Tag Archives: Virginia

Manufacturing, Other - Manufacturing

Roanoke, VA – Sprinklers activate to help contain chemical drum fire

(Blog Note – Smoke does not cause sprinklers to activate – Only the heat from a substantial fire)  A smoking chemical drum caused a precautionary evacuation at AkzoNobel in Roanoke on Wednesday. The incident happened around 12:30 p.m. in the 2800 block of Roanoke Avenue. Fire officials say when crews arrived smoke was coming from one of the buildings. Investigators say it was coming from a chemical drum.

The sprinkler system went off. Firefighters were able to remove the drum from the building. They were decontaminated by a Hazardous Materials Team. Investigators say the odor coming from the drum isn’t harmful unless you are in close proximity. According to officials, a contractor will be coming to help mitigate the situation. The Virginia Department of Emergency Management was also on the scene and are working with AkzoNobel.

The City of Roanoke sent out a reverse 911 call to 77 nearby homes and businesses to let them know what was going on. Officials hope more people will sign up for the citizen notification service.

Here’s a statement from AkzoNobel:

A drum of materials began smoking at approximately 12:30 pm today inside an auxiliary building at the AkzoNobel plant in Roanoke, Virginia. The smoke activated the fire alarm and sprinkler systems, and triggered a precautionary evacuation of all production workers. The incident was contained to a small building on the site, and there were no injuries or environmental releases.

The incident appears to have been caused when a single drum of material used to make coatings for kitchen cabinetry exceeded the optimum temperature. Three employees were working in this particular building at the time of the incident. The Roanoke Fire Department arrived on the scene a short time later and removed the drum of material from the building.

Production has been suspended, and is expected to resume tomorrow morning. An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the incident.

Apartment Building, Residential

Dale City, VA – Sprinklers extinguish cooking fire at multi-family complex

On Monday evening, the Prince William Department of Fire & Rescue responded to the call at a multi-family complex building in Dale City.

Emergency personnel observed smoke, and called for a full structure fire response. 

The sprinkler system in the unit where the fire originated put out the fire on the stove and there was minor fire damage in the unit.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

Hillsville, VA – Sprinklers help contain fire at manufacturing company

Fire crews cleared the scene of a fire at about 9 p.m. Saturday night at Magnolia Manufacturing in Hillsville. Hillsville Volunteer Fire Dept. Asst. Chief Mike Musser said the fire got into two locations referred to as filter houses. Musser said the suppression system inside Magnolia is top of the line and the sprinklers helped knock down the fire and contain it to the two filter houses as firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze.

Fire crews from Hillsville, Galax, Willis, Barren Springs, Carroll County Fire & Rescue, and Laurel Fork were among those on the scene. Firefighters worked for about an hour-and-a-half to clear the scene. Generally fires at Magnolia are contained to one filter house or one machine, he said. Heavy smoke was visible from as far away as Hard Scuffle Road when the fire was at its peak.

Musser said there was significant damage but he wasn’t sure of the extent. He said supervisors and plant managers said the particular plant where the fire occurred would be shut down for a while. Magnolia in Hillsville has four plants at the location. There were no reports of injuries at the scene. All in all, Musser said firefighting efforts were a success.

Primary / Secondary School, School / University

Chesterfield, VA – Sprinklers keep fire in check after stolen van crashes into High School

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Fire alarms went off around 1:30 AM, when firefighters arrived at L.C. Bird High School in Chesterfield they found a van on fire that had crashed through the front doors.  Officials say the tires were still running and that’s what caused the fire. Chesterfield Police say the van that crashed into the school was stolen.

The fire caused smoke to spread throughout the school and the sprinkler system to go off.  There were no reported injuries and the fire was contained to the area where the van crashed into the building.

“It appears the fire was more than likely caused by the tires continuing to spin as it was inside, and the tires caught fire and spread to the rest of the vehicle,” Lt. Jason Elmore with Chesterfield said. There was no one inside the building at the time of the crash.

The school will be closed through Sunday night. The principal sent a note home to parents saying they hope to reopen on Monday. Police are asking anyone with any information on the driver to contact them immediately. 

Other - Retail, Other Business

Williamsburg, VA – Sprinkler system helps contain fire at laundry facility

Fire crews in James City County were dispatched to Kingsmill Laundry at 8525 Pocahontas Trail on Wednesday morning just before 5:00 a.m. Units arrived to find fire showing from the roof of the building . The building’s sprinkler system activated and helped the fire department contain the fire.

The fire was under control at 5:37 a.m. and completely extinguished at 6:00 a.m.  The building was unoccupied. No one was injured.

The extent of the fire involved the mechanical room, the boiler, and portions of the roof above that room. James City County Fire officials have determined the cause of the fire to be a mechanical failure within the boiler system.

Other - Retail, Retail

Richmond, VA – Christmas eve fire at clothing store extinguished by sprinkler system

Avenue, a women’s clothing store, was evacuated Wednesday afternoon after Henrico Fire crews responded to a fire inside the store located at 9077 Staples Mill Road.  Henrico Fire Battalion Chief Eugene Gerald said it appeared the fire started at about 1:04 p.m. in the “main part” of the store.  The exact cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

“Inside the Avenue clothing store fire crews found a small fire that had been extinguished by the stores sprinkler system,” Henrico Fire spokesman Danny Rosenbaum said.”  No injuries were reported as a result of the fire.

“The fire is currently under investigation by the Fire Marshal’s Office,” Capt. Rosenbaum said.  Management at Avenue clothing store said they hoped to re-open the store on Friday.

Apartment Building, Residential

Fire at high-rise apartment building put out by sprinkler system (Roanoke, VA)

Some residents in Melrose Towers in Roanoke are displaced after their homes sustained water damage in a small fire Monday afternoon. No one was hurt. The fire was reported at 1:50 p.m. Monday at Melrose Towers, which is in the 3000 block of Melrose Avenue. The fire started in an eighth-floor apartment. The fire was put out by the sprinkler system in the building.

Office Building, Other Business

Sprinkler controls fire at GE facility caused by malfunctioning electrical equipment (Charlottesville, VA)

Shortly before midnight on October 23, units responded to GE Intelligent Platforms, 2500 Austin Drive, for the report of a commercial structure fire. Fire crews worked to extinguish a fire in the second floor of the structure that had been controlled by the activation of one sprinkler head. There were no civilian or firefighter injuries as a result of the fire. The cause of the fire is accidental and was determined to be malfunctioning electrical equipment.

Apartment Building, Residential

Sprinkler system keeps fire contained at four-story senior living complex (Woodbridge, VA)

Prince William County Department of Fire and Rescue responded to a fire in a four-story senior living apartment complex in Woodbridge, Va. Monday morning. There was smoke and fire on the first floor dining room area when crews got to the scene. Some of the furniture caught on fire and the smoke spread throughout the first floor and to the other floors above, the fire department said. The sprinkler system went off, which kept the fire from spreading while crews were able to put out the fire. Nobody was injured in the incident. Residents were able to evacuate the building safely.

Retail, Shopping Mall

Sprinkler system aids firefighters at shopping center fire (Chesapeake, VA)

Chesapeake fire crews were notified of a fire at a shopping center at 7:25 p.m., and upon arriving to the scene, they found heavy smoke located in the storage room near the back of the shopping center.

By 7:40 p.m., the fire was controlled by both the building’s fire sprinkler system as well the firefighters. The fire’s cause remains under investigations. No injuries were reported.