The City of Conroe Fire Department was notified of an apartment fire at 2951 N Loop  336 W (The Retreat Apartments) at approximately 4:09 p.m. on October 23, 2018.  Conroe Firefighters arrived at approximately 4:16 p.m. and discovered that there had been a cooking  fire in the kitchen of one of the apartment units which activated a single fire sprinkler head and  extinguished the fire.  There were no reported injuries to occupants or firefighters. Fire damage was confined to the stove top cooking surface. Water damage was confined to the apartment of origin. The cause of the fire was unattended cooking and was determined to be unintentional. This incident demonstrates the importance of a properly installed and maintained fire sprinkler system in residential occupancies. It is likely that the automatic fire sprinkler system saved hundreds of  thousands of dollars in damage and property loss to the building’s owners and occupants. Further, no occupants were displaced and possible injuries and deaths to citizens and firefighters were prevented.

Over 3,000 people die in non-sprinklered residential fires each year in the United States. Automatic fire sprinkler systems have over 100 years of proven performance protecting life and property.  The Conroe Fire Department would like to remind the public that unattended cooking is the leading  cause of residential fires in Conroe, and throughout the United States, each year. Being mindful while  you cook, however, can go a long way toward helping to prevent these fires:
**Keep an eye on what you fry;
**Be alert when cooking; and
**Keep things that can catch fire away from the cooking area.
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Waco Fire Department units arrived on the scene of an apartment fire at 2301 Woodgate Drive on Wednesday afternoon.  The fire occurred in a downstairs apartment, where crews say started in the kitchen area. The fire did not spread beyond the kitchen.  Nobody was home at the time of the fire, but there were two dogs inside. The dogs have been reported safe, but Animal Control was called to assist with them because they were reportedly aggressive toward the crews. The department says the fire was largely contained by a sprinkler system. No injuries have been reported.  The department goes on to say construction codes require sprinklers in most new apartment buildings, due to possible scenarios like this fire. They say to consider them for residential construction if you are building a house because they save lives and reduce damage.