Saturday, March 30, 2013

Apartment fire eliminated by fire sprinklers (Cranston, RI)

Fire sprinklers quickly extinguished the fire that broke out on the sixth floor of an apartment building. No injuries were reported. ***Blog Editor's Note - Please let us know what you think of the coverage by WPRI.com and journalist John Mitchell, who focused on water damage rather than the lives and property saved by the automatic fire sprinkler system. ***

Monday, March 18, 2013

Sprinkler system extinguishes dumpster fire at senior center (Juneau, AK)

A fire in a dumpster prompted firefighters to respond to the adult day care service at about 9:45 a.m. Saturday morning, but a sprinkler system extinguished the flames before they arrived. “They worked as they’re supposed to,” said Capital City Fire/Rescue Firefighter John Krebsbach, the shift captain at the downtown station at the time. “That’s why they’re there.” He speculated one of the residents probably dumped an ashtray with hot embers down the garbage chute, eventually catching fire.

Two structural fires are controlled by fire sprinklers (McKinney, TX)

Two fires that occurred recently had two items in common -- fire sprinklers were in place and minimal structural damage occurred. The first fire, which took place in an apartment kitchen, was contained by a single fire sprinkler. A dry cleaning store sustained the other fire after business hours, and two fire sprinklers helped to control the fire until fire crews came. Fire Marshall Andrew Barr further emphasized fire sprinklers value when he said, "These two successful sprinkler saves demonstrate the effectiveness of automatic fire sprinkler systems in two very different environments - an apartment complex and a commercial building. Had a sprinkler system, or automatic fire suppression system, not been present in either building, the outcome may have been very different."

Friday, March 15, 2013

Fire on college campus put out by fire sprinklers (Piscataway, NJ)

Fire sprinklers extinguished a fire in the academic building of Rutgers University. The afternoon fire, which was deemed as accidental, was eliminated by one sprinkler by the time fire crews arrived.

No injuries were reported as a result of the fire.

Fire sprinkler credited with saving ten businesses from fire destruction (Bremerton, WA)

A fire that started in the kitchen of a restaurant activated the unit's alarm as well as its fire sprinklers. The sprinkler system extinguished most of the fire, which was contained to the kitchen, before fire crews arrived.

In 1998 in the same location, a different restaurant had a fire break out in their kitchen. However the outcome of that fire was quite different - that restaurant, which did not have fire sprinklers, sustained an estimated $1.2 million loss. Comparatively, the restaurant fire that was protected with a fire sprinkler system sustained an estimated $5,000 in property loss.
 
According to Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue spokesperson Ileana LiMarzi, "The fire was significant enough that three sprinkler heads were activated. Without the activation of the sprinkler system this fire would have quickly spread throughout the structure and potentially destroyed the nine other businesses housed in the building."

No injuries were reported due to the fire.

Monday, March 11, 2013

Fire sprinkler system contains manufacturing plant blaze (Auburn, ME)

An afternoon fire that began in one of the processing machines at a fabric manufacturing plant was limited by the building's fire sprinkler system. Firefighters arrived soon thereafter to douse the remaining flames. "This is exactly what should have been done," Fire Chief Frank Roma stated. No one was reported injured as a result of the incident.

Fire at sporting goods showroom extinguished by sprinkler system (Hood River, OR)

Fire crews were called to investigate a fire. Upon arrival, fire crews found a fire fully extinguished by a single fire sprinkler in the Dakine showroom. The fire was confined to a small portion of one wall, with minor smoke damage to the remaining products in the show room. They said an electrical failure of one of the heating elements caused a shower of sparks and molten aluminum to fall down onto the backpacks and garments on the showroom walls below, starting the fire. “Fire sprinklers saved this building,” Fire Chief Devon Wells said. “The fire was quickly put out and fire damage was kept to a minimum.”

Sprinkler system helped college students evacuate from resident hall fire (Philadelphia, PA)

205 students and 5 RAs of Race Street Hall were evacuated from the building around 1:30 a.m. due to a fire on the sixth floor. It is unclear at this time what caused the fire. Heasley and Subir Sahu, assistant dean of Residential Living, wrote in an email to campus residents, “A fire occurred in Race Street Hall, causing fire sprinkler systems to activate. There were no injuries, and all fire suppression systems operated correctly.”*** Blog Editor's Note - Please let us know what you think of the coverage by The Triangle and journalist Ainslie Rhoads, who focused on water damage rather than the lives and property saved by the automatic fire sprinkler system. ***

Sprinkler system contains middle school computer lab fire (Norwich, CT)

The fire happened about 2:30 a.m. on a Monday morning in a second-floor science laboratory when a computer ignited and triggered the school’s sprinkler system. A melted computer sat on a workbench in the rear of the room next to several others that appeared undamaged. Officials couldn't say how the computer caught fire. “When the crews went down the hallway to investigate, they were met by heavy smoke and water from the sprinklers,” Taftville Fire Chief Timothy Jencks said. “But they (the sprinklers) did their job and held the flames in check.”

Apartment fire extinguished by sprinkler system (Tulsa, OK)

The Tulsa Fire Department is investigating a late night apartment fire. The fire happened just after midnight. It was minor thanks to the activation of the fire sprinkler system. A woman living in one of the apartments was displaced, but no one was hurt.