Category Archives: Fire

by | March 21, 2013 · 6:05 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Michigan Restaurant A “Total Loss” After Fire In “Deep Fryer” Spreads Quickly Into Ceiling And Roof

“…the restaurant is a total loss and smoke enveloped the entire intersection where the Restaurant Firerestaurant is located….the fire had spread quickly to the wooden trusses that supported the roof, up above a suspended ceiling…causing the roof to collapse…”

Fire investigators have determined that a fire that destroyed the Ram’s Horn on Tuesday originated in a deep fryer in the restaurant’s kitchen. The fire spread quickly during the lunch hour. Staff and patrons were evacuated and fire crews responded at about 12:12 p.m.

No one was injured in the blaze, which took several hours to extinguish. Middlebelt between Seven and Eight Mile roads remained closed throughout the afternoon as firefighters extended hoses from several fire hydrants to battle the blaze.

When fire crews encountered the heavy smoke and heat and knew that customers and restaurant staff were out of the building, firefighters were moved outside of the restaurant, which occurred within 15 minutes, Whitehead said.

The roof collapsed while firefighters were outside fighting the fire. “It had a pretty good start,” Whitehead said.

For more:  http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20130321/NEWS10/303210566/Fire-gutted-Livonia-Ram-s-Horn-started-deep-fryer

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by | March 16, 2013 · 6:42 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Illinois Restaurant Fire Starts In Basement Water Heater; Significant Water And Smoke Damage

“…most of the damage happened in the basement at their Bucktown flagship…service will be halted there and Restaurant Fire in Chicago. NBC Chicago Facebooktheir Chicago French Market satellite…the main dining room in Bucktown sustained smoke damage…”

A fire that broke out in the basement of Lillie’s Q barbecue restaurant in the Bucktown neighborhood late Thursday night destroyed the restaurant and left a firefighter with minor injuries, officials said. The fire at 11:40 p.m. at the restaurant at 1856 W. North Avenue, officials said. Fire officials said the fire rekindled later at about 4:18 a.m.

Firefighters told restaurant officials that the fire likely started in a water heater in the basement, and not one of the smokers. There were also apartments above the restaurant.Chicago Police closed North Avenue in both directions near Wood Street while firefighters worked to contain the fire. After the fire rekindled at 4:18 a.m. firefighters returned to the restaurant and a firefighter sustained minor injuries at that point.

For more:  http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-03-15/news/chi-firefighters-battle-blaze-at-lillies-q-restaurant-in-bucktown-20130314_1_scorches-restaurant-spokesman-fire-officials

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by | March 6, 2013 · 6:57 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Missouri Restaurant Fire Starts In “Wood Pile Near Outdoor Smoker”; Spreads To Roof And “Guts Interior”

“…it appears that (the fire) started in a wood pile near a smoker that was attached to the main building…the Restaurant Firerestaurant’s walls were left standing, but the interior was gutted…”

An early-morning fire today that burned down Bandana’s, a popular barbecue restaurant in Crystal City, apparently started in a pile of wood near an outdoor smoker, the fire chief says. Crystal City Fire Chief Tony Bova said the state fire marshal’s office is investigating this morning’s two-alarm blaze, but he said early indications are that the fire was accidental.

No one was injured in the fire, which was reported at about 3 a.m. today at the restaurant on South Truman Boulevard. A passerby saw what appeared to be a trash bin on fire. It turned out to be the outdoor smoker. When the first crews arrived, they saw flames already shooting through the roof.

About 75 firefighters from seven fire departments fought the fire. It took them about an hour to bring the fire under control.

The pile of wood where the fire originated could have been smoldering for hours after the restaurant closed Tuesday night, the chief said.

For more:  http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/fire-destroys-crystal-city-barbecue-restaurant/article_c8df0871-d275-508c-ac51-47e0e3d049e1.html

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by | March 2, 2013 · 7:23 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Mississippi Hotel Fire Caused By “Lamp Cord Short”; Damage Contained By Room “Designed To Isolate Fires”

“…(the cord) was stuck under the lamp and wore out after a while…friction likely caused the shorted cord to HOTEL FIREignite, and sparks caused the carpet to catch on fire, which then spread to a couch and the wall…”

Starkville Fire Department officials confirmed the cause of a fire Thursday that destroyed the interior of a hotel room at Americas Best Value Inn & Suites on Miss. Highway 12 as electrical. SFD Training Officer Charles Yarbrough said he concluded in his investigation that the fire was started by a short in a lamp cord.

