On 4/7/2021 at approximately 12:54 AM,
Investigators from the Fort Bend County Fire Marshal’s Office were dispatched to the scene of
an apartment fire with Richmond Fire Department. Upon arrival, investigators discovered that a
fire had occurred in a clothes dryer in the laundry closet of a residential living unit. The fire was
controlled with the single head activation and there was minor heat damage to the adjacent area.
No other units were affected by this fire.
A South Jacksonville hotel remained closed Monday while assessing damage caused by a weekend fire.
Firefighters were called at 1:47 p.m. Sunday to Holiday Inn Express Hotel at 2501 Holiday Lane.
South Jacksonville Fire Chief Rich Evans Jr. said the initial call was for an automatic fire alarm but, while en route, firefighters were notified of a water flow alarm, which was an indication the sprinkler system had been activated.
Upon arrival, they found heavy smoke on the second floor coming from Room 218.
“The biggest brunt of the fire was extinguished by the sprinkler system,” Evans said.
Although the fire was isolated to the room, there was moderate smoke damage and extensive water damage to the hotel. A damage estimate has not been determined.
Evans believes the fire started in an air conditioner.
“The origin of the fire came from that air-conditioner unit and was contained in that area,” he said. “There was no other source besides that air conditioner.”
About six or seven rooms were booked at the time. Everyone was able to get out when the alarms sounded, Evans said.
Evacuations were ordered as the College Station Fire Department arrived at the scene.
According to fire officials, a floor fan caught fire in a single room. The hotel’s automatic sprinkler system kept the fire under control until firefighters arrived.
No injuries were reported and guests have since been allowed back into the hotel.
Upon investigation, it was determined that single fire sprinkler had extinguished the fire started by lit candles inside one apartment. Fire investigators say the resident had lit several candles and then fallen asleep.
No one was injured.
“Fire sprinklers are on duty 24/7. They never sleep even when you do,” said McKinney Fire Marshal Mike Smith. “They are always there, ready to extinguish a fire before it can spread and cause a large amount of property damage.”
According to the National Fire Protection Association, candles start an average of 21 fires a day across the country.
Waco Fire Department units were sent to the scene shortly after the noon hour and found that the fire had not extended beyond the one room.
Waco ISD spokesman Joshua Wucher said the automatic sprinkler system knocked down the fire.
There was some minor smoke damage to the restroom, but Wucher said that none of the students or staff were in any real danger.
Students were allowed back into the building a short time later with classes resuming.
An investigation was underway into the source of the fire.
At approximately 4:40 a.m., fire crews were dispatched to a Holiday Inn Express hotel located in the 9100 block of West Road on reports of a fire. On arrival, crews observed fire and smoke visible from a third-story unit.
Firefighters attacked the blaze and extinguished it quickly, said Captain Daniel Arizpe, a public information officer with the Cy-Fair Fire Department
No injuries were reported, Arizpe said.
The fire remained contained to the original unit, though other areas of the hotel sustained some smoke damage, Arizpe said.
Arson investigators with the Harris County fire Marshal’s Office determined an AC unit caused the fire. When the fire started, a sprinkler in the affected hotel room activated and held the blaze at bay until the fire crews arrived.
The fire will be ruled accidental, according to the HCFMO.
First arriving units reported a vehicle fire inside the first floor garage of building 7. The building’s sprinkler system had held the fire in check and firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the fire. Fire damage was confined to the garage with light smoke damage to the adjacent apartment. There were no reported injuries and Conroe Fire Investigators are working on the cause. Also assisting Needham Fire & Rescue Magnolia Fire and Montgomery County Hospital District
On Sunday November 15,2020 at 19:40 hours crews were dispatched to the 3400 blk of Business Center drive; a nursing home for an reported fire. Crews arrived on scene and found an active fire inside of an industrial clothes dryer. The fires progression was impeded by the activation on a single sprinkler head. The fire was contained to the drier unit with no surrounding damage. No residents were displaced from fire.
HCFMO investigators and inspectors responded to an apartment fire in the 14400 block of Cornerstone Vlg. One sprinkler head activated controlling the fire until the fire department arrived. Investigators were able to find a match among the fire debris and obtained a confession.
AFD was on scene at 2510 South Congress Avenue at around 3:45 a.m.
Officials say the fire was exterior and that the sprinkler system stopped the flames from entering the building.
AFD says the call first came in as a grass fire but was later upgraded to a structure fire.
Firefighters were able to put out the flames in around five to ten minutes, according to a spokesperson with AFD. No injuries were reported.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation at this time. Investigators believe this fire was likely caused by a cigarette in mulch that extended to the deck and then the building.
