Sprinkler holds fire at bay at apartment complex (Annapolis, MD)

A sprinkler contained a fire inside an apartment complex laundry room preventing anyone from being injured or displaced Monday night, a city fire department spokeswoman said. Firefighters responded to the Admiral Oaks apartment complex shortly after 9 p.m. for reports of smoke coming from a laundry room, fire department spokeswoman Capt. Janet Kiefler said. The sprinkler contained the fire until firefighters could arrive and quickly extinguish it, Kiefler said. The fire was determined to be caused by a malfunctioning dryer.

Thrift store fire put out by sprinkler system (St. Cloud, MN)

The cause of a fire at a St. Cloud thrift shop is under investigation.  The blaze started about 5 p.m. ... The fire started in the merchandise storage area, said Greg Newinski, battalion chief at the St. Cloud Fire Department. The sprinkler system put it out. The damage to the store is estimated to be about $10,000; the merchandise, about $5,000, although that number could be significantly higher.

Residential complex fire put out with help from fire sprinkler system (Winooski, VT)

The Winooski Fire Department was called to a fire reported in a second floor unit of a condominium complex on Thursday, November 21. The resident of the unit had been smoking a cigarette, which had then started a fire on the mattress.  “The sprinkler system, because it was a sprinkler building, it was able to keep the fire in check. So by the time they arrived on scene, most of the fire was out, and they used a dry chemical to extinguish the rest of the fire,” Winooski Assistant Fire Chief Erika Bailey explained.  There were no injuries reported from the incident.

Fire eliminated by sprinklers at retail plaza (Airdrie, AB)

A fire sprinkler system, which activated at a retail plaza which houses multiple businesses, extinguished a fire that occurred in the plaza’s utility control room. The fire crews found that the fire which had been burning but was the eliminated by the sprinkler system. No injuries were reported and the businesses in the plaza were not affected. “This was an instance of the way the building is engineered, with alarms and fire sprinkler system, doing what it is supposed to do,” said AFD Deputy Chief Garth Rabel. The cause of the fire is being investigated, but preliminary reports show that it is “suspicious in nature.”

Sprinkler system handles fire at Hormel Foods (Fremont, NE)

A fire in the rendering section at Hormel Foods Corp. did minimal damage Thursday afternoon.
The Fremont Fire Department was called at about 3:45 p.m., and was on the scene for less than an hour. Lt. Doug Backens said some rendering grease caught fire, but the plant's sprinkler system kept the fire in check. Firefighters encountered mostly smoke and steam by the time they arrived, he said.
Nobody was hurt in the incident.

Sprinkler system helps to put out fire at university (Charleston, SC)

A fire began in a first floor restroom at the Medical University of South Carolina on Wednesday, November 20. When firefighters arrived to the scene, they discovered that the fire had been almost completely extinguished by the fire sprinkler system. The building did not need to be evacuated, and the cause of the fire is under investigation. 

Fire controlled by sprinklers at manufacturing plant (Grand Haven, MI)

Fire crews were called to a fire at a Sara Lee plant around midnight on November 19. The fire, which began in the boiler room, was contained by the building's fire sprinkler system until the authorities arrived and put out the remaining flames by 12:30 a.m. There were no injuries, and production at the plant did not stop during the incident.

Sprinkler system aids firefighters in furniture store fire (Fresno, CA)

A late night fire at a furniture store was extinguished by the store's sprinkler system and local firefighters on Sunday. The store, which is located in a strip mall, neighbors a Petco pet store, but the fire was contained to the furniture store. No one was injured in the fire.

** Blog Editor's Note - Please let us know what you think of the coverage by reporter Amanda Venegas and ABC30, who focused on water damage rather than the lives and property saved by the automatic fire sprinkler system**

Sprinklers suppress fire at biodiesel manufacturing plant (Gilbert, AZ)

A forklift punctured a 330-gallon tank which held a chemical substance at a biodiesel manufacturing plant on Saturday morning. The chemical then caught on fire but was quickly put out by the plant's fire sprinkler system. No injuries were reported.

Fire contained in apartment building thanks to fire sprinklers (Waterloo, IA)

The fire sprinkler system kept a fire from spreading further than the second floor unit in which the fire began on Sunday afternoon. The fire began on a couch in the apartment, and no one was occupying the residence at the time of ignition. The rest of the apartment building safely evacuated the premises.

Battalion Chief Michael Moore said of the incident, "The sprinkler did its job. If the sprinkler system wasn't in there, it would have been a ripping and roaring fire."

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. 

Elementary school fire suppressed by sprinkler system (Albuquerque, NM)

Fire sprinklers put out a fire which began in the kitchen of an elementary school on Tuesday, November 12. The fire began at approximately 11:30, and the children, who were eating their lunches in the cafeteria, were evacuated safely. The fire sprinkler activated in the kitchen and extinguished the flames before fire crews arrived. No injuries were reported.

Sprinkler system aids firefighters at fire in Toys R Us (Paramus, NJ)

A fire occurred overnight at a Toys R Us retail location on November 12. The cause of the fire, which began in a second-floor stockroom, was confined to that area by the store's fire sprinkler system.

"The store's automatic fire sprinkler system kept the fire contained," Paramus Police Chief Kenneth Ehrenberg said.

Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire within a half hour, and all of the store's employees were able to evacuate the premises safely. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Fire sprinklers prove worth in home fire (Woodinville, WA)

An automatic fire alarm activated just before 3 a.m. on November 3 at an unattended home. Firefighters arrived to the scene and found that the fire, which had started due to a burning candle, had been extinguished by the home's fire sprinkler system. The development in which the house resided required fire sprinklers installed in each home. There were no injuries reported.

Sprinklers contain fire on college campus (Clifton, OH)

A female suspect is in custody for setting a fire in a multipurpose building on the University of Cincinnati campus. The fire, which was started in the lobby of the building, was contained to that room; there were no injuries reported.

Fire extinguished at suspected arson incidents on college campus (Chestnut Hill, MA)

Three fires were set in classrooms on Boston College over the weekend, and fire sprinklers put out the flames in each incident. Police are looking for a suspect in these cases. No injuries were reported.

***Blog Editor's Note - Please let us know what you think of the coverage by WHDH.com, which focused on water damage rather than the lives and property saved by the automatic fire sprinkler system ***