On Thursday, a shift manager at the hotel said  she called 911 after a customer came into the lobby and said he saw smoke emitting from the back of the building. The manager, who refused to be identified, said neither the room where the fire took place nor any nearby rooms were occupied at the time the smoke was first reported and there was no one in the vicinity of the fire.

Yarbrough said everything in the room, from the furnishings to the walls would have to be replaced, but said the hotel’s structural integrity was satisfactory as the rooms were designed to contain and isolate fires.

For more:  http://www.starkvilledailynews.com/node/13339

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by | February 27, 2013 · 7:34 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Hawaii Restaurant Fire Caused By Leak From “Corroded Gas Line Fitting”; $25,000 In Fire And Water Damage

“…the fire was started by a gas leak at a fitting to a kitchen table, which had corroded, said Fire Captain Terry Restaurant FireSeelig, department spokesman…a worker, who was cleaning the kitchen after the restaurant had closed, was treated at the scene for burns to the front of his body before being taken to a burn center…”

A 43-year-old man was taken to the hospital in serious condition Monday after he was burned while cleaning the kitchen of a ramen restaurant in the Mililani Town Center. The flash fire was ignited by a pilot light, which also activated the restaurant’s sprinkler system. The fire was brought under control by 10:30 p.m.

The fire and the water from the sprinkler system caused $25,000 worth of damage in the kitchen of New Genki Ramen at 95-1249 Meheula Parkway.

For more:  http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/193327801.html

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by | February 11, 2013 · 7:15 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Hawaii Restaurant Kitchen Fire Caused By Gas Leak In Deep Fat Fryer; Flames Spread Through Ventilation System Resulting In $2.5 Million In Damage

“…the cause of the fire was an accidental gas leak to a deep fat fryer.  The cause of the leak is undetermined.  A pilot light in the appliance was the source of ignition for the leaking gas…the flames spread quickly through Restaurant Firethe ventilation system, creating a challenge for firefighters…”

Honolulu Fire Department investigators said the fire started in the kitchen of The Cheesecake Factory at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center just before 3:30am Friday.

Damage is estimated at $2,500,000.  This includes damage to the restaurant’s kitchen, exhaust duct and smoke damage to adjacent businesses in the shopping center.

A restaurant cleaning employee described hearing an explosion and tried putting out the fire with an extinguisher.

“The ducting system is designed to move cooking grease and smoke up to the roof where there’s penetration,” said Capt. Terry Seelig, HFD spokesman. Shocked employees watched helplessly as crews worked to contain the fire.

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by | February 2, 2013 · 7:50 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: California Hotel Fire Caused By “Guest Throwing Towel Over Candle”; $30,000 In Structural And Smoke Damage

“… a man staying in the second floor room, a worker in town on business regarding the Chevron refinery HOTEL FIREshutdown, reportedly threw the towel over a lit candle in his room before he left just after 5 a.m., in attempts to put it out…hotel employees discovered the fire about five minutes later, and tried to put it out with a fire extinguisher…”

Fire crews knocked down a two-alarm fire at the Courtyard Marriott early Friday morning after a hotel occupant tried to put out a candle by throwing a towel over it, officials said.

Firefighters arrived at the hotel at 3150 Garrity Way at 5:11 a.m., to find the room had gone up in flames, billowing smoke throughout the hotel. The fire was knocked down within 10 minutes, but not before causing $30,000 in damage, Turner said.

All hotel occupants were evacuated from their rooms, Turner said. Nobody was injured, but some hotel guests were disturbed by the morning’s events.

“The Marriott did a good job of getting everyone out, giving everyone breakfast and making sure all of the guests were safe,” Turner said. “Most people were very happy.”

