Tag Archives: Virginia

Food Processing, Manufacturing

Henrico, VA – Fire at Nabisco plant contained with help from sprinkler system

Henrico fire officials say a small fire forced the evacuation of the Nabisco plant on Laburnum Avenue on Friday morning.  The fire appears to have been contained by sprinklers.  Fire officials say there is some water damage, and firefighters are working to turn off all the sprinkler and clear out the water.  The evacuation for the employees was lifted in about an hour.  There were no traffic impacts in the area.

Office Building, Other Business

Reston, VA – Cubicle fire in 11th floor office contained by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Firefighters were dispatched for a fire alarm in a high rise building in the 12000 block of Sunset Hills Road in Reston on Sunday, Aug. 20, at approximately 7:51 a.m., according to the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department.

The building was occupied by approximately 20 employees at the time of the fire. All occupants safely evacuated the building, according to the department.

No smoke or fire was evident from the outside of the 12-story, commercial high rise building. Crews proceeded to the eleventh floor where they discovered a significant amount of smoke, according to the department.

Firefighters quickly discovered the fire, which was mostly extinguished by one fire sprinkler. The remaining fire was quickly extinguished and contained to the eleventh floor, according to the department.

Investigators determined that the fire was accidental in nature and started on the eleventh floor at a set of four clustered cubicle workspaces. The cause of the fire was electrical in nature, involving a junction box that routed power to the four workstations. The nature of the failure is not known at this time, according to the department.

There were no injuries reported, but damages as a result of the fire are estimated to be approximately $40,000, according to the department.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Roanoke, VA – Late night fire at assisted living facility contained by single sprinkler; No injuries reported

Roanoke County Fire and Rescue responded to a commercial fire alarm activation Wednesday morning.  Authorities say it happened around 2:05 a.m. on the 6900 block of Williamson Road, at North Roanoke Assisted Living.  Upon arrival, crews found light smoke and one fire sprinkler device that had activated.  Further investigation determined that a single laundry bag on an outside stoop area had ignited. The occupants of one building of the assisted living facility were temporarily moved to other buildings in the facility.  There were no injuries reported. The fire is still under investigation.

Office Building, Other Business

Reston, VA – Fire on 11th floor of commercial office building contained by sprinkler system

A two-alarm fire Sunday morning on the 11th floor of a building in the 12000 block of Sunset Hills Road has been contained, officials say.  The fire started in a cubicle, Deputy Chief Dan Shaw said.  “Upon arrival, [firefighters] found a working fire on the 11th floor,” he said. “The fire was being contained by a sprinkler system that had successfully activated.”  Units from Fairfax County Fire and Rescue stations 4 and 36 responded. The second alarm was sounded for resources, Shaw said.  The cause of the fire remains under investigation. We will provide more information when it becomes available.

Athletic Club/Sports Facility, Other Business

Richmond, VA – Sprinklers protect country club’s interior after fire breaks out on roof

A roofing company working without a required permit sparked a fire last Friday by using a torch to seal some materials on the roof of the Westhampton Clubhouse at the Country Club of Virginia, Richmond fire officials said.

The company, Hermitage Roofing Inc., did not obtain a permit from the Richmond Fire Department to conduct “hot work” on the clubhouse roof as required by law, said Richmond Fire Marshal David Creasy Sr. The company was cited for violating the Virginia Statewide Fire Prevention Code and issued a summons, Creasy said.

Contractors are required to “come in and tell us what they are doing” to secure a permit to do such work, Creasy said. “Sometimes we perform a site visit with something like this,” he added.In addition, Creasy said the fire department’s response was delayed because roofing company workers attempted — unsuccessfully — to extinguish the fire once it started before calling the fire department.

“The workers tried to put it out for several minutes with a garden hose, and so that didn’t help things for us at all,” Creasy said. “Good intentions, but when that kind of stuff happens people need to call us. Even if we get there and it’s out, at least we were there and we could help look for hidden fire.”

The fire was “in a difficult place to get to, but what really helped us in getting the fire out was a couple of sprinkler heads activated and stopped the fire’s spread in part of the building,” Creasy added. “And then our guys and girls opened up the roof so we could get to the roof area and make sure that we cut out any fire extension.”

The fire damage was “all up high,” Creasy said, but the clubhouse’s dining and lounge area sustained substantial smoke and water damage.

