Apartment Building, Residential Battle Ground, WA – Sprinkler system suppresses apartment fire; No injuries and damage minimized June 19, 2015 viking210 A fire sprinkler successfully suppressed an apartment fire Tuesday afternoon in Battle Ground, minimizing potential damage. Nobody was home when the fire broke out in a unit at Meadow View Apartments, said Clark County Fire & Rescue Division Chief Mike Jackson. Firefighters were called to 611 N.W. 20th Ave. at 2:49 p.m. The oven had been left on the clean setting and ignited items on the stove, Jackson said. “The fire was luckily controlled with a single sprinkler head before we got there,” he said. There was minimal fire and water damage, though a neighboring unit may have some water damage, Jackson said. Without the sprinkler, the fire could have grown to be much worse and caused more damage. Fire sprinklers are activated by heat, going off when it reaches around 165 degrees.
Other - Retail, Retail Kent, WA – Sprinkler system stops fire at car audio business June 14, 2015 viking210 2 Comments A business’s sprinkler system stopped a fire from spreading and limited damage in the 25900 block of 104 Avenue Southeast, the Kent Fire Department RFA reported. The car audio business was closed when the initial call came in for a sprinkler water flow alarm at 7:36 p.m. When the first engine from Kent Fire arrived, they found water and smoke coming from the business, which was at the end of a strip mall. Firefighters entered the building and found a small fire that had been extinguished by the sprinkler system. It was the water coming from the sprinkler heads that set off the alarm. The presence of the sprinkler system kept the fire from causing more damage or spreading to adjacent businesses. A small amount of water was found in the next business, which had seeped from the affected area. The cause of the fire is under investigation. There were no injuries.
Other - Retail, Retail Spokane, WA – Sprinkler system keeps fire from spreading at tanning salon June 7, 2015 viking210 A Spokane, Washington woman is okay after her tanning bed caught fire with her inside while at the tanning salon. The woman said she heard a sizzling noise, then saw plastic from the bed bubbling up near her feet and that’s when she quickly got out. An employee called 911. When firefighters arrived the tanning bed was engulfed in flames. A sprinkler system kept the fire from spreading. The salon owner says the tanning bed was about five years old. The fire chief at the scene says another tanning bed caught fire last year at a different tanning salon in town.
Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential High Rise Auburn, WA – Early morning fire in senior apartment building doused by sprinkler system May 21, 2015 viking210 A building sprinkler system contained a fire in a seven-story senior apartment complex in Auburn early Thursday morning. Damage was limited to four apartments, the Valley Regional Fire Authority reported. VRFA crews responded to a report of the fire at the Plaza 17 Apartment building, 1001 17th St. SE, shortly after 7:30 a.m. When crews arrived, they found that three sprinkler heads had activated containing the fire to one apartment unit on the sixth floor of the building. Residents were evacuating. Firefighters completed fire extinguishment and searched the building for any remaining residents needing assistance. Residents were able to rest in the building’s community room, unaffected by the fire, while fire crews cleared smoke and used water vacuums to remove excess water. Four apartment units were deemed uninhabitable, primarily because of the water damage. Building managers were able to find housing for all but one resident who will be helped by the American Red Cross. Kent Fire Department RFA, South King Fire and Rescue and King County Medic One assisted the VRFA. The fire is under investigation.
Other - Residential, Residential Olympia, WA – Sprinkler system controls fire at homeless shelter May 18, 2015 viking210 A Sunday morning fire in Olympia was largely controlled by an automatic sprinkler system according to the Olympia Fire Department. About 10 a.m. Sunday, Olympia fire crews were dispatched to the homeless shelter operated by Family Support Services in the 800 block of Seventh Avenue Southeast. Once there, fire crews contained the fire to one apartment. They also evaluated two patients — one for a minor burn and the other for smoke inhalation. Both refused aid and were released at the scene, according to a news release. One firefighter at the scene also suffered a minor laceration. The cause of the fire appeared to be accidental, according to the news release.
