Category Archives: Hospital/Care Facility

Concord, NH – Sprinkler system activated for fire at dentist’s office; No injuries reported

A fire in the basement of a dentist’s office in Concord was quickly extinguished in part because of the building’s sprinkler system Wednesday morning, Concord Fire Chief John Chisholm said. 

Concord Fire was dispatched just after 9:20 a.m. and smoke was reported in the building. Firefighters were able to quickly locate a small fire in the basement of Generations Dental Care offices at 9 Triangle Park Drive. The modern building’s sprinkler system had been activated, keeping the fire in check, according to Chisholm. There were no injuries.

Firefighters dragged hoses into the building and cleared the offices of smoke while employees and patients were evacuated.

A preliminary investigation determined that the fire started in the area of a trash can and that it was accidental, though its exact source remains unclear, Chisholm said.

Charlottetown, PE, Canada – Sprinkler system activated for fire at clinic

Health P.E.I. clinics at the Polyclinic Professional Centre in Charlottetown will remain closed on Thursday following a small fire in the cafe earlier this week. 

The Charlottetown Fire Department said it received a call just after 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The department said the fire was caused by a pot of grease sitting on a stove that was left on accidentally.

“There was smoke and flames visible in a window on the first floor and we managed to extinguish the fire fairly quickly,” said Kent Mitchell, the deputy chief.

“It wasn’t a great big fire, but it doesn’t take much of a fire to create a lot of smoke.”

This is the second day in a row that Health P.E.I.-run clinics are closed in the building. According to a news release from Health P.E.I., crews are still cleaning the area and working to remove the smell of smoke.

This means patients are being contacted about new times and locations for their appointments.

The director of community specialty services with Health P.E.I. said staff were able to get into the building after everything was extinguished to get the information they needed to continue with service.

Mitchell said there were people in the building when the fire started but they all got out when the alarm went off.

“This building had a fire alarm system, sprinkler system, so that’s all good. But in any other building we certainly encourage you make sure you test your smoke alarms,” he said.

“It’s a lesson for everybody because it’s the smoke that really causes damage not necessarily the the size of the fire.”

He estimated it could take a few days minimum to have the building all cleaned up.

Salisbury, MD – Sprinkler system controls fire at hospital

An early morning fire at TidalHealth Peninsula Regional has been ruled accidental.

The fire was reported at around 1:25 a.m., in an Environmental Services Storage Closet. Crews were able to control the blaze in just over 20 minutes.

Maryland State Fire Marshals say the fire involved an electric vacuum cleaner attached to the wall and was caused by the failure of a lithium-ion battery. The incident reportedly took place in an employee-only area and was controlled by the automatic sprinkler system. No patients were displaced or required evacuation, and hospital operations were not affected. The sprinkler and alarm system were placed back in service.

Ottawa, ON, Canada – Sprinkler system activated for arson fire at hospital; No injuries reported

Police charged an Ottawa man with arson Friday after an early-morning fire inside the Civic Hospital emergency department.

The department remained open and operational throughout the day.

Jean-François Lalonde, 43, was to appear in court Friday to face charges of arson endangering life, arson to property, possessing incendiary materials and breach of probation, the Ottawa Police Service said in a news release.

Police said hospital security had already taken a suspect into custody by the time emergency services responded to the fire at 6:34 a.m. The fire was extinguished by the hospital’s sprinkler system.

The Ottawa Hospital declared a “Code Red” at 6:30 a.m. because of the fire. About 30 patients had to be moved to other areas of the facility, hospital spokesperson Rebecca Abelson said.

A spokesperson for Ottawa Fire Services said a sprinkler head was activated when they arrived and firefighters helped clean up the water.

No staff or patient injuries were reported, Abelson said.

Fargo, ND – Sprinkler system activated for fire at medical center; No injuries reported

Fargo firefighters responded to a report of a fire at Sanford Broadway Medical Center at 801 Broadway North at approximately 6:15 a.m. on Sunday, October 29.

Officials say the initial dispatch was for an activated alarm that was upgraded to a structure fire after reports of smoke in the building. The first arriving crews found a small fire in an ultrasound machine and extinguished it.

The building’s fire sprinkler system had contained the fire to the machine. There was no other fire damage.

Due to a significant amount of smoke, Sanford staff were about to evacuate the building but stopped once they knew the fire was contained.

Sanford is working diligently to minimize any impact to our patient’s experience due to this morning’s incident. At this time, patient care has not been impacted.

No people were in the wing when the fire occurred. There were no patients affected and no injuries.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. A damage estimate was not immediately available.

Largo, FL – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire at hospital; No injuries reported

Around 19 patients at HCA Florida Largo Hospital were evacuated to other rooms after a fire started in a patient’s room on Sunday night.

Largo Fire said around 8 p.m. smoke was seen coming from the third floor. Fire crews from Clearwater, Seminole, and Largo were called to assist.

“Preliminary investigation shows that a paper towel dispenser possibly overloaded with some batteries, and because again paper towels are highly flammable, it overheated the paper towels inside, started to drip molten plastic down onto the table that they had tissue paper and towels on and then it extended to the wall from there. It was contained at the height of about midway up the wall,” Largo Fire District Chief, Kyle Lighthiser, said.