“You had a lot of smoke that got into the building, and the smoke traveled farther than the water and, of course, the fire,” he said. “So there may be some painting of walls (that will be required) in a much wider area of the building than any of the water damage.”

Creasy said it would be difficult to estimate the total monetary damage.

City firefighters were called at 10:44 a.m. Friday, and the first units to arrive found flames coming from a portion of the clubhouse roof. As crews worked to extinguish that fire, additional units arrived and found fire inside the building as well.

A second alarm was sounded at 11:13 a.m., primarily to get additional personnel on the scene to relieve crews because of the heat. The fire was marked under control at 11:34 a.m.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Norfolk, VA – Sprinker system puts out fire at nursing center before fire crews arrive

A small fire broke out at Sentara Nursing Center Saturday evening. 

The fire started in a laundry room area at the center, located at 249 S. Newtown Rd.It was put out by a sprinkler system before fire crews arrived on scene, said Joe Milligan, Norfolk Fire-Rescue battalion chief. No injuries were reported. 

When crews arrived they found smoke in hallways and the laundry room. Smoke was not detected in any of the residents’ rooms, Milligan said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. 

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Richmond, VA – Sprinkler system keeps fire at restaurant from spreading

Richmond Fire crews are on the scene of a fire at the Peking Restaurant. This is happening in the 1300 block of East Cary Street. The fire marshal says the sprinkler system activated, keeping the fire in check. Crews are dealing with a lot of smoke as they search for hot spots in the rest of the building. The extent of damage is unknown at this time. Investigators are still looking into the cause. The Health Department is inspecting the restaurant. No word on how long it will be closed or when Peking will reopen.

Apartment Building, Residential

Martinsville, VA – Unattended cooking fire at apartment building contained with help from sprinkler system

An accidental fire damaged an apartment complex in Uptown Martinsville late Tuesday night. Martinsville firefighters and EMS were called out to 20 Fayette Street at about 10:35 p.m., after a resident within the building noticed smoke coming from apartment seven. Emergency personnel arrived within three minutes, by which point the complex’s sprinkler system had activated. With the help of Martinsville police, firefighters and EMS personnel got all residents safety out. In addition to the Martinsville department, firefighters from the Collinsville Volunteer Fire Department and personnel from the Henry County Department of Public Safety were on scene to help, containing the fire to just the one apartment. The American Red Cross was also on hand to provide assistance. All of the other tenants in the building were able to return to their apartments by 1 a.m and the residents of apartment seven were relocated to another apartment in the building.

According to Martinsville Fire Marshal Ted Anderson, it’s believed the fire was accidental, caused by some cooking left unattended. Unattended cooking is listed as the number one cause of accidental fires. “Never leave your kitchen while cooking,” advised Martinsville Deputy Fire Marshal Andy Powers. “If you absolutely have to step out for a second, take something with you like an oven mitt to remind you to return promptly to the kitchen.”

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Manassas, VA – Days Inn fire sparked by ice maker contained with help from sprinkler system

A third-floor ice maker sparked a Tuesday evening fire at the Days Inn on Centreville Road in Manassas, displacing 55 adults and three children saying at the hotel. Fire crews were called to the hotel in the 7600 block of Centreville Road at 5:28 p.m. and arrived to find fire on the third floor. “Due to activation of the building’s smoke alarm and sprinkler system, occupants were alerted to the fire” allowing everyone to get out safely, Prince William fire and rescue said in a news release. The sprinkler system help contain the blaze, which firefighters able to quickly extinguish, the release said. The building has been posted as unsafe. All of the hotel’s occupants were moved to another hotel. Investigators determined that the fire began in an ice maker on the third floor.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Tysons Corner, VA – Automatic fire sprinkler system activates to help control shopping mall fire

Fairfax County fire investigators said Tuesday that an exhaust fan ignited a two-alarm fire at the Tysons Corner Center last week when the mall was open. Damages are estimated at $30,000.  Around 5:17 p.m. on May 31, Fairfax County and Arlington County firefighters responded to the reported fire. Units found smoke coming from the roof, and they were able to quickly put out the fire. No one was injured.  Fire investigators concluded that the fire was ignited by an overheated exhaust fan motor coming in contact with paper towel rolls. The fire started in the storage closet of a kiosk.  An employee reported the fire after smelling burning plastic coming from the storage room. Smoke alarms and the fire sprinkler system were turned on after the fire was reported.