Tag Archives: Pennsylvania

Fire / Police Station, Government/Military

Sprinklers control engine/pumper fire at volunteer fire department (Vernon Township, PA)

“If it hadn’t been for the fire alarm system and the sprinklers, we’d have been in deep trouble,” said Tom Benak, a trustee and an assistant chief with Vernon Central Hose Co.  The fire, which occured around 11:45 PM on Tuesday night, was ruled accidental due to an electrical wiring malfunction in the crew compartment area behind the driver’s seat.

Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

College housing fire put out by fire sprinkler (Philadelphia, PA)

When a fire broke out in an unattended unit in a college housing building, fire sprinklers activated and eliminated the fire. The cause of the fire was a blender set on top of an oven that had been left on. No injuries were reported.

“[We’re] very fortunate to have fire sprinkler systems in all of the College Houses — they did their job,” said Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush.

Other - Storage / Warehouse, Storage / Warehouse

Sprinkler activates to halt storage room fire in chemical supply building (Bristol Township, PA)

A chemical supply company had a fire erupt in it’s storage room the afternoon of July 4. The building, which was closed at the time, had a fire sprinkler system that quickly kicked in to contain the fire to the storage room. Fire crews blamed the fire on a short in the light fixture in the room, which then started the cardboard in the room on fire. No injuries were reported, and no chemicals were released.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Warehouse fire limited thanks to fire sprinklers (Somerset, PA)

A fire that broke out in an electronic recycling warehouse caused 30 fire firefighters from four county fire departments to respond. They arrived to find a small fire which was limited due to the warehouse’s fire sprinklers.

“Basically the sprinkler system knocked down the fire,” reported Somerset First Leutenant Bart Close. “We took about 10 more minutes to finish the knockdown.”

There was minimal damage to the building, and no one was reported injured.

Residence Hall/Dormitory, Residential

Sprinkler system helped college students evacuate from resident hall fire (Philadelphia, PA)

205 students and 5 RAs of Race Street Hall were evacuated from the building around 1:30 a.m. due to a fire on the sixth floor. It is unclear at this time what caused the fire. Heasley and Subir Sahu, assistant dean of Residential Living, wrote in an email to campus residents, “A fire occurred in Race Street Hall, causing fire sprinkler systems to activate. There were no injuries, and all fire suppression systems operated correctly.”*** Blog Editor’s Note – Please let us know what you think of the coverage by The Triangle and journalist Ainslie Rhoads, who focused on water damage rather than the lives and property saved by the automatic fire sprinkler system. ***

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Fire in fifth-floor hotel room extinguished by sprinkler system (Pittsburgh, PA)

Pittsburgh firefighters responded to a fire in a fifth-floor room of an Upper Hill District hotel shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday. Sprinklers at the hotel extinguished the fire, and no one was injured, according to an Allegheny County emergency dispatcher. The county’s 911 center received the call at 11:06 and firefighters reported that the fire was out 15 minutes later.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Sprinklers extinguish fire at YWCA women’s shelter (Williamsport, PA)

A disaster was averted late Wednesday night at the YWCA when a fire caused by two children playing with a lighter on the fourth floor activated the building’s sprinkler system. The sprinklers put out the fire in a matter of minutes, according to city Fire Chief C. Dean Heinbach. “This could have been a real disaster had it not been for the sprinkler system,” Heinbach said. About 40 temporary residents and several staff members were safely evacuated from the building.