Lighthiser said the fire burned through the paper towels and said it’s unclear how long the fire was burning before the sprinkler system put it out. He said the staff was told to shut down the air conditioning system so smoke wasn’t circulating.

Fire crews then walked through the building with air monitors to make sure it was safe.

Lighthiser said maintenance is cleaning up any flooding but added that general cleanup will take several days.

There were no reported injuries.

Zion, IL – Fire at Cancer Treatment Center extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Fire officials say a fire was quickly extinguished by a sprinkler system inside the Cancer Treatment Centers of America hospital in Zion Monday afternoon.

Zion Fire-Rescue District Lt. Ian Kennedy said dispatchers received notification from an alarm monitoring company around 12:23 p.m. Monday for a fire alarm that had been activated at Cancer Treatment Centers of America, 2520 Elisha Avenue in Zion.

Firefighters arrived and found light smoke inside the building.

They also found a charred wall and a charred construction utility cart, Kennedy said. One sprinkler head had activated.

An investigation showed that workers cutting some type of material led to a power cord, which was in contact with copper and flammable materials, being damaged and causing the fire.

The fire occurred in an area of the hospital that was under construction, Kennedy said.

No patients or employees were near the immediate location of the incident. No injuries were reported.

Firefighters ensured the fire had not spread, performed ventilation and shut down the sprinkler system.

Zion Fire-Rescue Department Fire Chief Justin Stried said the hospital’s sprinkler system did its job and contained the fire until firefighters arrived and confirmed it had not spread.

Kennedy said it was a concern that there could have been considerable resource needs for patients, families and employees should the fire have turned out bigger than it was.

The Winthrop Harbor Fire Department assisted Zion firefighters at the scene. A preliminary estimate shows there was $5,000 in damage.

Salmon Arm, BC, Canada – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire at hospital

No serious injuries resulted from a fire at Shuswap Lake General Hospital on Friday night but two patients were checked for smoke inhalation.

The Salmon Arm Fire Department was paged at 7:20 p.m. Sept. 23 for what was tagged at first as a commercial alarm. However, that was soon upgraded to a structure fire, recounts Deputy Fire Chief Gary Lebeter.

When crews arrived on the hospital’s second floor where the alarm was coming from, the sprinkler system had activated and already extinguished the fire.

“Which was great, it had done what it was supposed to do,” Lebeter said.

There were two beds in the room and the two patients required assessment for smoke inhalation.

All 19 patients on Level 2 were safely evacuated to another area of the hospital, Interior Health reported, noting minor damage was isolated to the area of the fire.

Level 2 was temporarily closed as damage was assessed and repaired. Interior Health said Monday repairs have begun to the damaged area and some beds on Level 2 are expected to open next week.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation by the Salmon Arm Fire Department.

Lebeter said crew members helped move patients from the second to the fourth floor, as well as setting up ventilation fans to remove the smoke. He said there was a fair amount of water damage on the second floor, so firefighters “got busy with mops” to limit damage or accidents.

Interior Health said it would like to thank the Salmon Arm Fire Department, the RCMP and all staff who quickly came together to assist during the incident.

Indianapolis, IN – Sprinkler system activated for fire at senior living facility; No injuries reported

More than 40 residents were displaced after a fire at an east Indianapolis senior living facility Tuesday morning.

The fire at Crown Pointe Senior Living Community, located at 7365 E. 16th St., was reported just after midnight. The Indianapolis Fire Department said an investigation revealed the fire started in the dining hall on the first floor at the location of a gas fireplace.

When first responders arrived, there was fire and smoke showing from the second floor, and an evacuation was in progress. The facility’s sprinkler system had activated.

IFD and Lawrence Fire Department crews brought the fire under control in roughly 30 minutes. 

IFD said 44 people were evacuated from the building without any injuries. Residents were placed on IndyGo buses for heated shelter and moved to a nearby senior living facility.

The Marion County Health Department responded to the scene due to the kitchen being impacted. The Indianapolis Department of Public Works was also dispatched due to slick areas from salt.

When first responders arrived, there was fire and smoke showing from the second floor, and an evacuation was in progress. The facility’s sprinkler system had activated.

IFD and Lawrence Fire Department crews brought the fire under control in roughly 30 minutes. 

IFD said 44 people were evacuated from the building without any injuries. Residents were placed on IndyGo buses for heated shelter and moved to a nearby senior living facility.

The Marion County Health Department responded to the scene due to the kitchen being impacted. The Indianapolis Department of Public Works was also dispatched due to slick areas from salt.

Fayetteville, NC – Sprinkler system activated for fire at nursing home; No injuries reported

The Fayetteville Fire Department battled a fire at Autumn Care of Fayetteville nursing home Sunday night.

The first units arrived around 11:30 p.m and found a fire located in a room on the 400 hall of the facility.

Thirteen residents were forced out of their rooms while six others sheltered in place.

The facility’s sprinkler system had contained the fire to a single room, through the Fayetteville Fire Department said the fire did extend to the exterior of the building.

Crews were able to extenguish the fire, which officials with the department said was caused by a mounted heater.

Cape Fear Valley EMS is assessing residents of the facility, though no injuries have been reported.

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