Tag Archives: Virginia

Apartment Building, Residential

Chesterfield County, VA – Sprinkler system helps put out dryer fire in apartment building

Nearly a dozen residents were forced from their apartments overnight after a dryer fire in Chesterfield County.

The fire happened in a second-floor unit at the Grand Oak Forest apartments.

Firefighters said the sprinkler system helped put out the fire, but there is some water damage to three of those units.

No one was hurt in the fire.

Other - Retail, Retail

Ashburn, VA – Sprinkler system limits damage in tanning salon fire

An accidental fire damaged a Palm Beach Tan in Broadland’s on Friday, Aug. 12. The total damages could have been much greater if not for the building’s automatic sprinkler system, Firefighter Laura Rinehart, Public Information Officer, noted in a Loudoun County Fire & Rescue Dept. announcement.

Fire and rescue units responded to a structure fire the afternoon of Friday, Aug. 12 at Broadlands Center Plaza in Ashburn. Fire and rescue crews from Moorefield, Ashburn, Lansdowne, Brambleton and Leesburg responded to the incident. Upon arrival, firefighters encountered visible fire and smoke conditions from the front of the business. The fire was held in check by the sprinkler system and was quickly extinguished by fire department personnel.

Apartment Building, Residential

Norfolk, VA – No injuries in high-rise apartment fire contained by sprinkler system

The fire happened in a kitchen inside The Law Building at Granby and Plume streets, according to emergency dispatchers. Residents outside the building, at 145 Granby St., said it happened on the third floor. Dispatchers confirmed the fire was controlled and that there were no injuries.

Residents heard the alarm around 7:30 p.m. and left the building, though they were not officially evacuated. The sprinkler system went off in some apartments, residents said.

Louis Pingotti said power was cut to the building because of the sprinkler system. “We can’t go back in until they fix it,” said the resident of six months.   “I just want to get my things and sleep. I got work in the morning.”  He lives on the fifth floor.

“Nothing like this has ever happened before,” said Dany Gomez, who has lived there for a year with her husband and child. Their sprinkler system did not go off, she said.

Apartment Building, Residential

Leesburg, VA – Sprinkler system controls apartment fire caused by unattended candles

Two adults and two dogs were displaced from a fire in a Leesburg apartment building that started by unattended candles and spread to window treatments, according a Leesburg Volunteer Fire Company (LVFD) Facebook post.

On Wednesday evening, August 3, at approximately 11:50 p.m., Leesburg and surrounding fire companies were alerted for a structure fire at 654 Fort Evans Rd. NE.

Leesburg responded with two engine companies, one truck company, and the rescue company.

Units arrived to find a three-story garden apartment building with a small fire inside a ground floor apartment. The fire started by unattended candles and spread to some window treatments.

The majority of the fire was controlled by the sprinkler system prior to the LVFD’s arrival.

Crews ensured the fire was out and checked for extension while ventilating the smoke.

Two adults and two dogs were displaced and assisted by the American Red Cross.

One firefighter sustained an injury to the hand and was treated on scene, according to LVFD.

“The LVFC asks you to please remember – do not leave lit candles unattended!” LVFD posted on Facebook.

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Martinsville, VA – Sprinklers extinguish fire at ALCOA facility; No injuries and minimal impact to business

A small fire created heavy black smoke at Alcoa’s facility at 101 RTI Way, but the sprinkler system extinguished the fire, employees were evacuated from the building and no one was injured, according to Kenny Shumate, division chief of operations for Henry County Public Safety.  

He said the cause of the fire had not been determined and probably will be investigated by engineers. Something apparently caused hydraulic fluid to be released unto a huge press, he said. He did not have a damage estimate. The fire was reported shortly before 11:30 a.m., Shumate said. In all, 18 or 19 people from Henry County Public Safety, Martinsville Fire Department, Henry County Sheriff’s Department, Collinsville and Bassett fire departments, Henry County Public Service Authority and Appalachian Power responded.

A company spokesman said in an email: “We can confirm there was a fire at an Alcoa facility in Martinsville, VA on Tuesday. There were no injuries and the facility sprinkler system extinguished the fire. The impact to production is expected to be minimal, with no impact to customers.”

