Tag Archives: Prince Edward Island

Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic

Charlottetown, PE, Canada – Sprinkler system activated for fire at clinic

Health P.E.I. clinics at the Polyclinic Professional Centre in Charlottetown will remain closed on Thursday following a small fire in the cafe earlier this week. 

The Charlottetown Fire Department said it received a call just after 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The department said the fire was caused by a pot of grease sitting on a stove that was left on accidentally.

“There was smoke and flames visible in a window on the first floor and we managed to extinguish the fire fairly quickly,” said Kent Mitchell, the deputy chief.

“It wasn’t a great big fire, but it doesn’t take much of a fire to create a lot of smoke.”

This is the second day in a row that Health P.E.I.-run clinics are closed in the building. According to a news release from Health P.E.I., crews are still cleaning the area and working to remove the smell of smoke.

This means patients are being contacted about new times and locations for their appointments.

The director of community specialty services with Health P.E.I. said staff were able to get into the building after everything was extinguished to get the information they needed to continue with service.

Mitchell said there were people in the building when the fire started but they all got out when the alarm went off.

“This building had a fire alarm system, sprinkler system, so that’s all good. But in any other building we certainly encourage you make sure you test your smoke alarms,” he said.

“It’s a lesson for everybody because it’s the smoke that really causes damage not necessarily the the size of the fire.”

He estimated it could take a few days minimum to have the building all cleaned up.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Souris, PEI, Canada – Grease fire at school is extinguished with help from sprinkler system

A small grease fire at Souris Regional School sent students home on Wednesday.  The fire started around 11:15 a.m. in the home economics lab, says John Cummings, director of corporate services with the Public Schools Branch.  The fire was quickly extinguished before firefighters arrived.  Sprinklers were activated in the area of the fire leaving the need to clean up water and reset the sprinkler system, notes Cummings.  He says the extent of water damage is being assessed but is not expected to be significant. Roughly 500 students attend Souris Regional.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Charlottetown, PE, Canada – Sprinkler system activated after sauna prompts evacuation in shopping mall; No injuries reported

The Charlottetown Mall will be re-opening Tuesday following a fire that triggered an evacuation of the entire complex Sunday afternoon.

However, the Spa Total Fitness Centre, where the fire originated, will remain closed.

No one was injured during the fire, which prompted a response from the Charlottetown Fire Department shortly after 3 p.m.

Fire Chief Randy MacDonald said firefighters were able to quickly locate the blaze in a sauna.

“We were able to tear the wall apart and put the fire out,” said MacDonald, who described the sauna as “gutted” and noted a sprinkler system was also activated by the fire.

The Guardian was unsuccessful in reaching the owner of Spa Total Fitness Centre.

However, the centre’s Twitter account provided an update stating it would remain closed on Tuesday.

“We are working very hard to have the facility open to you all again very soon. Thank you very much for your patience during this time,” it stated.

Firefighters were still investigating the cause of the blaze Sunday evening. The Guardian was unable to reach the city’s fire inspector Monday.

Charlottetown police and Island EMS also responded to the scene.

Police and mall management conducted the evacuation.

Sgt. Dave Pound of Charlottetown Police Services said all available officers responded to the call and the evacuation went “very smoothly.”

“I’ve got to give credit to mall staff and security for their efforts in getting everyone out safely,” said Pound, who estimated there were a few hundred people in the mall at the time of the evacuation. “There would easily have been as many or more in the cinemas, they were full at the time (of the fire).”

The Cineplex Cinemas located in the mall was evacuated during the fire but was later given the OK to re-open Sunday evening. The theatre resumed normal operations on Monday, although the rest of the mall was closed.

The incident also attracted a number of onlookers as smoke billowed out of the building.

Pound said police made an effort to block off entrances to the mall property in order to reduce congestion while others were leaving the parking lots.

Once firefighters had extinguished the blaze, they remained on scene in order to clear out the smoke.

“The smoke was hard to get out of the building,” said MacDonald.

