Tag Archives: Pennsylvania

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Philadelphia, PA – Sprinkler system activates to help contain fire at iconic welcome center in Fairmount Park

Crews were sweeping up shattered glass Tuesday morning, cleaning up after a fire at the Fairmount Park Welcome Center at 16th Street and JFK Boulevard. The iconic building was built in 1960 and is known as an example of mid-20th century modern architecture.

“It’s a rather unusual architecture style in Center City,” said Mark Focht of Philadelphia’s Parks and Recreation Department, “but goes with the Penn Center office buildings that surround it. It’s a unique, iconic building.”

Arthur Shinholster says he was in Love Park with his friends when the fire broke out just after 3 a.m. He called 911. The building’s alarm and sprinkler system activated. Smoke was coming from the basement.

“It was a whole bunch of smoke coming out of it,” Shinholster told Action News. “It was coming from underneath. No sooner I pulled over but Michael Nutter, Mayor Michael Nutter, pulled up. I was calling the fire department, and his crew was calling at the same time.”

40 firefighters were able to get the fire under control within 15 minutes. Officials say the worst of the damage is in the basement, though firefighters were forced to break about 20 windows for ventilation.

You can see windows broken out,” said Philadelphia Fire Department Capt. William Dixon. “There’s obvious damage, smoke and water damage throughout the building.”

“We are coming up into our very busy season with the Holiday Village here in Love Park,” said Focht. “So we will figure out over the next 24 hours how we will utilize building over next several months.”

The welcome center was already set to be closed in April for extensive renovations.

James Cuorato, President and CEO of the Independence Visitor Center, says the welcome center is an important satellite location.

The hope is to get it back up and running as soon as possible.

 

“We have a big weekend coming up with the Temple-Notre Dame football game,” said Cuorato. “We are anxious and hopeful to get it back and running by then.”

 

The fire marshal is working to determine what caused the blaze.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

West Hazleton, PA – Sprinklers assist firefighters in extinguishing fire at manufacturing plant; No injuries

Firefighters from multiple companies responded to a fire alarm at a plant in Valmont Industrial Park in West Hazleton on Sunday afternoon. Firefighters and the plant’s sprinkler system extinguished the fire, which spread to the roof, Cara said. Crews could be found walking on the building’s roof after accessing it from a ladder truck.

Smoke rolled off the roof at Greif Brothers, 95 Jaycee Drive, and was visible for a time from Route 93 after firefighters were dispatched there around 4:30 p.m. The smoke began to dissipate and finally disappeared from outside view by about 5 p.m.

Deputy Fire Chief Brian Cara said crews spotted the smoke upon arrival after being dispatched to the facility by Luzerne County 911 for an activated fire alarm and found a fire in a hopper holding polystyrene.

Cara said firefighters ventilated the building and found the fire didn’t extend elsewhere. Damages amounted to mostly smoke and water, Cara said. He expected the damage would “cause little change” in Greif Brothers operations.

No injuries were reported. Employees were at work when the fire broke out and evacuated, he said.

Cara said multiple fire companies were called to respond as a precaution. With commercial buildings, Cara said, it’s difficult to predict how quickly and where the fire will spread.

Firefighters from Hazleton, Valley Regional, Freeland, McAdoo, Hazle Township and Mahanoy City responded, as did utility companies PPL and UGI. American Patient Transport Systems Inc. also responded, as did fire police to direct traffic.

Adult Care/Rehab Center, Other - Residential

South Williamsport, PA – Sprinkler system quickly suppresses fire at care home; No injuries reported

Insinger’s Personal Care Home, 6 E. Central Ave. in South Williamsport, was safely evacuated when a small fire broke out in a second-floor bedroom about 7:50 p.m. Wednesday. The home’s sprinkler system quickly extinguished the fire, which involved some linen, fire officials said. The cause of the fire was under investigation. The home’s estimated 30 residents were placed with relatives, friends or were spending the night at the First Ward Fire house because the electrical system has to be inspected before the home resumes operation, officials said.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Mt. Pocono, PA – Daily operations unaffected at Walmart after sprinklers activate to control early morning fire

No injuries or significant damage were reported in a fire occurring shortly before 6:30 a.m. Monday at the Mount Pocono Walmart, said Walmart corporate spokesperson Erin Hoffman. An HVAC unit malfunction started the fire, activating the sprinkler system which then damaged a small amount of store products in a back room, said Hoffman. The store was closed from 6:30 to 9 a.m., but daily operations otherwise will not be affected.

 

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Hanover Twp, PA – Warehouse fire held in check by sprinkler system

A fire in the warehouse of CVS Caremark is under investigation. Crews responded to the facility shortly before 7 a.m. for commercial fire alarm — scanner reports indicated a commercial structure fire a short time later.

Lt. Bill McDaniels of the Hanover Township Fire Department said that the fire was in the warehouse area where medicine was stored on racks. The fire did not spread and cause any structural damage to the building.

