Department was dispatched at about 4:23 p.m. to the 1800 block of Commerce Drive, where heavy smoke was showing from the shop area of the single-story building.

Fire had spread to the roof top HVAC system, but flames inside the shop had been extinguished by the activation of two heads on the fire sprinkler system, according to Owen Fitzsimmons, a fire marshal with the Bismarck Fire Department, who deemed the incident was accidental. Fire crews removed a roof top ventilation fan and a portion of the roof to access and extinguish the blaze. Afterward, a thermal imaging camera was used to scan for any fire spread, and firefighters left the scene at about 7:24 p.m.

Bismarck Police Department assisted with scene control. Metro Area Ambulance was on scene to provide assistance. There were no injuries to building occupants or firefighters. The sprinkler system has been reactivated, the business remains in operation.

College/University (on campus), Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

Grand Forks, ND – Fire in university residence hall caused by unattended candle extinguished by sprinkler system

The Grand Forks Fire Department says the cause of the fire reported at Walsh Hall on the campus of the University of North Dakota on March 2nd.

The newly released fire investigation report revealed an unattended candle ignited a towel handing nearby. The 5 to 6 foot flames from the candle, towel and cardboard stored near the bed, activated the fire alarm and sprinkler system.

Fire crews say residents tried to put out the fire with a wet towel but were not able to. The sprinkler system was able to extinguish the fire.

The activation of the sprinkler system in the dorm room minimized the building damage to only $35,000 with $500 of personal contents lost. Walsh Hall is valued at $2.5 million and has a total content value of $750,000.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

West Fargo, ND (No Media Coverage) – Early morning fire at kindergarten center extinguished by sprinkler system

*** NO MEDIA COVERAGE — READER REPORTED ***

A blog reader reported this sprinkler save from the Lodoen Kindergarten Center. The following message was sent from the school:

“At approximately 6:00 AM this morning, the West Fargo Fire Department responded to a fire alarm at our school. The alarm went off due to a small fire on the stove in the staff lounge. The fire was extinguished by the sprinkler system by the time the Fire Department arrived, but they did check our facility to ensure there were no further issues and that we could have school as normal. None of our classrooms were impacted, and students had a normal day today.”