Tag Archives: Pennsylvania

Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business

Baseball stadium fire contained by fire sprinkler system (York, PA)

An early morning fire at a concession stand in Santander Stadium was extinguished Saturday with little damage done, said York City Fire Department Chief David Michaels.  A compressor in the cooling unit of the first-base-side concession stand overheated and caught fire around 6 a.m., Michaels said.  He said the fire was contained by the park’s sprinkler system.  The damage was minimal enough that planned events at Santander Stadium were able to go on as normal on Saturday, he said.

“If not for the sprinkler, it would have been a totally different outcome,” Michaels said. “It could have been a significant fire.”

Other - Retail, Retail

Sprinklers limit damage at tire distribution business (Chambersburg, PA)

No injuries occurred from a fire at a tire distribution facility on Saturday afternoon. An employee smelled smoke coming from a stack of tires that were placed floor to ceiling, and he called fire crews to the scene.

“The fire triggered the sprinkler system and did what it was designed to do,” Chambersburg Fire Department Captain Tim Ebersole said. He does not believe that work will be suspended at the business.

Apartment Building, Residential

Fire sprinklers save property and lives from arson fire (Harrisburg, PA)

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Investigators are reporting that a fire that began in a vacant apartment was intentionally set on Thursday morning. Fire Chief Brian Enterline said that the fire sprinkler system had not only prevented significant property loss, but possibly saved several lives. At the time of the fire, firefighters were already suppressing a fire at another location; two city units as well as surrounding fire companies were sent out to cover the apartment fire. Enterline also said that had it not been for the fire sprinklers, the fire would have spread throughout the apartment before it would have been discovered. No injuries were reported in the incident.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Fire at manufacturing plant halted by sprinkler system (Lititz, PA)

A fire broke out at a manufacturing plant that makes over 2,500 products, including rodent traps, on Wednesday morning. The flames began close to a piece of machinery which makes papier-mache items, and two employees attempted to put them out with a fire extinguisher. When this proved unsuccessful, the heat from the fire activated the building’s fire sprinkler, containing the blaze until fire crews arrived.

According to Lititz Fire Company Deputy Chief Mike Smith, the fire could have easily spread to other area of the building through oven ducts if the sprinkler system had not been turned on.

No injuries were reported.

College/University (on campus), School / University

Sprinkler assists fire crews in university fire (East Stroudsburg, PA)

A fire started in the Enrollment Services Center building of East Stroudsburg University on Friday morning. While the cause is under investigation, fire officials claim the fire appeared to have started by a computer. No one was injured.

** Blog Editor’s Note – Please let us know what you think of the coverage by the Pocono Record, which focused on water damage rather than the lives and property saved by the automatic fire sprinkler system**