Westport, CT – Apartment kitchen fire put out by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A fire sprinkler system last Tuesday, January 20, is credited with putting out a stove fire at 1655 Post Road East, Unit 2901, said Assistant Chief Jeff Gootman. Arriving firefighters found flames had extended to the cabinets in the affected unit of the four-family town house. The Westport Housing Authority, which operates the complex, coordinated the cleaning and temporary relocation of two families, Gootman said. “The Westport Fire Department reminds residents to pay careful attention while cooking at all times,” he said. Westport Fire Department photos

Durham, NH – Fire in lab building at University of New Hampshire extinguished by sprinkler system

A small fire occurred on Tuesday at the University of New Hampshire’s Rudman Hall.  According to Dave Emanuel, the assistant fire chief in Durham, the fire occurred in a cleaning room on the third floor.  The call came in at approximately 9 a.m. for fire alarm activation with the alarm panel indicating water flowing in the building.

“The building is predominantly a lab building and on each floor there is a cleaning room with a glass cleaner and an oven for drying,” Emanuel said. “This was an insulation fire in the area of the glass cleaner. The captain had taken the room apart and determined the fire was out. It was declared under control at 9:50 a.m.

The sprinkler system extinguished the fire and because the room has a poly-coated floor for the most part the water was contained to the room. But according to Emanuel, the drain isn’t big enough to handle the flow from the sprinkler so some water did run out into the staircase and there were a few other penetrations between the different floors.

“The most important thing is that everything worked as it should have,” Emanuel said. “UNH invests in fire alarms systems for early notification and suppression — and the system did its job,”  “We used squeegees to move the water toward the stairwells and vacuum it up,” Emanuel said. “We do the best we can for loss prevention.

Due to scope of the cleanup, Durham Fire Department was assisted on scene by Lee, Newmarket, and University Police personnel.  Listen: Latest From the Newsroom. Emanuel said they returned Rudman Hall to normal operations at about 10 a.m. and crews cleared the scene at about 11 a.m. A second call for fire alarm activation and a medical call at about the same time, made for a very busy morning. “We were running in three directions at once,” Emanuel said.

Windsor, VT – Sprinkler system assists firefighters in bringing large warehouse fire under control

The alarm and sprinkler systems inside a large warehouse at the Windsor Technology Park helped prevent the flames from a fire on Saturday morning from damaging any of the nearly 300 vehicles stored there, co-owner of the park Alan Cummings said on Monday. “We have a sophisticated alarm and sprinkler system so it was caught quickly,” Cummings said. “The furnace was destroyed but nothing else. The fire department did a great job.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but fire officials said it started in the elevated furnace in one corner of the building. Windsor Fire Chief Kevin McAllister said when the first crews arrived just past 11 a.m. and opened the doors to warehouse, they saw a “large amount of fire,” but were uncertain of its origin. McAllister said it took about 15-20 minutes to knock down the fire and get it under control; they were able to contain it to the oil-fired furnace.

He said flames did not damage any of the vehicles, which included large RVs, campers, boats and antique automobiles, but there was a lot of thick black smoke throughout the building for a couple of hours and that may have caused some damage. “That stuff can get into anything,” McAllister said. The chief also said a fuel oil line to the furnace ruptured and was spilling oil from a 30,000-gallon underground tank. Some of that oil got outside the building, and officials with the state Agency of Natural Resources were at the park on Monday to meet with Cummings.

“We are assessing the amount of cleanup today,” Cummings said, estimating that only a small amount of oil made it outside the building. The northern end of the affected building where most of the vehicles are stored, is about 65,000 square feet, said Cummings, who owns the park with Hunter Banbury. The entire storage area is around 90,000 square feet, he said. McAllister said the call started out as a “box alarm” but ended up going to a second alarm, bringing in departments from West Windsor, Ascutney, Springfield, Hartland and Hartford. Cummings said the park will replace the furnace and the sprinkler system.

