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Scottsdale, AZ: On January 3, 2010, a kitchen grease fire was extinguished by the home’s fire sprinkler system before firefighters arrived. No one was injured and the home suffered $2,000 in damage, according to Scottsdale Fire Marshal Jim Ford. Ford said had the sprinkler system not been in place, other units in the condo complex may have also been affected and the damage would have been more extensive. Read article.

O’Fallon, MO: On the evening of March 2, 2010, a basement fire slightly injured one man and caused damage to the basement and smoke damage throughout the house. District spokesman Scott Avery said a sprinkler system mostly extinguished the fire before firefighters arrived. The man, who suffered minor smoke inhalation, was treated at a local hospital and released. His wife, who was also at home at the time, was not injured. Firefighters resuscitated the couple’s cat. Read article.

Stewartstown, PA: On June 13, 2009, a kitchen grease fire at a condo in Stewartstown, PA, was extinguished by residential sprinklers. The tenant had fallen asleep while cooking French fries on his stovetop. The hot grease started a fire on the stove, which spread to the overhead cabinets. According to a report in The Star, the water from the sprinklers awakened the man, who called 911 and alerted neighbors in the nine-unit structure.

Lakeside, CA: Shortly before 2 a.m. on June 15, 2009, Lakeside firefighters were called to a reported residential structure fire. Three engine companies, a paramedic ambulance and a battalion chief responded to the incident. On arrival, it was determined that there had been a fire in one of five bedrooms in the 3,778 square foot single family dwelling.

The occupants stated they were awakened by an odor of smoke, quickly followed by the activation of a smoke detector and a residential fire sprinkler. The activation of the fire sprinkler contained the fire, which began in a computer printer, to the bedroom of origin. The fire was isolated to the area of the printer but the area around the device sustained moderate heat, smoke and water damage, with an estimated loss of $8,000 to the structure and its contents.

The Lakeside Fire Protection District has required automatic fire sprinkler protection in large single family dwellings for approximately 10 years. Recently, the District adopted an ordinance requiring the installation of fire sprinklers in all new buildings and structures and retrofitting of sprinklers in buildings under certain conditions. Had this large single family dwelling not been equipped with automatic fire sprinklers, the outcome may have been tragic for the sleeping occupants.

Submitted by: Chief Mark Baker, Lakeside Fire Protection District, and Captain Chuck Weber, Deputy Fire Marshal

Aptos, CA: On June 13, 2009, the Aptos/LaSelva Fire Protection District was dispatched to a report of an alarm sounding, with a smell of something burning in a home. Upon arrival at the triplex, the first responding engine found a small fire that had been extinguished by a single residential sprinkler head. The cause of the fire was determined to be clothing placed on a wall heater unit.

Submitted by: Division Chief Jim Dias, Aptos/LaSelva Fire Protection District