Apartment Building, Residential

Charlottetown, PE, Canada – Sprinkler system activates to help control apartment fire

A Charlottetown woman will be out of her apartment for a couple of days after a fire in another apartment set off the sprinkler system in hers, says the Red Cross.  The occupants of seven apartments on Royal Court, off Queen Street, were forced from their homes by the fire early Sunday morning.  Most were able to get back into their apartments a short time later, the Red Cross said, but the woman living below the place where the fire started had her unit flooded. The Red Cross is helping the woman with food and a place to stay for the next couple of days.

Apartment Building, Residential

Charlottetown, PE, Canada – Sprinklers limit spread of fire that started on deck of loft apartment building

At least six people have been displaced after a fire late Friday afternoon at the Y Lofts condo building in Charlottetown.  There were no injuries.  Charlottetown Fire Chief Randy MacDonald said the call to the 18-unit condo building, located at the corner of Euston and Prince Streets, was received at 5:20 p.m.

When crews arrived, they saw heavy smoke coming from the roof of the building, which was formerly the YMCA. The building was evacuated prior to fire crews arriving, he said. MacDonald added the fire seemed to have started on the outside deck of a third floor unit. It then spread to the roof. The fire was “held to the outside” by the building’s sprinkler system, he said.

Shortly after 6 p.m., MacDonald said the fire was “knocked down” and mostly contained with crews dealing with hotspots. He also noted a challenge to fighting the fire was the warm weather. To keep fire fighters safe, they took “quick breaks” and kept hydrated throughout the incident, MacDonald said.

Fire officials are investigating the cause.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Summerside, PE, Canada – Fire at elementary school extinguished by sprinkler system; Classes resume next day

Most classes at Elm Street Elementary School in Summerside, P.E.I., will resume on Tuesday after a small fire forced the cancellation of all classes on Monday. The fire started near a ventilation fan in the computer server room at about 4:30 p.m. local time Sunday.

Summerside fire Chief Jim Peters said the sprinkler system had put out the fire by the time firefighters arrived. “It was just a matter of us, the firefighters, shutting down the sprinkler system and clearing some smoke,” said Peters.

Shutting down the sprinklers, however, took about 30 minutes, said English Language School Board superintendent Cynthia Fleet. The water soaked through the floor and ran into classrooms below, including the kindergarten.

Because of the water damage, kindergarten will be cancelled again Tuesday. All other classes will go ahead Tuesday as usual. Kindergarten classes will resume Wednesday, with changes for one classroom.

“Tomorrow, we will have teachers with workers from the school board move furniture and materials back into two classrooms, and a third classroom will be relocated into the breakfast area,” Fleet said.

“So that is why the breakfast program will not be in operation for the remainder of the week.”

Communications at the school will be by telephone only until the computer system is restored.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Charlottetown, PE, Canada – Sprinkler system contains storage fire at building supplies business

A fire at the Kent Buildings Supplies in Charlottetown last night was the result of halogen bulbs overheating from the emergency lighting, said Charlottetown fire inspector Winston Bryan after the investigation was concluded this morning.

The Charlottetown Fire Department responded to the call at 10:50 p.m. yesterday to the building on 65 Marsh Rd.  Pallets of inventory and cardboard were ignited from the emergency lighting, which was powered by halogen bulbs.

The halogen bulbs produced enough heat to cause ignition of a box, which then spread to other boxes on the shelving unit.

The fire was contained in the warehouse area and shelving units, said Bryan.  What contained the fire was the sprinkler system, said Bryan.

All clear was given at around 2 a.m. today with no injuries sustained Though this doesn’t happen often, it tends to happen more so in warehouses with the stacking of goods up against lights.

“Over time they will ignite,” said Bryan.

It boils down to training within the businesses to install lighting at proper heights.  “Take it into consideration what you are actually storing in your warehouse… should be designed around that.”

“The sprinkler system basically contained the fire to one particular area of the building,” he said. “So having your sprinkler system maintained and inspected on a year to year base, as per code, assisted in the suppression of the fire.”