Tag Archives: Ontario

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

London, ON, Canada – Possible arson fire at school activates fire sprinkler system

London police and fire inspectors are investigating a case of arson at a northwest London elementary school Tuesday morning.  Firefighters were called to Wilfrid Jury Public School at 950 Lawson Road at around 5:06 a.m. after alarm bells sounded.

Upon arrival, smoke was visible inside the building and sprinklers were activated. Fire officials say there was a broken window at the back of the building, along with signs of forced entry inside. There was fire set inside a classroom, which was extinguished by the sprinkler system.

An early estimate pegs the damage at around $20,000.  There are currently no suspects in custody, or suspect descriptions at this time. The Thames Valley District School Board says all summer programs and childcare will be open, with some classroom adjustments.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Brampton, ON, Canada – Fire in 800,000 ft² Unilever warehouse extinguished by sprinkler system

Sprinklers are being credited with averting a potentially major fire at a massive warehouse in Brampton Wednesday night.  Flames broke out under some racking in the 800,000-square-foot Unilever building on Airport Road south of Steeles Avenue East around 10:30 p.m.

Firefighters were called to the warehouse, where they had to force open a rear door closest to the fire. But the building’s sprinkler system had been trigged, and extinguished the blaze. Damage was limited to 40 skids out of potentially millions of dollars worth of product, which includes soap and mayonnaise, according to Platoon Chief Gord Fowler.

“That type of fire is very difficult to fight,” Fowler noted, saying getting hose lines into a large, enclosed area like that is one of the many issues firefighters face in such a situation. Employees inside the building were evacuated and no injuries were reported.   It’s a good news stories that highlights the effectiveness of sprinklers, Fowler said.

Apartment Building, Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential High Rise

Windsor, ON, Canada – Fire at senior high-rise apartment building controlled by sprinkler system

Fire broke out late Wednesday night in a unit in a high-rise apartment building across from Coventry Gardens in Windsor. John Lee, with Windsor Fire and Rescue, says no one was injured.

“We got a call about 10:15 p.m. to the Amica building. It is a vulnerable occupancy [building]. It’s a nursing [and] rest home, senior’s living. There was a fire on the second floor in one of the units. The sprinkler system activated. The resident got out safely,” he said.

Windsor Fire and Rescue says because the sprinklers activated and kept the fire under control. An investigator will look into what started the fire on Riverside Drive, near Pillette Road.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Brantford, ON, Canada – Overnight foundry fire contained with help from sprinkler system

Brantford Fire Department Platoon Chief Herb Van Der Made said at 1:25 a.m. firefighters from station 4 were called to the McLean Foundry at 247 Colborne St. W., where they could see smoke coming from the roof. A 911 call had come in from the foundry’s fire alarm company.   Van Der Made said the fire appears to have started in the older section of the foundry, which was built in the 1930s.  “We were met with a lot of heavy smoke going in, so we had to retreat,” he said.

The firefighters found another way in, through a rear bay door, where they proceeded to extinguish “a really intense” fire over the following two hours.  Holes were punched in the steel roof of the building’s younger section for ventilation, enabling aerial truck 9 to attack the fire from above.

 Van Der Made said a sprinkler system helped get the fire under control.  Part of the building’s back roof fell due the fire damage.  No one was working in the foundry overnight, and no one was hurt fighting the fire, according to Van Der Made.  The business owners showed up and helped firefighters to access the building.  Brantford police closed Colborne Street West from Shellard Lane to Lyndsay Street until at least 7 a.m.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Cambridge, ON, Canada – Fire at high school extinguished by sprinkler system

Fire crews were called to Preston High School shortly after 1 p.m., after being notified of fire alarms going off inside the building. When they arrived, they found that the school had been evacuated.

According to Cambridge Fire Department platoon Chief Brad Churchill, crews entered the building to find that its sprinkler system had extinguished the fire, but heavy smoke persisted in a corridor and stairwell at the back of the building.

