Tag Archives: Oregon

Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill

Eugene, OR – Fire in silo at lumber mill is put out by automatic sprinkler system

A sprinkler system put out a fire that started at BJB Milling and Lumber Wednesday night.  Crews were dispatched just before midnight to the mill near Seneca Road and Roosevelt Boulevard in Eugene.  The fire started in a silo on the mill’s property, and fire officials said the sprinkler system prevented what could have been a huge blaze. The cause remains undetermined.  Just two months ago, a fire devoured the 190,000-square-foot Whitsell mill in Saginaw in just half an hour. That blaze caused $10 million in damage.  The Whitsell mill’s sprinkler system was ruled to be inadequate.

Other Business, Recycling / Waste Facility

Springfield, OR – Fire at recycling facility contained by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Employees evacuated as sprinklers and firefighters extinguished a fire in the recycling facility at International Paper in Springfield on Tuesday morning.

Fire crews responded to the 48th Street facility at 7:48 a.m.

“Crews arrived to find all employees safely evacuated outside and the building filled with smoke. Employees reported fire in a pile of general recyclable materials. The building is protected by an automatic fire sprinkler system. The sprinkler system activated keeping the fire in check until fire crews arrived to complete extinguishment and over haul.”

A Eugene-Springfield Fire Department official said firefighters initially sounded a second-alarm fire and that all available crews headed to the scene.

Officials say it appeared a second alarm was called because of a large amount of smoke in the recycling portion of the plant.

Quick response by fire crews, along with the sprinkler system in place, took care of the fire before it had a chance to grow, according to the fire department.

No injuries were reported and workers will be allowed to return before the day is over.

The cause has been deemed accidental.

Other Business

Eugene, OR – Overnight fire at truck repair shop controlled by sprinkler system

A sprinkler system is being credited with saving a landscaping company’s truck repair shop in southwest Eugene after it caught fire early last Thursday.  The fire was reported at the Rexius truck shop on Bailey Hill Road shortly after midnight by an employee in the area who heard “some banging type noises” from the shop, according to Battalion Chief Lance Lighty. The employee went to the shop, discovered the fire and called 911, Lighty said.  Firefighters arrived and found smoke in and around the building. The building’s sprinkler system was on and had helped contain the fire to the shop, Lighty said. The remaining fire was extinguished quickly by crews.

Smoke and water damage was minor, and large fans removed the smoke.  The fire was under control within 10 minutes, Lighty said. “Quick notification and activation of the sprinkler system prevented a large-dollar loss to the building and disruption to the business,” Lighty said.

Residential, Townhouse / Condominium

Corvallis, OR – Sprinkler system extinguishes car fire in townhouse garage; No injuries reported

An automatic sprinkler system installed in the garage of a Corvallis townhouse worked to quickly knock down a car fire on Sunday evening, the Corvallis Fire Department reported.

Jim Patton of the Fire Department said the fire broke out at about 6:45 p.m. in the engine compartment of a Ford Escape parked in one of the garage units of the townhouse, in the 300 block of 25th Street. The owner of the car had recently parked the vehicle and was upstairs, in the townhouse’s living area.

Patton said the sprinkler system limited damage to the garage, and prevented the car from being consumed, even though the vehicle likely is totaled. 

 

Occupants of the townhouse were evacuated, but no injuries were reported. Residents were able to return to the townhouses after the fire was extinguished. 

The cause of the fire was not immediately known Sunday night. Three engines and a medical unit responded to the scene.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Medford, OR – Warehouse fire controlled by sprinkler system; Fire kept small minimizing damage

A well maintained sprinkler system helps keeps warehouse fire small in Medford last Thursday.  At 7:53 p.m. Medford Fire-Rescue responded to a an alarm sounding on the 500 block of S. Front Street. When firefighters arrived they found a warehouse with the smell of smoke and the fire sprinklers were on.  Additional crews from Jackson County Fire District #3,#5 and Medford Police were called to assist.

Fire crews were able to locate the small fire and extinguish it quickly. They then moved on to getting the smoke out of the building.  “Early detection by alarm systems and a well maintained sprinkler system kept this fire small, resulting in minor damage,” MFR wrote on their Facebook page.  The Deputy Fire Marshall says it appears that the fire started outside near an old wooden reinforced garage door. The fire then moved into the warehouse and caught a shipping crate material that stored two air conditioner radiators on fire. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. No injuries were reported.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Beaverton, OR – No injuries as sprinkler system helps tackle restaurant fire

A fire broke out late Saturday night at Oasis Restaurant in Beaverton — damaging it enough that it was forced to close Sunday.

Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue responded to the small fire at the strip mall around 11 p.m. Saturday. Officials said the accidental fire started after a pot of oil was left on the stove at the popular Lebanese restaurant.

Fortunately, the hood fire suppression system as well as the building’s fire sprinkler system kept the fire from growing.

TVF&R officials said there was limited fire damage, but significant smoke and water damage.

Easter Sunday is normally Oasis Restaurant’s busiest day of the year, but they had to cancel all reservations because of the damage left behind.

There were no injuries reported during the incident.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Jasper, OR – Small fire at Seventh-day Adventist school extinguished by sprinkler system

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Officials are investigating the cause of a small fire on Wednesday that led to water damage in Laurelwood Academy southeast of Springfield.  Pleasant Hill and Goshen Fire Districts were called to the private secondary school about 5 p.m. Wednesday for a report of smoke coming from the building. The school, affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church, is on Jasper Lowell Road.  Firefighters discovered smoke coming from the third floor and found that the school’s fire sprinklers had extinguished a small fire on that floor, Pleasant Hill-Goshen Fire Chief Andrew Smith said.  The Lane County Sheriff’s Office and Oregon State Police are helping in the investigation to determine the fire’s cause.

Apartment Building, Residential

Bend, OR – Sprinkler system credited with halting apartment fire; No injuries reported

A fire broke out in a southeast Bend apartment Friday morning, but a sprinkler system confined it to one room and doused the blaze before firefighters arrived, officials said.

The fire was reported around 10 a.m. in one unit of a three-story complex at the Seasons at Farmington Reserve apartments on Southeast Aaron Way.

Five engine crews and two medic units arrived to find light smoke coming from the one apartment and that residents of nearby units had evacuated properly, Bend Fire Department Capt. Scott Wyman said.

“We were prepared to pull hoses, but by the time we got here, there was no need to put any of our water on it — the sprinkler had done its job,” Wyman said. 

While the fire was confined to one room in the apartment, with smoke and water damage, Wyman said crews performed overhaul for some water that made into the units lower in the building.

The cause of the fire was under investigation. The American Red Cross was called in to assist the apartment’s resident, Wyman said.

Child Care Facility, Hospital/Care Facility

Cornelius, OR – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire set by resident at youth group home

A youth group home operated by the Albertina Kerr Centers was damaged Monday evening, March 5, after a resident allegedly set a fire in his room.

The Cornelius Fire Department received the alarm at the house near the intersection of North 10th Avenue and Holladay Street at 6:01 p.m. Monday, according to spokesman Matt Johnston. He said the fire was extinguished quickly, and there were no injuries.

“The fire was actually put out by fire sprinklers,” said Johnston, adding, “It pretty much just burned a curtain. That was all that was burned. The sprinklers put it out and stopped it.”

Jeff Carr, chief executive officer of the Albertina Kerr Centers, said the sprinklers “went off very quickly” and extinguished the fire before first responders even arrived.

Albertina Kerr operates more than a dozen youth group homes and other mental health and treatment facilities across the Portland area.