Tag Archives: Wisconsin

Other / Not Specified, Other Business

Madison, WI – Sprinkler system helps halt laboratory fire; No injuries reported

A spark from within a work station ignited flammable chemicals in a Madison laboratory Sunday, according to officials.

The fire at Covance Laboratories on Kinsman Boulevard was big enough to trigger the lab’s automatic sprinkler system. In addition to the lab’s automatic fire sprinkler system, a security guard also used a fire extinguisher to put out the blaze, according to a report from the Madison Fire Department. 

When the MFD arrived, the fire was already out. There were no injuries, officials said. 

The MFD’s Hazardous Incident Team also responded to the lab to further investigate the scene and neutralize any remaining chemical hazards, according to the report. 

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Tomah, WI – Fire at assisted-living facility put out with help from sprinkler system

Thirteen people were displaced after a fire damaged an assisted-living facility in Tomah.  The Tomah Fire Department was dispatched shortly before 7 p.m. to Cranberry Country assisted living facility, where staff was evacuating the building upon arrival of firefighters. No injuries were reported. Tomah Fire Chief Tim Adler said there was heavy smoke throughout the building and that entry was made with a hand line to extinguish the blaze. 

Adler said the fire was located inside of one of the bedrooms and that the building’s sprinkler system was activated due to the temperature of the fire. He said the fire was contained to the bedroom. The building’s owner, Krista Witt, said the fire likely was started by an electric appliance − “something somebody plugged in,” she said.

The building sustained heavy smoke and water damage, but Witt hopes to bring residents back into the rooms within a week. She said two residents are staying with family members, two more were moved to empty rooms in a part of the facility that wasn’t damaged, and others are staying in nearby assisted living centers.

She said staff members got everyone out of the building quickly and that other employees who weren’t scheduled to work dropped what they were doing to help.

“The staff worked their butts off,” Witt said. “This is the first time I realized, wow, there are some really good people who work here.”

Adler said 20 firefighters were on the scene for 2½ hours.

“The fire department was awesome,” Witt said. “The whole community stepped up. It was, ‘What can I do to help?’”

Assisting the fire department were Fort McCoy Ambulance Service and Monroe County 911 Communication Center.

Adler said the cause of the fire remains under investigation. It marked the second time in four days the department was called to a structure fire. A structure on Jefferson Street was left uninhabitable Friday after a fire started in a garage.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Glendale, WI – Sprinkler system controls fire at apartments with many elderly and disabled residents

North Shore Fire and Rescue responded to the Parkside Commons Apartments, 1400 W. Custer Ave., for a report of a fire on the second floor of the building.The first arriving fire company reported an active evacuation in progress with residents reporting moderate smoke conditions on the second floor. Crews located a fire in an apartment on the second floor. There was heavy smoke and crews encountered several residents requiring assistance with evacuation.

The fire was quickly brought under control by crews. Much of the fire had already been put out by the fire sprinkler system within the structure.  There were no injuries reported.

The fire was contained to a small area within a second-floor apartment, however, the activation of the sprinkler system caused extensive water damage within the unit, as well as to the unit adjacent and a common space on the first floor. There was also moderate smoke damage to some of the common hallways in the building. Preliminary estimates indicate that the damage to the structure and contents is approximately $33,000.

According to North Shore Fire, the building is home to many elderly and disabled residents, who were able to quickly and safely evacuate thanks to the quick action of building management.  Additionally, building personnel was able to provide quick and accurate accountability information so that firefighters could focus on assisting those who were unable to evacuate under their own power.  The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation but is not believed to be suspicious.

North Shore Fire/Rescue is being assisted by the Glendale Police Department in the investigation.

Apartment Building, Residential

Racine, WI – Apartment fire started by unattended candle contained by sprinkler system

A sprinkler system is credited with containing a fire in a bedroom in an apartment Thursday morning, city fire officials said.  Racine firefighters were dispatched at 8:53 a.m. to the Regency West Apartments, 2218 Loni Lane, for a report of a fire alarm.  Fire crews, with the assistance of building maintenance, gained access to an apartment, where firefighters discovered that the sprinkler system had contained the blaze.  Fire officials said the occupants were not home at the time of the fire and no one was injured. An unattended candle was found that occupants admitted they had forgotten about, fire officials said.  Damage is estimated at $4,000 and the three occupants of the apartment were reported to be working with Red Cross for housing arrangements.  Racine police assisted at the scene.

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Plant

West Bend, WI – Sprinkler system keeps fire in check at industrial building

West Bend and Jackson firefighters battled a blaze at an industrial building on East Progress Drive near Stonebridge Circle in West Bend for about two-and-a-half hours this morning.  According to the West Bend Fire Department, the call came in around 4 AM Saturday.

Fire officials say the fire began on the outside of the building and then penetrated the steel structure. The fire did damage a natural gas line which hampered firefighting efforts.  

The building’s sprinkler system kept the fire inside the building in check,  according to officials.  At this time there is no estimate on the amount of damage to the manufacturing facility and the cause of the fire is under investigation.  

No one was injured while fighting the fire.  

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Mount Pleasant, WI – Fire in attic of assisted living facility controlled by sprinkler system

Fire investigators are looking into a fire Thursday that damaged an assisted-living facility. The emergency call went out at 3:30 p.m. at Racine Commons, 8500 Corporate Drive, just north of Highway 20, and escalated to a second alarm for equipment and personnel. South Shore Fire Battalion Chief John Radewan said as soon as firefighters got to the scene they saw smoke and flames coming from the northeast corner of the H-shaped housing complex, which is west of Stuart Road and east of 90th Street.

