Tag Archives: Texas

Apartment Building, Residential

Dallas, TX – Early morning fire at high rise apartment sparked by wheelchair put out by fire sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Flames inside a high-rise apartment were caused by a wheelchair that caught fire, officials say. 

Dallas Fire-Rescue crews responded to a fire call around 6 a.m. Wednesday at the Cliff Manor Apartments near the 2400 block of Fort Worth Avenue. 

Investigators say the blaze was sparked by a wheelchair at the elderly housing community. 

Firefighters say when they arrived at the complex they could see light smoke coming from the top floor. When they reached the unit where the smoke was coming from, they say the sprinkler system had already extinguished the fire. 

Medics say an elderly man was in the unit when the fire sparked. He was transported to the hospital for a pre-existing medical condition, according to officials. 

Authorities say no one was injured during the incident. 

Apartment Building, Residential

Katy, TX – (no media coverage) Apartment kitchen fire extinguished by fire sprinkler

FD stated that they were dispatched to an apartment fire and upon arrival they found a sprinkler controlled kitchen fire. They said prior to their arrival a Willowfork FD chief had arrived to active fire and water flow alarms, entered the apartment and found the fire extinguished by the automatic sprinkler system. There was minor water damage throughout the apartment but minimal fire damage. The occupant who rents the apartment and lives there with her daughter said that she was home heating a pot of cooking oil in preparation to make some fried chicken. The pot was unattended at times while heating. At some point she stepped out of the apartment. When she re-entered the apartment she saw the black smoke coming from the kitchen. Upon investigation she found the pot of oil had ignited. She placed a kitchen towel over the fire, located her daughter, left the apartment and called 911.

Apartment Building, Residential

Pearland, TX – (no media coverage) Single sprinkler head puts out apartment fire; No injuries reported

January 7, 2020 – The Pearland Fire Department responded to a reported structure fire in the 2500 block of Business Center Drive. Upon arriving department officials discovered that the kitchen fire had been extinguished by the fire sprinkler installed in the building. The fire was contained and extinguished using a single sprinkler head. The apartment suffered minimal smoke, fire, and water damage throughout. No injuries were reported.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Mineral Wells, TX – Sprinkler system helps contain fire after chemical explosions at industrial park; No injuries reported

Several chemical explosions rocked the Industrial Park area near Mineral Wells High School early Monday afternoon.

No injuries were reported to workers or firefighters as a result of three explosions at Buckley Oil Company on S.E. Industrial Parkway, off U.S. Highway 180 East adjacent to Southwire, Reeder Distributors and Mineral Wells Fire Department Station No. 2.

Three explosions were reported around 1:15 p.m., and heavy, black toxic smoke billowed from the property – which became a concern though conditions were such that the smoke rose largely straight into the air and dissipated. Mineral Wells ISD was not in session Monday so there were no health or safety concerns about high school students or faculty.

Mineral Wells Fire Chief Mike Pool said five workers were inside a large covered, but not totally enclosed, area preparing what he described as two 600-gallon totes containing volatile chemicals heptane and toluene. Heptane is a main component of gasoline, while toluene is a gasoline additive and is used as a solvent.

“They are very volatile,” Pool said of the chemicals. “They have a very low flashpoint.”

With low humidity, Pool said the working theory is a static electrical charge sparked a flash fire. He said that is not an official cause and an investigation into what ignited the chemicals and caused the fire remains under investigation.

“It definitely was an accident,” said Pool. “It wasn’t intentional.”

A high-density sprinkler system inside the covered area dumped large amounts of water quickly on the fire, Pool said. He said firefighters were able to quickly respond and spray the area down with a smothering foam. The fire was brought under control within about 30 minutes and within an hour was out, leaving a large clean up operation.

The chief said weather conditions and the quick response helped prevent the fire from becoming worse. He said it is also likely the chemicals burned up quickly.

“It was probably a best case scenario,” Pools said. “Our people and equipment were available.”

He said it was also fortunate the five employees were able to escape uninjured.

“The smoke and wind was something I was concerned about,” Pool said of the scene’s initial assessment. “I thought we might have to evacuate Southwire and Reeder.”