Fire crews were able to keep the damage to the one room, and the rest of guests were able to return to their rooms early Friday morning,

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by | January 31, 2013 · 7:43 am

Hospitality Industry Safety Risks: California Hotel Explosion And Fire Caused By “Illicit Drug-Making Operation” In Guest Room; Walls “Blown Out” And Property Evacuated

“…all guests were evacuated and it took firefighters about 35 minutes to fully contain the flames which had reached into the third story and the attic of the hotel…Because of the drug-making substances that had caused Hotel Explosionthe hotel explosion, a hazardous-materials crew and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration were called in to investigate the illegal drug-making operation…”

An apparent drug-making operation in a hotel room caused a hotel explosion in San Diego on Wednesday shortly after 11 a.m. The explosion which happened in one of the hotel rooms blew out several windows and three walls, reported San Diego’s 10News on Jan. 30, 2013.

“An explosion apparently caused by an illicit drug-making process blew out walls and windows at a Midway-area hotel Wednesday and set part of it ablaze, leaving a young man gravely burned and two other people less severely hurt, authorities reported.”

The hotel explosion occurred in a hotel guest room on the second floor at the three-story Heritage Inn on Channel Way, just south of San Diego’s Interstate 8.

The man who was gravely injured during the hotel explosion had apparently lit a cigarette while using a butane spray can to try to extract hashish oil from marijuana. The flame from his lighter ignited the chemical fumes and caused them to detonate powerfully. The man who is in his early 20s suffered life-threatening burns.

Hash oil is made by packing finely ground stems and leaves of marijuana plants in a pipe and pouring butane through it. The liquid typically is then cooked on a stove to separate the butane. Hash oil averages about 15 percent THC, the chief intoxicant in marijuana. A drop or two is about as potent as a marijuana cigarette.

For more:  http://www.examiner.com/article/illegal-drug-making-hotel-room-causes-hotel-explosion-san-diego

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by | January 21, 2013 · 7:25 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: New Jersey Restaurant Fire Starts In Basement, Causing Heavy Interior Damage; Renovation “Crawl Spaces And Voids” Help Flames Spread

“…the structure had been renovated a number of times, creating created many crawl spaces and voids thorough which the flames spread. That made it difficult for firefighters to put out the fire…the fire appeared Restaurant Fireto have started near a storage room in the basement, burning through the first floor and then extending to the attic…”

A Goffle Road restaurant may be temporarily shuttered after a three-alarm fire spread from the basement to the attic early Sunday morning, causing significant damage to the interior, the borough’s fire chief said. Local volunteer firefighters rushed to La Cantina Restaurant shortly after 12:40 a.m. on Sunday, after a passerby walked into Engine Company No. 3 and told them that the restaurant was on fire, Fire Chief Joseph Speranza said.

About 30 to 35 firefighters responded to the Mexican restaurant — less than a quarter mile from the firehouse — to find heavy smoke coming from the building, Speranza said.

Firefighters battled the main blaze for about an hour and forty-five minutes, but spent a good portion of the morning chasing hot spots, he said.

For more:  http://www.northjersey.com/hawthorne/La_Cantina_Restaurant_in_Hawthorne_might_be_temporarily_shuttered_after_fire.html

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by | January 17, 2013 · 10:06 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Michigan Motel Fire Starts In Bathroom Fan And Results In “Complete Loss” To Building

“…it appears the fire started in a bathroom fan on the motel’s second floor, although a direct cause wasn’t immediately identified…(firefighters) made an initial handline attack and were able to stop it from spreading Motel Firesouth, but the fire did come around and spread indoors through the additional building…”

A metro Detroit motel that has been around since the 1960s is now a complete loss after fire tore through the building early Thursday morning. WWJ’s Ron Dewey reports the fire broke out around 2 a.m. at the Flamingo Motel on Groesbeck Highway in Fraser.

Firefighters from Fraser and Roseville responded and worked for about two hours before the fire was extinguished. Fraser Public Safety Lieutenant Dan Kolke said damage to the building is extensive.

All 10 of the motel’s occupants were able to get out safely and uninjured. Lilly Eilem said she saw the firetrucks outside her window, but didn’t put two and two together until she heard Meeks pounding on her door, telling her to get out.

Two firefighters were taken to the hospital for minor smoke inhalation.

For more:  http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/01/17/two-firefighters-injured-in-motel-fire/

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