Tag Archives: Pennsylvania

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Elysburg, PA – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire at packaging manufacturer

An Elysburg business was saved Tuesday morning thanks to a sprinkler system that worked to perfection, according to Elysburg Fire Chief Dennis Kroh. Polar Tech, which manufactures packaging materials, ice packs and shipping containers, was the scene of a Tuesday morning fire that saw more than 75 firefighters and emergency responders from 10 fire departments covering three counties rush to the structure located along Route 487 at around 7:05 a.m., Kroh said.  The fire began in a storage area behind the plant but the sprinkler system kicked it “just like it was supposed to,” Kroh said. “I truly believe without the system in place the fire would have continued to spread and it would have been a total loss.”

“The sprinkler system worked exactly as it was supposed to and gave us time to get there and get inside.” Kroh said the fire was tricky because it started in an area where there were several items stored which made it hard for firefighters to locate the exact spot in which the spark occurred.  Soon after 7 a.m., at least 30 employees were evacuated and were not allowed back into the structure for several hours.  The fire lasted about 45 minutes and Kroh said the blaze was contained to one area and that nothing was damaged inside the production area.  Kroh was thankful for the efforts of the firefighters and said Mother Nature also played a part in avoiding a disaster.

Temperatures on Tuesday morning were near 50 degrees. “It’s always better when it is not so cold out,” Kroh said. “We got lucky with the weather and everyone did a great job.”  Polar Tech purchased part of the former Fleetwood complex in Ralpho Township in 2011.  Kroh said he was unable to determine a dollar amount in damage and has ruled the cause of the fire as undetermined at this time.  Fire crews from Elysburg, Shamokin, Stonington, Coal Township, Kulpmont Mount Carmel and Atlas in Northumberland County, Catawissa from Columbia County and Danville and Mahoning Township of Montour County all assisted at the scene.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Zelienople, PA – Sprinklers douse fire at retirement center; No injuries

An apartment building sprinkler system doused an electrical fire early Wednesday morning before it spread. 

Chief Scott Garing of the Harmony Fire District said the fire ignited in apartment 234 in the Blue Spruce neighborhood of the Passavant Retirement Community on Burgess Drive. 

“It was a power supply for an electrical device,” Garing said.  He said the female occupant, whose name was unavailable, was sleeping in the living room when the fire started in the bedroom. After responding to the 12:36 a.m. 911 call, firefighters checked the attic and walls to ensure all the flames were extinguished. 

Garing credited the building staff for evacuating roughly 50 residents from their apartments to a central room behind fire doors in the building. He said when the safety of occupants already is addressed, crews can immediately focus on fire suppression. 

Garing said the apartment and one below it sustained water damage. The Adams Area, Cranberry Township and Evans City volunteer fire departments assisted the Harmony Fire District. The Harmony and Cranberry Township ambulance services also responded. 

Fire crews cleared the scene at 2:25 a.m. 

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Bensalem, PA – Kitchen fire at Holiday Inn hotel controlled with help from sprinkler system; No injuries

A kitchen fire forced the evacuation of the Holiday Inn near the Parx Casino in Bensalem Friday night, authorities said.  The fire broke out around 9 p.m. at the hotel at 3327 Street Rd. The sprinkler system was activated and the fire was declared under control about 25 minutes later.  The emergency left some people briefly trapped in elevators. No injuries were reported. The hotel’s website says the building has six floors and 167 rooms. Hotel employees could not be reached by phone.

Other-Government/Military

West Mifflin, PA – Fire at atomic research lab extinguished by automatic sprinkler system

A small fire at an atomic power laboratory near Pittsburgh has been extinguished without incident or injury by the building’s sprinkler system.  Officials at the Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory say there was no threat to the public from Sunday night’s fire in West Mifflin.  The government-owned facility is operated for the Department of Energy and the U.S. Navy by Bechtel Bettis, Inc.  The technology developed there is used to power U.S. nuclear-powered warships.  The cause of the fire was still being investigated Monday. It occurred in an area that contains low-level radioactive material, none of which was released as a result of the fire.

