Tag Archives: Tennessee

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Assisted living facility fire contained by sprinkler system (Oak Ridge, TN)

According to Tennessee fire officials, the residents of Park Ridge Assisted Living are grateful for the sprinkler system in their building after a fire began on Friday, January 31. Thanks to the fire sprinkler system, residents were able to safely evacuate the building, and the damage to the building was contained to one room.

“The damage to the building was minimal, and no residents were displaced,” Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley said. “Without the sprinkler system, we believe the outcome would be very different.”

Since 2003 the state of Tennessee mandated that fire sprinkler systems be installed in all nursing homes. 

“The adoption of sprinkler system legislation has no doubt saved countless lives,” said Assistant Commissioner for Fire Prevention Gary West. “The lifesaving capabilities of these systems can be the difference during a fire.”

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Fire at manufacturing plant extinguished thanks to fire sprinklers (Chattanooga, TN)

NWA Plastics Company reported a fire on the afternoon Wednesday, January 8, when a motor used to power an air compressor overheated and caught on fire. The heat from the fire then activated a sprinkler head from the facility’s fire sprinkler system which then completely suppressed the fire prior to the arrival of six fire companies. No injuries were reported, and the damage was minimal.

Apartment Building, Residential

Clothes dryer fire in apartment controlled with help from sprinkler system (Cookeville, TN)

The sprinkler system in an apartment on Buffalo Valley Road stopped a fire that started in a dryer there Saturday from spreading to other areas of the home, fire officials say.  Crews were called to at around 11:30 Saturday after residents in an apartment there discovered that a fire had started in their dryer, Capt. Matt White said.  The apartment was equipped with a residential sprinkler system.“The sprinkler system did exactly what it was supposed to do,” White said. “When the flames started coming up and got the sprinkler head hot enough, it discharged and the water put most of it out except just a little bit inside the dryer.”

Apartment Building, Residential

Fire at apartment complex controlled by sprinkler system (Murfreesboro, TN)

Murfreesboro Fire & Rescue Department’s District 9 responded to a kitchen fire at Victory Station Apartments just before 7:30 Tuesday evening.  When crews arrived to the apartment complex, the fire was already extinguished by the sprinkler system. Two families were displaced due to water damage, but did not require assistance from the Red Cross.

According to Captain/Shift Inspector Mark McCluskey, the fire appeared to have started in the kitchen area. “The sprinkler system kept fire damage to a minimum,” McCluskey said.
No one was injured during this incident.

Other - School / University, School / University

Fire sprinklers prove worth in college apartment fire (Nashville, TN)

A fire which began in the kitchen of one of Vanderbilt University’s apartment units was quickly extinguished by the building’s fire sprinkler system on the afternoon of Saturday, October 6. The suspected cause of the fire was an unattended pan on a heated stove which then ignited. All of the resident’s were able to evacuate the apartment safely, and no one was injured.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Sprinkler extinguishes fire at childern’s museum and nature center (Murfreesboro, TN)

The Discovery Center at Murfree Spring sustained no damage early Tuesday when a lamp over a snake’s aquarium shorted, causing a plastic top to melt. When crews arrived on scene, there were no visible flames or smoke,” said Ashley McDonald, public information officer for the Fire Department. Crews noted that the sprinkler system had the flames out upon their arrival. All reptiles, save for a Madagascar hissing cockroach, were unharmed in the incident.

Apartment Building, Residential

Sprinklers make the difference in apartment fire (South Jefferson, TN)

Fire crews were called to an apartment fire on September 18. A resident had left something cooking on the stove, and it caught fire, which then activated a fire sprinkler head. 

Cookeville Fire Captain Daryl Blair said, “It did its job. That is just another case that shows fire sprinkler systems are effective and do their job when activated. It could have been a different scenario if there hadn’t been a fire sprinkler system.”

No injuries were reported.

Apartment Building, Residential

Sprinklers credited with minimizing fire damage and safety of residents in apartment fire (Cookeville, TN)

A grease fire that began in a two story apartment building set off the alarm notifying residents to evacuate the premises. The fire sprinkler, which had limited the flames to the apartment kitchen, put out the fire by the time fire crews arrived to the scene.

Fire Department Lt. Marvin Montgomery stated, “We figure the total damage at around $7,000, but if that building had burned, it would have been a million dollars. And when you think about the water damage from the sprinkler, just remember things will dry out, but they will never unburn.”

No one was injured in this incident.