Rochester, MN – High school fire held in check by sprinkler system, helping to limit damage; No injuries reported

Rochester Fire responded to a fire at Lourdes High School around 1:41 p.m. Sunday.  According to fire officials, the fire involved cardboard boxes underneath stairs near the auditorium in the high school. A student, David Poirier, used a portable fire extinguisher to try to extinguish the flames. Heat from the fire activated a sprinkler head, which officials say kept the fire in check.

Authorities say Engine Company 4 used extinguishers to completely extinguish the blaze. Crews had to evacuate the building to prevent smoke inhalation and ventilate smoke from the building. They say the sprinkler system limited damage and prevented injuries.

Fire officials say Lourdes High School is facing $5,000 in clean-up fees due to some water damage from the sprinkler system and limited smoke damage.  The cause of the fire is still under investigation. No one was injured in the incident.

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ROCHESTER, Minn. – Rochester Fire Deptartment is on the scene of Lourdes High School, located at 2800 19th St NW.

Our reporter on scene said parents came up to her saying it’s really smoky inside, so officials cancellled today’s events.

Stay with KIMT as we learn more about this developing story.

Pearland, TX – (NO MEDIA COVERAGE) Single sprinkler head extinguishes apartment kitchen fire

*** NO MEDIA COVERAGE — FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORTED *** On January 13 at approximately 12:30 the Pearland Fire Department responded to the Stonepost Apartments at 12400 Shadow Creek Parkway for a fire alarm. Upon arrival the first responding engine company found one activated fire sprinkler head in the kitchen in one of the apartments that extinguished the fire on the stovetop with some charring to the microwave above.

Arcata, CA – Sprinkler system controls fire at mixed-use building; $27 million of property saved according to owner, no injuries

A little after 2 a.m. a fire broke out in a business in the 900 block of I Street in Arcata. According to Sean Campbell, Battalion Chief for Arcata Fire District, “Once the bars got out, someone set off a firework…The [illegal] mortar shot up through a gap in the building.” Multiple callers notified 911 operators that there was a fire in a multi-business structure. “Mutual aid was called for,” Campbell explained.

Campbell said the mortar caught items in a loft on fire. “Thankfully,…the sprinkler head got it in check and prevented a major loss of that building,” he explained. “It knocked the fire down.” However, the firefighters still had to deal with getting to the ignition point and completely extinguishing the flames. “They had to force through multiple doors,” Campbell said. Then, they had a further problem. “The challenging thing is it was up on a loft,” he explained. The firefighters were able to locate the problem and get a hose up to the problem area.

“The damage from the fire was $3400,” Campbell said. However, if the fire hadn’t been slowed by the sprinkler system and stopped by the fire crews a building and its contents worth approximately $27 million could have been destroyed, he pointed out. A press release with more information is expected shortly.

UPDATE 10:37 a.m.: Press release from Arcata Fire:

t 2:04 AM Arcata Fire District was dispatched to a commercial structure fire at 933 I Street, Arcata. The first engine to arrive was out of the Arcata Fire Station and reported moderate gray smoke in a large commercial mixed-use occupancy. The crew began forcing entry through multiple doors trying to access the fire.

The second engine from Mad River Fire Station arrived and supported the first engine with a fire attack. Once the fire attack team made entry, they reported smoke throughout the business and advised the incident commander that a sprinkler head had activated.

A third engine from McKinleyville Station arrived and began searching the business for occupants. This was a priority because the building is attached to a winery and there were occupants in the winery.

The fire was located in a loft area above Humboldt Juice Bar. The fire attack team had to use ladders to gain access to the loft. They were able to deploy a hose line to the fire and complete extinguishment.

Battalion Chief Sean Campbell reported, “This was our second commercial fire in less than 24 hours. We had the potential to burn down two complete city blocks during our shift but thankfully we were able to prevent that from happening. Our firefighters did an amazing job working with our mutual-aid partners to avoid another disastrous conflagration.”

The estimated loss to Humboldt Juice Bar and Humboldt Machine Works is $3,400 and the estimated save to the businesses is $2,760,973. The saved value for the immediate exposure business to the north (The Griffin) $710,482. These values do not account for lost sales revenue, lost sales tax, or lost employment.