Apartment Building, Residential

Lansdale, PA – No injuries as sprinkler system contains third-floor apartment fire

A kitchen fire inside 536 Station Square Blvd. in the Station Square Apartment Homes in Upper Gwynedd was knocked down in five minutes, but it has left two apartments uninhabitable.

Upper Gwynedd Fire Department Assistant Chief Chris Sharkey said the kitchen fire started in a third-floor apartment in the 500 building.

“The fire marshal is still investigating the cause,” Sharkey said.

He said the fire was isolated to the corner kitchen island.

“The sprinkler system did a good job in containing the fire,” he said.

Three windows were broken out to ventilate the fire and smoke.

“Smoke had banked down to about a foot off the ground,” he said.

The fire was knocked down within five minutes, he said.

“The neighbor called it in,” he said.

The entire 500 building — 18 apartments in all — were evacuated.

Both the third-floor apartment and the second-floor apartment are inhabitable; the former due to water and smoke damage and the latter, 526 Station Square Blvd., due to water damage.

No one was home at the time of the fire. The elderly female renter was called to the scene, consoled by Station Square management and Upper Gwynedd Township Police Officer Ted Caiola.

There were no injuries.

Assisting Upper Gwynedd Fire Department at the scene were Fairmount Fire Co., North Penn Vol. Fire Co., Hatfield Vol. Fire Co. and Volunteer Medical Service Corps of Lansdale.

Apartment Building, Residential

Indiana, PA – Kitchen fire at off-campus apartment complex extinguished by sprinkler system

Damage was confined to a first-floor apartment in a student housing complex near downtown Indiana early Monday afternoon when a fire started in a kitchen and set off a sprinkler, a fire official said. (Jamie Empfield/Gazette photo)

The Indiana Fire Association responded at 12:15 p.m. to a general alarm call at a Philadelphia Square property on the southeast corner of Philadelphia and 10th streets.

The fire began in some grease on a stove then flashed up to the ceiling when a tenant threw water on the fire, said Assistant Chief Ron Moreau of the Indiana Fire Association.

The flame scorched the wall and activated the fire suppression sprinkler, which extinguished the flames, Moreau said.

Indiana officials canceled the calls for backup help from the Homer City, Black Lick and Marion Center fire departments.

Moreau said no one was hurt.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Pine Grove, PA – Machine fire at textiles plant controlled by sprinkler system

Firefighters raced to Guilford Performance Textiles on Saturday afternoon when a machine in the production area caught fire.  “An oil separator on the side of a machine apparently broke a coupler and created a fire. For the most part, the sprinkler system did take over but, we had fire in the machine,” Pine Grove Fire Chief Dave A. Sattizahn said.

The firm makes and dyes fabric for products ranging from military helmet liners to graduation gowns. The fire was reported to Schuylkill County Communications Center, Pottsville, at 3:11 p.m. Saturday. Area firefighters were dispatched to the factory at 1 Penn Dye St.

“It came in as an automatic fire alarm and it was upgraded to a working fire,” Sattizahn said. The fire occurred on the east side of the building.  “It was in the last part of their processing area. The plant was on shut down. There was no production going on at the time. But there was a maintenance crew on,” Sattizahn said.

Responders included firefighters from Pine Grove, Ravine, Schuylkill Haven and Friedensburg. “It was a machine that’s used for plant production. It’s a machine they run the material through. I think it dries the material. It has a big, hydraulic oil tank on it. And, apparently, one of the couplers broke,” Sattizahn said. “So when the coupler broke, it caught on fire right away. The fire got up above the machine and the sprinkler system kicked in. The sprinkler system did it’s job. But when we got there we got the rest of it out.”

Sattizahn said when he entered the building, he saw the machine was on fire. The firefighters managed to keep the fire contained to the building on the far east end of the complex.  One of the issues firefighters faced was smoke.

“That big building filled up with smoke pretty quick,” Sattizahn said. And the firefighters used draw fans and the operation’s exhaust system to deal with it. The machine sustained fire damage and the building sustained smoke and water damage, the fire chief said.

