Tag Archives: Oregon

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.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Lebanon, OR – Sprinkler system keeps fire at Walmart from growing; No injuries reported

LEBANON, Ore. — A hazmat team responded to the Walmart Supercenter on Santiam Highway in Lebanon Tuesday after a fire started in the pool chemical area.

Fire Chief Gordon Sletmoe of the Lebanon Fire District said the fire started at about 12:45 p.m. The building was evacuated, and the sprinkler system activated. Officials said the fire is out, but the building was full of smoke for a while after the incident.

Law enforcement shut down a 300 foot radius around the store and some nearby businesses were also evacuated. A couple of city streets were closed to protect citizens from the toxic smoke.

“There were no injuries,” Sletmoe said. “Walmart did a great job of evacuating people. If there is a fire in a commercial business and somebody tells you to leave, you should leave like the customers here did.”

Crews used a thermal imaging camera to locate the fire through the smoke, and the sprinkler system kept the fire from growing. Officials said multiple types of chemicals were stored in the aisle the fire started in. Using a hose line, crews put out the fire.

Sletmoe said the hazmat team was called in to determine which chemicals were involved in the fire. Officials said it took an hour to clear the smoke to start an investigation.

The Lebanon Fire District, Albany Fire Department and Sweet Home Fire Department brought eleven apparatus and about 40 personnel to the scene. 

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. If you have information, contact the Lebanon Fire District or the Lebanon Police Department.

No injuries were reported.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Albany, OR – Sprinkler system activated for 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

Eugene, OR – Garage fire at apartment building is put out by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

An apartment garage fire ended with assistance from Cahoots on Monday. It happened around 10 o’clock Monday morning. That’s when fire officials say a small fire took place in the parking garage of an apartment complex off 18th and Mill street. They say a transient woman was sleeping in the garage and the fire started around her activity, but did not say what caused the fire. “It was really isolated, just a small area in the parking garage where it’s kind of tucked back in an area where people frequently sleep or use as a transient area,” said Austin Brushett, the Deputy Fire Marshall. Fire officials say the sprinkler system extinguished the fire. There were no injuries reported in connection to the fire.