Tag Archives: Pennsylvania

Other Business

New Kensington, PA – Fire at uniform business suppressed by sprinkler system; “Sprinklers worth their weight in gold,” Fire Chief says

A sprinkler system saved a New Kensington business from a potentially devastating blaze after a bin of overheated mop heads spontaneously combusted late Wednesday, according to firefighters.  The call came in for an automatic fire alarm at the UniFirst Corp., 1150 Second Ave., about 11:45 p.m.  UniFirst is a national company that supplies uniforms and workplace products to businesses.

All five volunteer fire companies from New Kensington responded along with ones from Arnold and Lower Burrell. The building was filled with smoke when New Kensington Assistant Fire Chief Ed Saliba Jr. arrived on scene. An estimated 100 mop heads had come out of a dryer and were a metal bin where they spontaneously combusted and burned in the bin directly under a sprinkler head, he said.  “Thank God that the sprinkler system activated and held the fire in check until the fire departments arrived,” Saliba said.  “Sprinkler systems are worth their weight in gold,” he said.  Firefighters remained on the scene for two hours to clear a substantial amount of smoke.

Other - School / University

Downington, PA – Fire at STEM Academy contained to science lab with help from sprinkler system

Downingtown STEM Academy reopened last Tuesday after a Monday night fire closed the building down on Monday.  The incident occurred Monday night at some point before 9 p.m., authorities said.  More than 100 firefighters responded to the scene of the blaze, which was described as “small.” The fire was contained to the fume hood in the science prep room, according to Superintendent Emilie M. Lonardi.  There was no fire or smoke damage done to the school, officials added. Six computers were damaged by water from the sprinkler system, and two engineering rooms of the basement floor suffered some water damage.  Staff cleaned up the water on Sunday night. A hired restoration crew of 52 technicians spent the next 24 hours working to make the school ready for classes on Tuesday.  No injuries were reported in the incident.

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

Indiana, PA – Overnight dorm room fire put out by sprinkler system; Vape stick apparent cause

No injuries were reported in a dorm room fire late Wednesday on the Indiana University of Pennsylvania campus.  “The sprinkler system put it out, we didn’t have to,” Indiana Fire Association Assistant Chief Mike Empfield said this morning about the 11:22 p.m. call to Wallwork Hall, 455 Pratt Drive.  According to an Indiana Fire Association Facebook post, IUP police were first on the scene and reported a haze of smoke, and that the sprinkler had activated.

“(The) fire was started in the corner of a bed by what appears to be a vape stick,” according to the fire company’s post. “Damage was limited to smoke and heat by the bed and water damage from the sprinkler.”  Empfield said water damage was reported down a hallway of the dormitory.  “We shut the sprinkler system off and did a little ventilation,” the assistant fire chief said.  IUP police evacuated the building. Indiana County’s hazardous materials Team 900 and Citizens’ Ambulance Service also were dispatched.  Those called to the scene included IFA’s Ladder 106 unit whose seven-member interior firefighting crew includes five IUP students.  All crews were back in their stations shortly after midnight.

Restaurant

Erie, PA – Sprinkler keeps dumpster fire from spreading inside restaurant

A restaurant near the Millcreek Mall had to be evacuated Friday afternoon after a fire broke out in a dumpster. It was reported at Cheddar’s Restaurant on Interchange Road just after 2 p.m. Firefighters arrived to find smoke coming from the back of the building. That’s where the dumpster is located in an attached garage. The fire activated the sprinkler system, which quickly put out most of the flames. The flames did not spread, but they caused heavy smoke in the restaurant, which was open at the time. Firefighters had to ventilate the restaurant. Kearsarge’s assistant fire chief said the cause is under investigation. The Millcreek Township fire inspector and Erie County Department of Health were both called to the restaurant.

Apartment Building, Residential

Spring Township, PA – Sprinkler system holds apartment hallway fire in check; Firefighters extinguish blaze

Ten apartments at a Spring Township complex were evacuated Monday because of a fire that started in the second-floor hallway of the building.  Spring Township Fire & Rescue crews responded about 9:50 a.m. to an on-site fire alarm at Penns Crossing, 1400 W. Wyomissing Court, near West Wyomissing Boulevard and Route 724. Crews found fire around a hallway light fixture, Chief Colin Hackman said. The fire-suppression sprinkler system had activated and that kept the flames from spreading beyond that portion of the ceiling, he said.

Firefighters put out the rest of the flames and declared the fire under control within six minutes. Fire personnel assisted the facilities staff in accounting for the residents, who were taken to a common room on the first floor, Hackman said. The number of tenants affected was unavailable. Crews remained at the scene for a couple of hours, helping to contain water runoff so it wouldn’t damage the units below. The complex is next to Lincoln Park Apartments & Townhomes. All the tenants except one returned to their units by noon. The one could not return because of water damage and was staying with relatives, Hackman said. The township fire marshal is investigating the cause. A damage estimate was unavailable.

Office Building, Other Business

Uwchlan Township, PA – Electrical fire at software company office put out with help from sprinkler system

An electrical fire forced the evacuation of an office building in the Eagleview Complex Thursday. Firefighters were called to Bentley Software at 685 Stockton Drive for a fire at 12:36 p.m.

Lionville Fire Company Deputy Chief Michael Holmes said the fire was contained to the electric room on the second floor of the building. All employees safely evacuated, the building sprinkler system activated and firefighters used dry power extinguishers to contain the fire until PECO was able to respond an turn off the power, Holmes said.