He wasn’t sure exactly why the coupling broke, but said “that oil stays hot all the time in that unit.” And he believe the fire was accidental. The fire was out by 4:30 p.m., he said.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Bethlehem, PA – Early morning fire at plastics manufacturer doused by sprinkler system

An early-morning fire Friday at a plastics manufacturer in Northampton County resulted in minimal damage, thanks to the sprinkler system, an investigator said.  The Bethlehem Township Volunteer Fire Co. and township’s Nancy Run Fire Co. responded about 2:40 a.m. to a fire alarm at Alpha Packaging, 1995 Highland Ave. in the township.

The incident was quickly updated to a commercial structure fire, township fire Marshal Angela Kelly said.  No one was injured in the fire, and the investigation was ongoing into the cause, Kelly said in a news release.

“The sprinkler system in the occupancy assisted in controlling and suppressing the fire, resulting in minor damage to the contents,” she stated. “Overhaul was performed by many first responders throughout the early morning hours.”

Government Office, Government/Military

Media, PA – Sprinklers activate to help control car fire in courthouse’s underground parking garage

The county courthouse and government center was closed Tuesday morning after a car fire in a below-ground parking garage flooded the building with smoke.

“They tried to fight it with fire extinguishers, but it just got ahead of them,” said Delaware County Council Chairman Mario Civera. “The sprinklers went off and the fire department was called in.”

Civera said the fire broke out about 8:20 a.m. and was brought under control within 20 minutes. The car was in a corner of the B-level of the parking garage directly underneath the government center.

The building does not open to the public until 8:30 a.m., but Civera said some employees and cafeteria staff were already inside. Park Police attempted to use fire extinguishers and hoses before the sprinklers kicked in, he said.

“Everybody was evacuated, everybody came out safe,” Civera said.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known. Civera said there were about 75 or 100 cars already in the garage at the time the fire broke out and that employees would be able to retrieve their vehicles Tuesday morning.

Employees and citizens crowded the surrounding sidewalks Tuesday morning as they waited for word on the building. Civera made the call to close the buildings for the day at about 10 a.m., but said the building would re-open Wednesday.

“We want to make sure all the numbers are right, the carbon monoxide level is where it’s supposed to be, the sprinkler systems is intact, so it can accept the public and the employees (Wednesday),” he said. “We just want to make it’s a safe place for tomorrow for the residents and for the employees.”

Upper Darby Mayor Tom Miccozie, who also serves as the county’s director of risk management, said the county does a lot of planning and drills twice a year for just such an emergency. He praised the park police for employing extinguishers as they were trained to do and employees who “acted 100-percent the way they should.”

Micozzie said there was no need to open windows in the complex, which has carbon monoxide detectors installed.

“The fire company is checking now for carbon monoxide levels throughout the whole complex,” he said. “Cleanup companies are already on scene, they’ll do their work with some aromatic sprays, make sure that all our buildings are safe and then we’ll reopen tomorrow morning.

Responding crews included Media, Rose Tree, Springfield, Aston and emergency medical services. Eddystone also lent a hovercraft to the effort, which was backed up to the garage exit with its fan active in an attempt to clear out smoke. Civera praised the first responders for their quick and professional response to the alarm.

“They were here right on the money,” he said. “Thank God nobody got hurt.”

This is a breaking story, return for more updates later in the day.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Speers Borough, PA – Sprinkler system contains blaze at chemical plant; No injuries reported

Authorities say a fire caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to a chemical plant, but no injuries were reported.

Fourteen fire departments responded shortly before 1:30 p.m. Friday to the blaze at National Polymers Inc. off Interstate 70 near the Monongahela River in Washington County.

The blaze had already been contained by the building’s automatic sprinkler system and prevented the flames from reaching chemicals stored in the plant. Fire crews had the flames out in less than an hour but remained for two more hours venting smoke and making sure the area was clear.

Chief Robert Whiten Jr., of the Charleroi Fire Department, said the blaze appeared to have been accidental but the exact cause wasn’t immediately clear.