Tag Archives: Oregon

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Bend, OR – Sprinkler system puts out restaurant fire after oil rags caught on fire

A northwest Bend restaurant’s bagged, laundered kitchen rags still had enough oil on them to spontaneously combust and spark a fire early Thursday morning that was stopped quickly by a sprinkler head, an official said.

Bend Fire & Rescue crews were dispatched around 4 a.m. to the report of a possible structure fire at Broken Top Bottle Shop & Ale Café on NW Pence Avenue, Battalion Chief Trish Connolly reported.

Crews arriving on scene saw smoke in the building, forced entry into the business and found a small sprinkler-controlled fire in the dining area, Connolly said.

The sprinkler system also set off all alarms in the building, alerting occupants in the apartments above the business, who evacuated with the help of police as fire crews arrived on scene. They were able to return to their apartments within an hour, Connolly said.

Fire crews made sure the fire was out and ventilated the businesses to reduce smoke damage, Connolly said.

The sprinkler system put out the fire, which began in the dining room from kitchen rags placed on a table, in laundry bags. Connolly said the fire was caused by spontaneous combustion from laundered rags which still had kitchen oils on them and were not separated after being dried.

Because the linen rags were in laundry bags and were not separated, the heat from the rags rose high enough to ignite the bags of linen.

Connolly said it’s more likely to occur in restaurants, spas and businesses where linens are used to clean up combustible substances, such as oils.

“Laundering does not get out all the residual oil, especially when the rags are used over and over with oil substances, so the residual oil builds up over time,” Connolly said.

Suggested laundry safety guidelines say separating rags after being laundered is important to avoid such fires.

Damage was estimated at $5,000 to the restaurant and $2,500 to the contents.

Fire damage to the building was minimal due to the quick dousing of the fire by the sprinkler system. On average, Connolly said, fires are controlled by activation of one or two sprinkler heads, which not only put out the fire but keep water damage to a minimum.

Hospital/Care Facility, Other - Hospital/Medical

Dalles, OR – Two fire sprinkler heads extinguish fire at medical center; No injuries reported

The Mid Columbia Medical Center building was damaged by what Hood River Fire Chief Leonard Damian described as “a small fire” with extensive water damage to the three-story commercial building, early on May 15.

The office of Overwatch Imaging and the Kobe Sushi + Bar were also damaged. The building is located on Nichols Parkway on the waterfront just east of Second Street near downtown Hood River.

The fire was extinguished by a sprinkler system that prevented any further fire damage, according to Damian.

“Most importantly, nobody was hurt and all patient files are secure,” said Christina McManigal, chief ambulatory operations officer at MCMC. “We are currently assessing the damage, but we do know that the Nichols Landing building will remain closed for restoration. It is too soon to know if the closure will last a few weeks or several months.”

All MCMC clinics and the hospital in The Dalles are open. MCMC’s Hood River-based providers have been seeing patients in The Dalles throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue to do so while the Nichols Landing building is restored.

At 2:15 a.m., Hood River Fire & EMS crews responded to a water flow alarm at the MCMC building, in the 30 block of Nichols Parkway in Hood River.

“We were dispatched to a water flow alarm, a fire alarm that tells us possibly that a sprinkler system may be activated,” said Lt. Tony DePinto, who was first on the scene.

DePinto said that when HRFD firefighters arrived, they found the fire alarm system had activated along with smoke and a small fire on the third floor inside the building.  Fortunately, two sprinkler heads had extinguished the fire before it had extended any further.  Firefighters shut off the water flow, searched the building, determined the extent of damage, and ventilated the building to clear the smoke. Fire crews were able to remove smoke from the building and covered computers on the first and second floors to prevent any further damage from the water. MCMC medical scanning equipment was also protected from damage, according to Damian.

Hood River Fire & EMS was assisted by units from West Side Fire District, Wy’East Fire District, and Cascade Locks Fire Department.

The cause of the fire is presently under investigation.

“The fire sprinkler system activation prevented the building and its contents from significant damage and contained the fire as designed. Because of the small size of the fire, crews were able to concentrate on removing smoke and water from the building and protecting sensitive equipment from water damage, further reducing the damage from this fire.  Had the building not been equipped with fire sprinklers, the fire would’ve easily grown in size, causing major damage to the building and its contents,” Damian stated.

Apartment Building, Residential

Forest Grove, OR – Sprinklers extinguish fire sparked while residents move into new apartment; No injuries

Residents accidentally sparked a fire while moving into their new apartment on Wednesday evening, according to Forest Grove Fire & Rescue.

The fire at the Jesse Quinn Apartments in downtown Forest Grove occurred in a second floor unit. Firefighters arrived to find the flames had been extinguished by fire sprinklers. Crews then worked to mitigate the water from the sprinkler activation. They found water in two neighboring units and a tap house below.

Investigators say the residents while moving in had set a box on the stove, most likely accidentally turning it on at the same time. The box started to burn as they were bringing additional items up to the apartment.

Firefighters say three apartments are uninhabitable right now. Affected families are being assisted by the Red Cross. The tap house below, The Growler Garage, is closed until water damage can be mitigated and electrical wiring can be assessed, according to Forest Grove Fire & Rescue.

Firefighters from Cornelius, Hillsboro, and Banks assisted at the scene. Forest Grove police officers and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office also helped.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Portland, OR – Sprinkler system controlled fire at grocery story; No injuries reported

An electrical fire on Friday temporarily closed the Safeway grocery store at 2800 Southeast Hawthorne Blvd., filling the store with smoke.

The store reopened Saturday, with the smell of smoke still lingering.