“I saw heavy fire,” Radewan said. Mount Pleasant police officers already on the scene helped bystanders get all the residents out of the building without injury.  Firefighters attacked the flames with streams from a ladder truck and with hoses from personnel on the ground.  “The fire came from the back of the building and extended into the peak of the building, getting into the attic itself,” Radewan said. “We opened all that up and knocked it down.”

The sprinkler system kept the fire from spreading and firefighters were able to put it out within 20 minutes without injuries to the firefighters, according to Radewan. South Shore Battalion Chief Jon Keiser, who also worked the fire scene, said the placement of the sprinkler system inside the attic prevented damage and the fire could have extended without the presence of sprinklers.

“The interior rooms were only damaged by water,” Keiser said. “The fire damage was limited to the exterior of the building and the two roof spaces. It’s a very clear picture of why you put sprinklers in attics. We would have been here for 12 hours if it would have run into the attic.”

A trash container inside a garbage area appeared to be damaged by the fire, but Radewan declined to comment Thursday on any potential cause or origin of the fire. The fire is under investigation at this time,” Radewan said. Fire investigators started taking pictures and conducting their investigation of the fire within an hour of the fire being out.  Caledonia firefighters assisted at the scene.

Other Business

Burlington, WI – Sprinkler system activates to help control carport fire at banquet facility

A van owned by a contractor working at Veterans Terrace in Burlington Monday evening caught fire and triggered the building’s sprinkler system in the carport area. No injuries were reported, however, witnesses said two dogs that were in the van were rescued. The fire broke out shortly before 7 p.m. and caused only minor damage to the carport canopy. Claude Lois, president of the Veterans Terrace Management Group, said the sprinkler heads must be replaced and the system recharged. The lower level of the building is being repaired as the result of flood damage that occurred July 12 and 13.

Adult Care/Rehab Center, Hospital/Care Facility, Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Watertown, WI – Sprinkler system halts nursing home fire in wing occupied by many nonambulatory patients

The Watertown Fire Department continues to investigate a structure fire that injured one resident at Dycora Transitional Health on Hospital Drive early Saturday morning. “We’re not exactly sure of the cause of it yet, possibly electrical,” fire Chief Greg Michalek said. “The fire burned the bed with the patient in it and part of the wall.”

Michalek said the blaze was contained to a single room of the 112-bed nursing home, but the wing it is located in also suffered water and smoke damage.

He acknowledged that the casualties could have been much worse if things had transpired differently because many of the residents in the wing could not walk by themselves. Thankfully, firefighters along with a number of police officers and Dycora personnel were able to evacuate the 20 patients in the affected wing.

“Most of the people in that wing were nonambulatory,” Michalek said. “They had to be taken out in wheelchairs. The sprinkler system activated and put the fire out but there was a lot of smoke.”

A call to Dycora’s administrator was not returned before the Daily Times press time this morning.

Adult Care/Rehab Center, Residential

Glendale, WI – Fire at transitional living center suppressed by sprinkler system

This evening at approximately 7:16pm, the Bayside Communications Center received a report from an alarm monitoring company of a fire alarm sounding at Dycora Transitional Living Center, 1616 W. Bender Rd. in Glendale. Within seconds, a 911 call was received reporting a fire on the second floor of the facility. Fire and law enforcement units were dispatched immediately.

Glendale Police Officers were on routine patrol in the general area. Officers reported heavy smoke in one of the wings of the building on the second floor upon their arrival. The affected wing of the building was occupied by 16 patients. Facility staff and police began evacuating residents in the affected area. The first arriving fire company proceeded to the second floor of the facility and began searching for the location of the fire.

Additional arriving fire companies searched the facility for any fire/smoke victims and assisted in extinguishing the fire. A fire was located that was contained to one room of the building. The fire sprinkler system had extinguished a majority of the fire. Firefighters completed extinguishment of the fire and began to remove smoke from the building. Additional paramedic units were called to the scene as a precaution based on the type of facility involved in the incident.  One patient of the facility was evaluated by paramedics but refused transport to the hospital.  Damage to the facility is still being assessed. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Additional injuries to occupants and damage to the facility was prevented by the quick activation of the fire alarm and fire sprinkler system. While the size of the fire was small, the amount of smoke that is produced by a fire creates significant challenges for ensuring the safety of the occupants of buildings. According to a release from the North Shore Fire Department, the importance of maintaining working fire alarm and sprinkler systems in buildings cannot be understated and was demonstrated in this incident.

Apartment Building, Residential

Appleton, WI – Sprinkler system puts out apartment fire; Adult and child escape unharmed

An automated sprinkler system is being credited with containing a fire at a 25-unit apartment complex in Appleton.  Firefighters say they were called to Wire Works Apartments, 601 E. Hancock St., just after 9:30 a.m. Thursday. When they arrived, firefighters saw light smoke in the courtyard outside one of the units. When they went in, crews saw that the apartment’s living room was filled with smoke, and a sprinkler was running. Investigation showed that the water from the sprinkler had put the fire out. Firefighters shut down the sprinkler system and helped remove smoke and water from the apartment.  When the fire started, one adult and one child were in the apartment. They got out safely and called 911.  Firefighters determined the fire began when a heat lamp tipped over onto some boxes.