Apartment Building, Residential High Rise

Danville, VA – High rise apartment fire put out by sprinkler system; No injuries

Two Danville House apartments were damaged in a Saturday afternoon fire blamed on unattended cooking. The Danville Fire Department responded to the call on the eighth floor in apartment No. 802 at 600 Main St. at about 1:45 p.m., according to a news release.

A fire in the kitchen had been extinguished by a sprinkler system but filled the apartment with smoke. “After confirming there was no additional fire, the engine company stopped the flow of water from the sprinkler head,” Battalion Chief Brian K. Alderson said in the release. “Water was running down into apartments on the seventh floor.”

Crews redirected water out a window and covered furniture and other valuables with salvage covers, Alderson said. Power to the affected apartments also was turned off. Firefighters stayed on scene until about 340 p.m. There were no injuries.

The apartment on the eighth floor received smoke, heat and water damage, and another apartment on the seventh floor received water damage. The Danville chapter of the American Red Cross is helping one occupant and her pet.

Another occupant will stay with family. “All other tenants were allowed to return to their respective apartments,” Alderson said.  The cause of the fire was unattended cooking, according to the release.

“The DFD reminds everyone to stay alert and in the kitchen when cooking,” Alderson said. “The sprinkler system at the Danville House kept this fire from becoming a large fire that would have displaced many residents.”

Apartment Building, Residential

Chesterfield, VA – Early morning apartment fire extinguished by sprinkler system

A sprinkler system is being credited with quickly extinguishing a fire early Wednesday at an apartment building in Chesterfield.  A fire was reported about 2:30 a.m. on the balcony of a third-floor apartment in the 4500 block of Valley Crest Drive, but the building’s sprinkler system extinguished the blaze before firefighters arrived, said Lt. Jason Elmore of Chesterfield County Fire and EMS.

The fire was caused by a discarded cigarette, Elmore said. Damage was limited to a section of siding on the building. No one was injured, but the apartment building was evacuated while firefighters investigated the incident.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Danville, VA – Damage from fire at flooring manufacturer minimized thanks to sprinkler system

Smoke poured out of the loading dock doors in one of the plants at Columbia Flooring on Maxine Road as Danville firefighters arrived in response to a reported fire at about 7 p.m.

About an hour later, sweating and parched firefighters gathered near one of the six engines at the scene, to wrap their heads in wet towels and drink water or energy drinks — the fire was considered under control, Fire Marshall Shelby Irving said, though smoke still billowed out of the loading dock doors.

As firefighters began carrying fans toward the building to help clear the smoke, Irving said it was impossible to look for the cause of the fire until the smoke was cleared.

“There’s so much smoke in there you can’t see anything,” Irving said.

But the sprinkler system in the plant had done its job, Irving said.

“The sprinklers did activate and keep the fire in check,” Irving said. “Because of that, the [firefighters] were able to get in there pretty quick and get a line on the fire … the damage will be much less than it could have been.”

The fire was in a production area of the plant and caused extensive damage to machinery and electrical equipment, according to a news release. This section of the plant will be closed for two to three days. 

Apartment Building, Residential

Manassas, VA – Sprinkler system extinguishes apartment fire caused by clothes left near fireplace

City of Manassas Fire and Rescue units were dispatched to a fire at the Barrington Park Apartments in the early morning hours of April 11. The fire started when a pile of clothing was left near a gas fireplace that was accidentally turned on. Smoke alarms alerted the occupants to the fire.

One person was trapped in an upstairs bedroom because of smoke but fire and rescue personnel were able to evacuate the man who was treated and released at the scene. The fire was extinguished by the apartment’s residential fire sprinkler system that went off properly and suppressed the fire.

The City of Manassas Fire and Rescue department reminds residents that home fire sprinkler systems can control and even extinguish a fire in less time than it takes for the fire department to arrive on scene. By having a fire sprinkler system in the home, the risk of dying from a fire is cut by about about 80 percent. The average property loss per fire is cut by about 70 percent when a fire sprinkler system is in place

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Roanoke, VA – Fire that started in ceiling heater at distribution business extinguished by sprinkler system

Crews responded to a fire at a city business on Wednesday. Roanoke Fire-EMS responded at about 9:30 a.m. to a fire at Superior Distribution, in the 900 block of Rhodes Avenue. The building’s sprinkler system extinguished the fire that started in a ceiling heater, according to the fire department. No injuries were reported and the building was evacuated upon the fire department’s arrival.