Pool said he believes chemical runoff was contained thanks to the parking lot’s design and a containment tank. He said he was unsure about the eastside of the property where there was no access. Pool said the company would bring in an environmental team to assess and clean up.

“I don’t think we had an issue,” he said.

Because it was a chemical fire firefighters and equipment involved were put through portable decontamination showers at the scene and personnel were instructed to completely shower immediately so as not to possibly spread chemicals elsewhere.

“If we are exposed we have to decontaminate people and gear,” Pool said.

Residential, Single Family Home

Austin, TX – Residential sprinkler system extinguishes fire after candle sets Christmas tree on fire; No injuries reported

A candle too close to a Christmas tree ignited a fire at an East Austin home early Sunday, Austin fire officials said.

Firefighters responded to the fire at the 4500 block of Kocurek Street, near Mueller and Airport boulevards, just before 4 a.m.

A residential sprinkler system extinguished the blaze before firefighters arrived to the home and contained it to the area where the tree stood. Firefighters helped mitigate the smoke and water.

Fire and water damage were estimated to be around $30,000, fire investigators said.

“It is past time for dry trees to be removed from your home,” officials said in a tweet Sunday.

No reports of injuries were made.

Apartment Building, Residential

Farmers Branch, TX – (no media coverage) Cooking fire put out thanks to fire sprinklers

On November 27, 2019, at approximately 11:08 am,  the Farmers Branch Fire Department and Addison Fire Department responded to an automatic fire alarm – water flow alarm at Jefferson Landmark Apartments, located at 14650 Landmark Blvd.  Farmers Branch Medic 132, Addison Battalion 101, and Addison Engine 101 arrived on scene at 11:13 am with nothing showing from the exterior.  Crews were directed to apartment #1209.  Occupant stated that she was heating food on the stove and she had turned away for a brief minute.  Later she observed the pan of food on fire.  Occupant grabbed the pan to carry to the sink to put the fire out.  During this time, the single station smoke alarm  activated in the apartment and startled her.  Occupant dropped the pan on the floor and the fire increased in size.  The heat activated one sprinkler head above the sink and stove.  The fire was extinguished.  Sprinkler floor control valve was shut off and water was removed out of the unit. Fire loss was estimated to be $10,000.   Units cleared the scene at 11:54 am. 

Office Building, Other Business

Farmers Branch, TX – (no media coverage) Sprinkler system contains fire caused by overheated machine

On November 18, 2019, at approximately 5:41 pm, the Farmers Branch Fire Department responded to an automatic fire alarm – water flow alarm at RMAX, located at 13524 Welch Rd..  Farmers Branch Engine 132 arrived on scene at 5:45 pm with nothing showing.  Upon further investigation, building personnel directed the crew to a manufacturing processing machine.  The product within the machine overheated  causing one internal sprinkler head to activate.  Fire loss was estimated to be $0.  Engine 132 crew shut off the control valve.  Building occupants notified their fire protection company to replace the sprinkler head and recharge the system.  Engine 132 cleared at 5:55 pm.

Apartment Building, Residential

Conroe, TX – (no media coverage) Apartment fire extinguished by fire sprinkler prior to arrival of fire department

The City of Conroe Fire Department was notified of an apartment fire at 1840 Longmire Rd (The Landings of Conroe) at approximately 08:25 a.m. on December 3, 2019.

Conroe Firefighters arrived at approximately 08:30 a.m. and discovered an extinguished fire in an upstairs apartment. A single fire sprinkler head had activated and extinguished a stove top grease fire. There were no reported injuries to firefighters or other occupants of the building. Thanks to the activation of the fire sprinkler, there was minimal fire or smoke damage. Water damage was limited to the affected apartment and the apartment immediately below. Fire crews worked to reduce property damage by turning off the fire sprinkler and removing as much water as possible.

A fire investigation has been completed by the City of Conroe Fire Marshal’s Office and the fire has been classified as accidental in nature. The Conroe Fire Department would like to remind residents that a leading cause of home fires is unattended cooking.

This incident is an excellent example of the vital role a properly installed and maintained automatic fire sprinkler system can play in saving lives and reducing property damage. 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.

Automatic fire sprinkler systems have over 100 years of proven performance protecting life and property.