One staff member was taken to hospital, to be treated for symptoms of smoke inhalation. Firefighters spent much of the afternoon at the school, ventilating the building.  After being allowed back in to pick up their belongings, students were sent home for the rest of the afternoon.

Churchill said the evacuation went off “like clockwork” because the school regularly practiced fire drills. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Toronto, ON – Hotel sprinkler system stops storage room fire; No injuries

Hotel guests were out on the street after a fire at the Fairmont Royal York hotel late on Sunday night.

A couch in a third-floor storage room caught fire around 11:45 p.m. Luckily, the heat and smoke activated the sprinkler system, and the fire was quickly extinguished.

“Damage was minimal,” Toronto fire district chief Mike Swift said.

One hotel guest got a little wet while making his escape: “The water was running out of the roof. We walked through the water to get out of there.”

Not all guests had to evacuate the building. Others stayed warm in the lobby. Everyone has been allowed back in and no injuries have been reported.

It’s not yet clear how the fire started. Only the couch was damaged.

Other Business, Recycling / Waste Facility

Brantford, ON, Canada – Fire at rubber tire recycling business held in check by sprinkler system

An hour later, firefighters were called to tire recycler Ideal Rubber for a fire in a tire shredder. Fire prevention officer Scott Hardwick said it was fortunate the plant’s sprinkler system, a requirement for such heat-intensive processes, kicked in to help keep the fire from getting out of control. Hardwick said the fire crews were able to respond quickly and suppress the fire within eight minutes of being called. “These can be very aggressive fires,” Hardwick said. None of the Ideal Rubber staff or the firefighters was injured by the fire.

Other Business

Caledon, ON, Canada – Fire in dust collection system controlled with help from sprinklers

Caledon firefighters are working to put out a fire this morning (Jan. 18) at a commercial property fire at Highway 50 and Healey Rd. Firefighters found light smoke conditions inside the building and a working fire in the ‎dust collection system. No injuries were reported and the internal sprinkler system has been activated. Crews are attempting to bring the fire under control. Bolton, Palgrave, Caledon East and Caledon Village Fire Stations, OPP and Peel EMS are currently on scene‎.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Thunder Bay, ON, Canada – Fire at Bombardier plant controlled by sprinkler system; No injuries

Thunder Bay’s Bombardier plant was forced to evacuate its employees Wednesday afternoon, after a fire broke out inside the facility. The call came in at around 3 p.m.. Thunder Bay fire crews rushed to the plant on Montreal Street, after reports of a structural fire. As it turns out the fire was contained to a piece of equipment. The plant’s sprinkler system was activated and Bombardier staff apparently had the fire out before fire crews arrived.

Hundreds of employees were evacuated as a precautionary measure. There’s no word on how much damage was done to the equipment in the area where the fire started.

Other - Retail, Retail

London, ON, Canada – Official thanking sprinkler system following Goodwill Donation Centre blaze

A Goodwill Industries official is praising the sprinkler system after a fire broke out Wednesday morning at the Outlet & Donation Centre on White Oak Rd.

President and CEO of Goodwill Industries Michelle Quintyn tells AM980 when fire crews were called.

“At about 11 o’clock this morning, we had a small fire start in the back end of the building. Alarm went off, the one area of the sprinkler system went off, we evacuated the building, everyone got out safely,” she said. “We have had quite a bit of activity here today making sure that the fire is out, it’s a building full of textiles and all kinds of recyclable materials.”

A damage estimate and cause of the blaze could not be determined by the Fire Inspector on duty

Quintyn did, however, mention that the building was undergoing roof work

“The area that the fire occurred is more a warehousing area, it is not a production area. In that vicinity there was some roof work going on,” she said. “A sprinkler system is a good thing to have in a big building like this.”

Fire crews could also be seen inspecting tar machines near where the fire broke out.

Quintyn added that there were well over 200 people in the building at the time, many of them employees and some customers. No injuries have been reported.