York Fire and Life Safety crews were called to the school complex around 3:45 p.m. Arriving units found heavy smoke and fire in an equipment room. The initial fire was controlled by the sprinkler system.
Regular classes had dismissed for the day at that point, and all students and other personnel who were there for after-school activities got out safely.
If your kids were there for after-school activities, you can pick them up at the nearby Amory Funeral Home, located at 410 Grafton Drive. All remaining activities at the schools for the day are canceled.
As a result of the fire, Grafton Middle and High Schools will be closed Tuesday, February 4, and Wednesday, February 5. All after-school activities on those days are also canceled.
School employees will receive a communication from their building principals regarding staff schedules.
A plan is being worked on for students and staff to reclaim any personal possessions left on campus.
Automatic Sprinkler System in Sterling Townhouse Held Fire in Check as Firefighters Responded
Loudoun County Fire Official’s credit a Sterling townhome’s automatic fire sprinkler system with preventing a garage fire from spreading further before first responders arrived.
On Thursday, January 16, 2020, fire and rescue units from Cascades, Sterling Park, Kincora, Ashburn, and Fairfax County, along with various command staff officers, responded to a report of a car on fire in the garage of a home in the 46,000 block of Pryor Square in Sterling.
Firefighters arrived on scene to find a three-story, end-unit townhouse with a car on fire in the garage and the residents safely outside the home. Fire crews quickly extinguished the remaining fire that was being controlled by the automatic fire sprinkler system. Fortunately for the residents and neighbors, the fire and subsequent damages were contained to the vehicle and the garage with no fire extending to the remaining portions of the townhome. No other dwellings were affected and there were no reported injuries to citizens or first responders.
The Loudoun County Fire Marshal’s Office has determined that it was an accidental fire, originating in the engine compartment of the vehicle. Damages to the vehicle and home are estimated at $20,000. “If the sprinkler heads had not been in place and operated as designed, this fire could have been significantly more severe,” said System Chief Keith Johnson. “This incident is a prime example of the positive impact of automatic sprinkler systems in residential homes. The sprinkler activation kept the fire under control until firefighters could get on scene and damages to the home were directly minimized.” Loudoun County Fire and Rescue officials remain strong advocates of automatic fire sprinkler systems and their safety benefits. To learn more about fire prevention activities and education in Loudoun County, visit http://www.loudoun.gov/firemarshal or call 703-737-8600.
Deputy Cheif Matt Tobia, with the Harrisonburg Fire Department, said officials arrived on the scene of a possible structure fire off of Woodbury Circle in the North 38 apartment complex around 6:30 p.m.
Chief Tobia said when crews arrived they could see smoke coming from the third floor of building 1093. Officials believe the fire started on the outside patio of the third floor.
He said when crews arrived the flames were almost completely extinguished thanks to the sprinkler system inside the apartment.
“Because of the location of the fire it could have very easily extended into the roof and burn the roof off of the structure,” Cheif Tobia said. “But one sprinkler head controlled the fire with less than just a few gallons of water.”
Chief Tobia said at all times a sprinkler system works just as well as a firefighter does until more crews can arrive on the scene.
Fire officials said no one was injured or displaced due to the fire. One engine will remain on the scene Wednesday night as crews investigate the cause.
Cheif Tobia said this is a real success story for the sprinkler system in the apartment.
The fire, accidentally kindled by unattended burning incense, was quickly extinguished by the complex’s sprinkler system.
No injuries or extensive property damage were reported. Several apartments did sustain water damage. Those tenants were relocated by apartment management, officials said.
A little before 6 a.m.an engine from the Warrenton Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched to an automatic fire alarm at the apartment complex, Koglin said.
Upon investigation, firefighters noticed the sprinkler system had been activated. They found smoke on the second floor and upgraded the call to a building fire just after 6 a.m.
Firefighters found an apartment involved and discovered a small stove top fire that had been extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system, Koglin said.
The building was cleared for re-occupancy soon after.
The fire was first reported just after 2 p.m., on the 12th floor of the apartment tower at 3900 Fairfax Drive. The fire is reported to now be out, controlled at least in part via a sprinkler system.
Firefighters are now checking for additional fire, smoke and water damage in adjacent apartments. Water can be seen streaming down the side of the building near where the fire was reported, and “extensive” water damage is being reported in parts of the building, according to scanner traffic.
No word yet on what caused the fire.
Police are also on the scene, helping to provide traffic control with the eastbound lanes of Fairfax Drive closed by the emergency response.
The Shenandoah County Emergency Communications Center received a call at 3:41 a.m. from someone at the scene who reported a fire in one of the buildings, Shannon Walters, service assistant for the Shenandoah County Department of Fire and Rescue, said Friday.
Employees evacuated the facility, Deputy Chief Billy Streett said. Responders checked out one employee on the site for smoke inhalation who refused transport to the hospital, Streett said.
The fire started in a piece of equipment in a processing area of the plant, Streett added. Employees and then the plant’s sprinkler system extinguished the fire by the time fire and rescue crews arrived, he said, explaining that employees worked on putting out the blaze but flames grew to the point that the fire triggered the sprinklers. The sprinkler system kept the fire contained to the machinery.
Crews cleared the scene at 5:28 a.m., Walters said. Fire stations in Strasburg, Toms Brook and Middletown responded to the call along with rescue squads in Strasburg and Woodstock.
Fire and rescue workers have responded to other emergencies at Mercury Paper, Streett said.