A Safeway spokeswoman said the electrical fire started on top of one of the grocery aisles Friday morning, which in turn set off the store’s sprinkler system.

The sprinklers did their job and contained the fire, spokeswoman Jill McGinnis said. No customers or employees were injured.

McGinnis said local store directors worked to clean up the store and get it reopened quickly.

“We’re just really thankful that nobody got hurt,” McGinnis said.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Canby, OR – Fire at horticultural manufacturer controlled by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

No one was injured in a one-alarm fire that broke out on SW Berg Parkway in Canby Friday. The blaze originated bat OBC Northwest, a manufacturer and distributor of nursery, greenhouse and horticultural supplies.

The fire was active and staff had already evacuated when Canby Fire crews arrived on the scene, Division Chief Matt English said. The building’s sprinkler system kicked on and helped control the fire’s spread until CFD extinguished it.

Canby Police assisted in closing Berg Parkway for a short time to give CFD access to a nearby fire hydrant.

“We received mutual aid from Aurora, Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue, and Clackamas Fire District 1,” English said. “The Canby Fire Rehab group also responded to take care of the firefighters on scene.”

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Albany, OR – Fire sprinkler system puts out fire at senior living facility

The Albany Fire Department responded — twice — to a fire in a unit at the Brookdale Senior Living facility Saturday night.

Sandy Roberts of the Fire Department said firefighters were initially called to the facility, at 2445 Geary St. SE, by an automated alarm. However, staff at the facility thought it was a false alarm and called the department and told them to disregard the call, she said.

Staff eventually realized there was a fire and called the department again. The fire crews were called out for a structure fire at 10:36 p.m. Roberts said the building was equipped with sprinklers, which activated and extinguished the fire.

“It’s an excellent case showing why sprinkler systems are incredibly useful,” she said.

Roberts said the fire appears to have been started by a nightlight that fell onto a resident’s bed. The department is treating it as an accidental fire.

Albany fire personnel evaluated the resident in the unit that caught fire, but did not transport the resident to a hospital. The resident was not displaced by the fire, she said.

Roberts added that no fire personnel were injured by the fire, but a wing of the facility suffered extensive smoke and water damage.

She added that in cases of fire alarm activation, the safest option is to let firefighters come and make sure there is no fire.

“The best rule of thumb is to let us come when you have a fire alarm,” she said.

Apartment Building, Residential

Beavercreek, OR – Cooking fire extinguished by fire sprinkler system in third-floor apartment

One person who complained of breathing in too much smoke was taken to a hospital from a fire at the Lofts at Willow Creek in Beavercreek late Wednesday night.

Cooking left on the stove is being blamed for the fire, which left a third-floor apartment and one below it uninhabitable, Beavercreek Twp. Fire Lt. Matt Clark said. 

The sprinkler system kept the fire in check and extinguished it quickly.

Lt. Clark estimated the damage to the apartments and their contents at $20,000.

The person taken to a hospital suffered from smoke inhalation, he said.

Crews were dispatched to the Lofts, 2621 Hibiscus Way, just after 11 p.m. on the report of a structure fire, according to Beavercreek police and fire dispatch.

Other Business, Recycling / Waste Facility

Oregon City, OR – Fire sprinkler systems keeps fire from spreading at recycling center; No injuries reported

While Canby and many other communities were gathering to honor, remember and celebrate our nation’s veterans, firefighters were responded to a two-alarm fire that broke out at the Metro South Transfer Station in Oregon City.

The fire was reportedly shortly after noon. The first crews on the scene reported a 400-square-foot area of garbage burning in Bay One of the facility, with approximately 15 employees and 20 customers being evacuated. No injuries were reported.

Hose lines were quickly deployed and the sprinkler system was supported to extinguish the fire and keep it from spreading to the building. A second alarm was called due to the potential for fire spread, however the fire was brought under control in 40 minutes and the second alarm units were canceled.

The cause of this fire is undetermined, according to Clackamas Fire.

Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic

Salem, OR – Fire at Health Hospital put out by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

Firefighters say sprinklers extinguished a fire in a building at Salem Health Hospital Thursday morning.

According to Salem Police Department, smoke was reported in Building B of the Salem Health Hospital at 6:30 a.m.

The Salem Fire Department, Salem Health officials and the Salem Police Department responded to the scene to locate the source of the smoke.

Investigators say the fire was located in an elevator shaft on the south side of Building B and the smoke affected several floors of the building. The building has smoke and water damage.

Patients in the building were relocated and patient care was not effected. The building is mostly used for administrative purposes.

All procedural appointments at Salem Health Hospital are canceled Thursday and will be rescheduled.

Winter Street Southeast was closed between Mission Street Southeast and Bellevue Street Southeast while crews responded. It reopened at around 11:45 a.m.

The Emergency Room at Salem Hospital remains open.

Other - Retail, Retail

Portland, OR – Sprinkler system keeps fire at Goodwill in check; No injuries reported

A fire significantly damaged a Goodwill at Northeast 122nd Avenue and Northeast Halsey Street early Thursday morning, Portland Fire and Rescue said.

Crews responded to the fire shortly after 3 a.m.

When crews arrived on scene, they found heavy smoke filling the building.

Firefighters entered the building from the front and called for reinforcements. They found the fire in the back of the building near the loading dock.

Fire investigator Rob Garrison said the fire started somewhere in the vinyl or foam lining of the loading dock pad.

Garrison said a triggered sprinkler head helped keep the fire contained before crews arrived.

The fire damage was confined to the back wall, the area where trucks load and unload, and a truck that was backed up to the door at the time of the fire.

No one was injured and no one was inside the building when the fire started.

Garrison is still investigating the cause of the fire.

The store is closed until further notice.