Tag Archives: Virginia

Apartment Building, Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Hampton, VA – Early morning fire at senior apartment building controlled by single sprinkler; No injuries

Hampton fire officials say several units inside a retirement community were damaged after a fire early Thursday morning. It happened at the Seton Manor Apartments on Marcella Road. No one was hurt.

According to Hampton fire officials, someone was cooking around 6:30 a.m. A pan with grease caught fire and set off the sprinkler.

Bertha Davis said she and her neighbors woke up to fire trucks and sirens. “I heard the alarm go off and then I went to the door. People were in the hallway,” she said. “A lot of people had to come out in their night clothes. The ones that had walkers, they were in the hallway.”

Despite the damage and the inconvenience, officials said the sprinkler system worked. “It did its job. It stopped the fire. That’s the most important part,” Stowers said. Stowers said it should take at least three days to completely clean the damage.

10 On Your Side tried talking to apartment managers about what happened and where the people displaced will go. They refused an interview, but sent a statement to 10 On Your Side late Thursday afternoon. The apartment says all affected residents to family homes or hotels while restorations are being completed.

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Waynesboro, VA – Sprinkler system activates to keep fire small at Moose Lodge

Waynesboro Fire Department Deputy Chief James Bradley said the alarm company called the fire department around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday.

“It started in the bar area,” he said. “It’s a sprinkler building, so it was a relatively small fire, but there was a considerable amount of damage.”

This is the second time a fire has damaged the building. The first fire was in 1978, Kochis said.

She said the employees left the lodge around 11 p.m. and no one was there when the fire started.

Firefighters were able to contain the fire within 30 minutes, but remained at the scene until 3 a.m., clearing the building of smoke.

The damage is covered by insurance, and Kochis said they may be unable to open for a week or two.

“We always have bingo every Sunday afternoon with at least 110 people and sometimes 120 or 130,” Kochis said. “It just depends on what is going on, but we won’t have bingo this Sunday.”

Bradley says the fire remains under investigation.

Apartment Building, Residential

Chester, VA – Sprinkler system keeps apartment fire from spreading; Fire caused by clothes dryer motor malfunction

A fire Wednesday evening at an apartment complex in the Enon area of Chesterfield County has displaced three residents. The Chesterfield County Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services responded at 5:37 p.m. to the 2300 block of Golden Garden Circle for a dryer on fire inside of an apartment, according to officials. 

Fire crews arrived to find a small amount of fire inside of the dryer. The fire sprinkler system had activated and extinguished the bulk of the fire, stopping it from spreading throughout the apartment. It took crews approximately 20 minutes to get the fire under control, according to a release. 

The fire started as a result of the dryer motor malfunctioning during operation. Two adults and one child were displaced and are being assisted by apartment management.

Apartment Building, Residential

Norfolk, VA – Early morning apartment fire put out by sprinkler system

Multiple people have been displaced following a fire in a Norfolk apartment building Tuesday morning, officials said. The fire, which began in a kitchen at 3:30 a.m. at 819 West 38th Street, was put out by the complex’s sprinkler system before fire units arrived on the scene. No injuries were reported. Red Cross is assisting the six adults and eight children who were displaced by the incident.

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Chester, VA – Recent hotel cooking fire contained by sprinkler system; No injuries

A cooking-related fire prompted the evacuation of a residential hotel in Chester last month.   On Aug. 18 at 11 a.m., county firefighters were dispatched for a fire alarm activation at the InTown Suites hotel at 2601 Perdue Springs Drive, just north of the intersection of U.S. Route 1 and State Route 10.

On arrival, they found water flowing from a sprinkler head that had activated near the stove in a second-floor room but no active fire. The hotel’s management was in the process of evacuating the building. A pot was in the sink, and both the nearby cabinets and microwave had sustained smoke damage. But the fire sprinkler system did its job and contained the fire to the stovetop; as a result, all residents escaped the hotel safely, and there were no injuries.

Other - Hospital/Medical

Henrico, VA – Overnight arson fire “mostly extinguished” by sprinkler system

A woman has been charged with arson after crews extinguished a fire at a Henrico doctor’s office Tuesday morning.

Crews responded to 10200 Three Chopt Road for a fire alarm at 3:03 a.m. Tuesday. First arriving units reported smoke coming from the front of the structure upon arrival. Inside the office, fire crews found fire that had been mostly extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system. The sprinklers kept the fire minimized and the fire was marked under control at 3:26 a.m.

While checking the property, officers on scene located a window where entry was made into the building. Police stopped an SUV leaving the scene of the incident and identified the operator as 46-year-old Deana Annette Clements of Crozier, Virginia. Officers say they found evidence inside the vehicle that implicated Clements in the burglary and arson.

After a joint investigation between the Henrico County Police Division and the Henrico County Division of Fire, Clements was charged with trespassing, burglary, possession of burglary tools, vandalism and arson.

There was minor smoke, water, and fire damage done to the building. The business was not occupied at the time of the fire and there were no injuries.

 

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Norfolk, VA – Overnight fire at Residence Inn controlled by sprinkler system

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Guests at a Norfolk motel were forced from their rooms overnight because of fire. Crews were called to the Residence Inn at 227 W. Brambleton Avenue around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. Authorities say there was fire in a laundry cart on the third floor. The sprinkler system had gone off before firefighters arrived. Some guests on the second and third floors were relocated to other rooms.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Hampton, VA – Vehicle fire in warehouse held in check by sprinkler system

A business caught fire in the Copeland Industrial Park this afternoon. The fire started in a warehouse around 2:30 p.m. in the 100 block of E St. after a vehicle’s engine went haywire, Hampton Division of Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Anthony Chittum said in a news release.

Firefighters got there and saw smoke coming from inside the warehouse and got reports that all employees had already evacuated, Chittum said.  They went inside and discovered a commercial vehicle ablaze, with the fire spreading to nearby storage containers, he said.

The building’s sprinkler system helped keep the fire in check, and firefighters extinguished it within 15 minutes, Chittum said. Investigators ruled the fire an accident after determining there was a mechanical failure in the vehicle’s engine, he said.

Apartment Building, Residential

Dumfries, VA – Kitchen fire extinguished by apartment’s sprinkler system

A sprinkler system put out a fire that broke out in the kitchen of a Dumfries apartment Wednesday afternoon, causing about $5,000 in damage.

There were no injuries reported in the blaze, but a building inspector posted two units in the complex as unsafe, according to the Prince William County fire department.

At about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, fire and rescue crews were dispatched to the fire at a row of apartments in the 17000 block of Islip Loop in Dumfries, the fire department said. As they entered the complex, they went to the kitchen of the unit where the fire originated.

They saw that the apartment’s sprinkler system had been activated, suppressing and extinguishing the fire, the department said. Smoke remained throughout the unit with minor fire damage.

The Prince William Fire Marshal’s Office determined that the fire originated on the kitchen stove, and it was accidental.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Henrico, VA – Sprinkler system contains warehouse fire helping to limit damage

Firefighters were called out to the 5200 block of Klockner Drive just before 2:00 a.m. for a fire alarm.  When crews arrived on scene, they initially did not see the blaze — but began to investigate. That’s when they found rubber foam inside the warehouse had caught on fire.

Fortunately, no one was inside when this warehouse caught fire.  16 fire units were called out to the scene to help battle the blaze. With the help of the building’s sprinkler system, firefighters were able to mark the fire under control right around 3:20 a.m.

Now, the investigation begins to determine what caused the fire. The Fire Marshall’s Office is on scene.