Holmes said the fire was under control in 20 minutes. He described the damage to the structure as minimal, but that there was extensive damage to the electrical system of the building, Holmes said. The company’s main computer servers were located in another building in the complex, he said.

Firefighters checked the roof for extension of hidden fire and fans to remove smoke.

Jeff Purcell, Pennsylvania State police Fire Marshal, said there was no information on the cause or amount of damage at this time. The fire is being investigated by the Chester County Fire Marshals office and the State Police Fire Marshal.

Lionville was aided by Minquas and West Whiteland Fire companies.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Ontelaunee, PA – Sprinkler system keeps fire in Ashley Furniture warehouse from spreading

A two-alarm fire occurred last Thursday night at a warehouse for Ashley Furniture in Ontelaunee Township .  Crews were dispatched about 7:20 p.m. to the first block of Ashley Way for the report of an automatic fire alarm.  Leesport Fire Chief Kenneth Quell said employees were evacuating the large building when firefighters arrived and were directed to an area where they were told that the sprinkler system had been activated.

Quell said firefighters encountered smoke in the building and discovered a small fire contained within a three-level rack system that holds finished furniture in the warehouse. Quell said firefighters knocked down the fire within minutes and had it under control within 30 minutes.

“The fire itself didn’t envelop a very big area,” Quell said. “The sprinklers contained it and kept it from spreading.” About 50 firefighters responded, Quell said. There were no reports of injuries to employees or firefighters. Ashley employees re-entered the building to help remove excess water on the floor from the sprinkler system, Quell said. A state police fire marshal was called to help in the investigation, Quell said. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was called out after the investigation was started, he said. Quell said the cause of the fire is under investigation.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Cambridge Springs, PA – Sprinklers help minimize damage in compressor room fire at manufacturer

A fire that occurred the evening of Feb. 5 at Lord Corp. in Cambridge Springs caused minimal damage, according to Cambridge Springs Volunteer Fire Department Jeff Murdock.  Cambridge Springs firefighters were called to a structure fire at Lord Corp. at 5 p.m., according to Murdock.  When crews arrived they found heavy smoke and a small fire coming from a compressor located on a mezzanine area, Murdock said.  The fire was declared out by 5:35, Murdock said. The sprinkler system in the building activated, which caused some water damage to a break room and restroom located under the sprinklers, according to Murdock.

A crew working in the building noticed the smoke and evacuated, according to Murdock.  “As they were evacuating they saw the fire start,” he said.  The fire is considered to be accidental due to an overheated motor and belt, Murdock said.  Cambridge Springs firemen were assisted at the scene by volunteer crews from Venango, Saegertown, West Mead 2 and Edinboro. Meadville Area Ambulance Service was also at the scene.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Wilkes-Barre, PA – Sprinkler system helps save lives in nursing home fire; No injuries reported

Dozens of properties in downtown Wilkes-Barre lost power Friday morning, including a long-term care facility where a fire broke out. Fire crews responded to St. Luke’s Villa at 80 E. Northampton St. around 12:20 p.m. for a fire in an elevator shaft around the same time as other downtown properties lost power.  The approximately 100 residents of the mixed-used facility, primarily senior citizens, had been moved away from the fire scene to a different part of the building as the site is operating on emergency power through a generator.

As of 1:30 p.m., Wilkes-Barre Fire Chief Jay Delaney said city officials, utility companies and managers of the non-profit facility were trying to determine if it was safe for the residents to remain. “Right now, we’re in the decision-making process,” Delaney said. “The number one issue is making sure the residents are safe.”

St. Luke’s Villa, which is run by the the Diocese of Scranton, is a 50-bed nursing home, a 45-room personal care facility and a 31-apartment retirement community. Delaney said the it’s unclear if St. Luke’s was the cause of the broader outage or if other power problems in the area led to St. Luke’s fire.

PPL Electric Utilities said 87 customers lost power and they hoped to have service restored by 3 p.m. Delaney said crews were trying to “isolate” St. Luke’s from the electrical grid so power could be restored to everyone else until the building’s issues were resolved. The chief said the fire was extinguished quickly, and the most damage was due to a third-floor sprinkler system causing water to seep down into the floors below.

John Howells, director of long term care facilities for the Diocese of Scranton, said he doubts residents will have to move from the building, but a final decision will be made when power is restored. “State agencies have been notified. At this point, there is no need to evacuate,” he said. “When the power comes back, we have to do a series of checks.”

Most of the sprinkler water pooled on a lobby floor and teams from Serve Pro have already cleaned up most of the mess, he said.

“Things got wet, but it wasn’t flooded,” Howells said.

Crews from the elevator company are at the site waiting for power to be restored, he said.

Howells said residents are doing fine and all have been cleared to return to their rooms.

He credited the staff for great work.

“Everything went the way it was supposed to have gone,” Howells said.

Residential, Residential High Rise

Philadelphia, PA – Sprinkler system extinguishes multiple arson fires at high rise apartment building

A series of small arson fires at a Center City residential high-rise building has prompted a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the culprit, authorities said Friday.

The fires were set at the Sterling Apartment Homes, at 1815 John F. Kennedy Blvd., between July 13 and Aug. 3, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reported. They were started in various places on the fifth through ninth floors, ATF said. No one was injured and the fires were quickly extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system.

ATF and the building’s management company, Aimco, are contributing to the reward. Anyone with information can call the ATF at 888-ATF-FIRE or visit reportit.com.