Apartment Building, Residential Yakima, WA – Sprinklers credited with saving lives and property from fire at apartment building May 13, 2015 viking210 The Yakima Fire Department says a small fire at an apartment unit Tuesday night has displaced about 20 people. The fire started after someone in a third floor apartment unit on the 800 block of East D Street left a pan of oil unattended on the stove around 6 p.m. Firefighters also say although the water damage was significant, the fire sprinkler system was instrumental in saving lives and further property damage from an extensive fire. Having the sprinklers activate saved the building from severe structural damage from the fire. Water is usually easier and quicker to clean than rebuilding from fire damage. Also water is less hazardous to the occupants than smoke and fire. Without the activation of the fire sprinkler system, the lives of the people in all 18 units could have been affected.
Manufacturing, Paper Mill / Saw Mill Spokane, WA – Fire at paper manufacturer put out with help from sprinkler system April 24, 2015 viking210 What could have turned into a raging inferno was instead a smoldering mess thanks to the sprinkler system installed at Inland Empire Paper. Fire crews responded to the paper mill on Argonne just after 2:30 p.m. on April 15 for a fire in the recycling building. Employees were unloading giant bundles of recycled materials that were held together with metal bands, said Spokane Valley Fire Department spokeswoman Melanie Rose. The metal of one of the bands scraped across the floor, got hot and ignited the bundled paper, Rose said. Crews were able to put out the fire quickly with help from the sprinkler system. The quick response was due in part to the department’s pre-incident planning, Rose said. “We already knew what was in there,” she said. Crews from Spokane County Fire District 8 assisted at the fire and crews from Spokane County Fire District 9 staffed several Valley Fire stations while crews were at the paper mill. Inland Empire Paper is owned by Cowles Co., which also owns The Spokesman-Review.
Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail Puyallup, WA – Fire at Walmart kept in check by sprinkler system; No injuries April 15, 2015 viking210 Firefighters controlled a large, smoky fire that forced customers and employees to leave a Puyallup Walmart store on Tuesday night. KOMO-TV reports that Central Pierce Fire and Rescue spokesman Ed Hrivnak said the fire started about 9:30 p.m. The fire department received multiple reports of a fast-moving fire in the garden area. No injuries were reported. Hrivnak says the store’s sprinkler system kept the fire in check. It was under control by about 11 p.m. The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
Other / Not Specified, Other Business Everett, WA – Sprinklers help contain fire that jumped from burning vehicle to building April 13, 2015 viking210 At 4:15 a.m. cell phone callers reported a loud boom and truck fire in the alley next to a building on the 2700 block of Rockefeller Avenue. Everett Police were the first to arrive on scene and reported a truck fire spreading to the building. The fire was able to spread to the basement and second floor setting off the fire sprinkler system. The first arriving engine made an aggressive offensive attack knocking down the fire within minutes. The incident commander ordered a search of the building while the fire attack was in progress. Firefighters used chainsaws to open the roof looking for any hidden fire. The fire was completely controlled in approximately 20 minutes. Due to a quick response by firefighters and the fire sprinkler system the fire was contained to the exterior of the building. The rest of the building was impacted by smoke and water damage. There were no reports of injuries. Everett fire and police detectives are investigating. There is no estimate of a dollar loss at this time.
Apartment Building, Residential Vancouver, WA – Mattress fire at new apartment complex contained by sprinkler system March 15, 2015 viking210 A fire that started when a candle set a mattress ablaze damaged a Hazel Dell apartment Monday afternoon. The fire was reported at 2:15 p.m. at the ArdenWood Station Apartments, a new complex at 9517 N.E. Hazel Dell Ave. Firefighters arrived to find smoke coming from two sides of a second-floor apartment in the middle floor of a three-story block of six units, said Sarah Walton, a spokeswoman for Clark County Fire District 6. ArdenWood Station opened last year and is equipped with modern fire sprinklers and alarms. Both systems were triggered, limiting damage and alerting the neighbors, Walton said. The fire was quickly extinguished, but there was some smoke and water damage. Four people live in the apartment but were not at home when the fire started, Clark County Deputy Fire Marshal Susan Anderson said. The occupants have a dog, which was out running errands with them. A pet tarantula in the house was not harmed. The Vancouver Fire Department assisted Fire District 6. In all, four engines responded. Anderson determined that a lit candle set the mattress on fire.