Fire Chief Justin McDonald reported, “Once again, I am proud of my team. I have to attribute this success to the dedication of our firefighters. They work hard to be the best at what they do and it showed during these two incidents. This incident resulted in a 99% save ratio, which is an A+. Although some of this success is attributed to the sprinkler system, these fires still require firefighters to complete extinguishment and conduct salvage operations. The save ratio is based on Value Saved divided by Total Value (minus Loss). We attribute this to good work and a great relationship with our Mutual-Aid partners.”

This incident was caused by an illegal firework being set off in front of the business. Arcata Fire is working with Arcata Police to identify a suspect in this case. Anyone with information is asked to contact Arcata Fire or Arcata Police.

“There were hundreds of witnesses in the area when the fireworks were ignited. We hope someone will come forward and help us identify the suspect responsible for this fire.” Stated Chief Campbell.

A total of thirty-one firefighters and three volunteer support personnel managed this incident. Arcata Fire District would like to thank Westhaven, Cal Fire Trinidad, Blue Lake, Humboldt Bay, Samoa, and Fieldbrook Fire for their support and hard work.

Ithaca, NY – Fire on 10th floor of on-campus residential high rise contained by sprinkler system

Firefighters from the Ithaca Fire Department were called to Ithaca College campus for a fire in a dorm room on the 10th floor of the East Tower high-rise. Fire officials credit a working sprinkler and fire alarm system for keeping the fire from spreading from the one dorm room.

Ithaca College Safety Personnel reported heavy smoke in the hallway and a sprinkler activation on the 10th floor at about 9 a.m., according to the Ithaca Fire Department. Students evacuated the building to the Towers parking lot.

Ithaca firefighters arrived and entered the building to search for anyone still inside, while others stretched hose lines to the fire. The fire was quickly knocked down.

No one was injured in the blaze and students were moved into the Towers dinning hall due temperatures in the teens, the fire department said. The fire caused significant damage to the the dorm room, but the fire was contained and did not spread to any other rooms, the department said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation at this time.

“Early notification and quick responses keep these potentially serious events, from turning tragic,” the fire department said on its Facebook page.

Saratoga Springs, NY – Fire at multi-family residential structure put out quickly by sprinkler system

Volunteers from the Northeastern New York chapter of the American Red Cross provided shelter assistance, food and clothing for three people who were temporarily displaced by a fire at 170 Lake Ave. in Saratoga Springs. That fire was called in at about 5 p.m. at a multifamily residence, according to Saratoga Springs Assistant Fire Chief Pete Shaw.  “The fire was extremely minor and was a stove-top cooking fire,” he said. “There was no structural damage and barely any discoloration on the wall or ceiling.”  Shaw added that the fire was out quickly because of a sprinkler system in the unit.

Watertown, MA – Sprinkler system activates to help control blaze at apartment building

7:11 a.m. Officers were called to 55 Waverley Ave. for the report of a fire alarm activation. Upon arrival, police and the Watertown Fire Department investigated smoke coming from an area between the third and fourth floors of the building. The fire was identified to have started in the trash room of the building and, because of the smoke from the fire, the building’s sprinkler system was activated. <BLOG NOTE: Only the substantial heat from a fire will cause a sprinkler to activate, Not smoke.>

Sparks, NV – Possible arson fire at trailer rental business held in check by sprinkler system

Fire crews are investigating to determine the cause of a fire inside “Prime Trailer,” a store that rents out trailers in the 1500 block of South McCarran Boulevard and Greg Street.  It broke out around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, January 23, 2018. It was initially called in as a fire alarm activation, so a crew from the Sparks Fire Department was sent to the scene to investigate.

Upon arrival the crew saw smoke coming out of the roll-up door and upgraded it to a second alarm fire; and backup was called. Additional crews arrived and entered the building, finding a fire inside. Fire officials say the fire was held in check thanks to a working sprinkler system. The fire is out now but investigators are calling it suspicious and say it may stem from a burglary at the business.

“The cause of the fire is still under investigation but our indication is that it might have been a burglary because there were signs of forced entry prior to our arrival,” said Battalion Chief Derek Keller from the Sparks Fire Department.

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