“The sprinkler system activated, held it right there until we got in there,” he said. McDaniels added that crews extinguished the blaze quickly. Smoke billowed out of the building from a loading dock, and crews used fans to help ventilate the building. McDaniels said employees were in the building at the time of the fire, and said employees in the office portion of the building would be able to continue working.

The warehouse, he said, would be off limits until the smoke cleared. McDaniels said the source of the fire is still under investigation. No injuries were reported.

Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business

Export, PA – Sprinkler system halts spread of fire at Westmoreland Country Club

A fire in a laundry room at Westmoreland Country Club early Tuesday caused minimal damage and did not curtail any activities, a club official said.

Controller April Jeroski said no one was injured in the blaze reported at 12:39 a.m.

“It was totally contained to the laundry area. The rest of the club is operational,” she said.

Claridge fire Chief Bob Bankosh said some smoldering towels were found near an electrical box.

A fire suppression sprinkler system kicked in, preventing further spread of smoke or fire, he said.

Bankosh said the fire has been ruled accidental.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Media, PA – Sprinkler system activates in response to brewpub roof fire; No injuries

Multiple fire companies responded to a reported fire at the Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant in the first block of East State Street Thursday at about 11 a.m.

Crews arrived to find at least one sprinkler activated, according to reports, and found fire near the roof of the building. No customer were inside the building at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported.

The incident was placed under control shortly before noon, but fire crews remain on scene.

No cause for the fire has yet been determined.

Hospital/Care Facility, Residential

New Brighton, PA – Sprinkler system douses fire at residential facility for the physically and developmentally challenged

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About 50 residents were evacuated from their rooms Monday night after an electrical fire in a residence wing of McGuire Memorial Home. The fire broke out around 11 p.m. in a laundry room at the home, 2119 Mercer Road, Daugherty Township, according to Daugherty Township Fire Chief Brad Stone. An electrical short in a window fan sparked the fire, which Stone said was extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system before firefighters arrived.

Because of smoke in the area, residents of one apartment wing were evacuated to another part of the building but returned to their homes about an hour later. No one was injured. Firefighters from Daugherty, Pulaski and North Sewickley townships and New Brighton responded to the fire call.

McGuire Memorial is a ministry of the Felician Sisters of North America and the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese. It provides services for people with mental and physical disabilities and for their families and caregivers.

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

Pittsburgh, PA – Residence hall fire at Duquesne University extinguished by sprinkler system

A small kitchen fire at a dormitory at Pittsburgh’s Duquesne University was quickly extinguished and hurt no one. City firefighters were called to Brottier Hall just before 10 p.m. Wednesday, but the fire was put out by the sprinkler system before they arrived. 

University spokeswoman Bridget Fare says 500 students live in the building, but most are on vacation or not living there during the summer. Still, 30 apartments were affected by water damage from the building’s sprinkler system. Fare says 15 students who live in those units were temporarily staying elsewhere. The university found alternate housing for 11 students, while four opted to stay with friends. 

Some apartments were expected to be repaired by Thursday, while others might take a week to fix.

Other - Storage / Warehouse, Other Business

Pottstown, PA – Sprinkler system activates to help save auto restoration business from overnight fire

Seven fire companies responded to an early-morning alarm at the Eastwood Co. warehouse on Robinson Street Thursday for a blaze at the auto restoration supplier.  Pottstown Fire Chief Richard Lengel said the alarm sounded at 4:52 a.m. when the sprinkler system at the business  tripped.

The fire was caused by a malfunction in the conveyer system, although it’s not exactly clear how that happened, Lengel said. All four of Pottstown’s fire companies — Goodwill, Empire, North End and the Phillies — responded to the scene as did Sanatoga, West End and Limerick fire companies from neighboring communities, Lengel said.

New Hanover and Ringing Hill were on call while the fire was being fought. The fire itself was “not very big, it was under control by 5:21 a.m.,” Lengel said.  The primary problem for firefighters was finding the flames.  “The sprinkler did its job, so the place was filled with smoke and we had a hell of a time finding the actual fire,” Lengel said. 

Because of all the automotive restoration products in the building, and the chemicals they contain, Lengel said the firefighters used air masks for the first hour as a precaution.  Estimating the damage is difficult, Lengel said, because he does not know the value of the conveyer system, “which may be computerized, I couldn’t be sure” and because of the amount of water damage done to very specialized automotive products.

 “But without the sprinklers, we wouldn’t have a building, and we would still be there now, and tomorrow and maybe the next day,” Lengel told The Mercury Thursday evening. “I’m serious, that’s a high-rack warehouse in there and who knows how long some of that stuff might have burned.” 

Eastwood Co., a supplier of auto restoration materials started out in Philadelphia in 1978 and has since made its headquarters just off Shoemaker Road in Pottstown.