FD: Sprinklers, alarm saved SE Bend welding shop
A fire in a southeast Bend industrial park Thursday night caused $30,000 damage to a welding shop, but likely would have been far more severe and spread to adjoining businesses if a sprinkler system and fire alarm hadn’t kicked in, officials said.
Firefighters responded around 9:40 p.m. to a fire alarm sounding at Wilson Warehouses, a multi-tenant industrial complex at 1310 SE Armour Road, said Deputy Fire Marshal Cindy Kettering.
They arrived to find the fire in a welding shop, confined to a single tenant in Suites 13 and 14 of the building. Losses were estimated at $15,000 to the building and $15,000 to the contents.
The fire was found to be accidental in nature, Kettering said later Friday, but an exact cause could not be determined.
The fire official said damage to the business “would have been far more severe were it not for the fact that the building is equipped with a full fire sprinkler system,” which “held the fire in check until fire crews arrived” and finished putting it out.
The sprinkler head activation also triggered the fire alarm, leading to a quicker dispatch of crews, Kettering said, noting that having occurred at night, it could have been “a considerable amount of time before the fire was discovered.”
“Without a doubt, working fire sprinkler systems and fire alarm systems saved this business,” she said.
It was the second fire tackled in southeast Bend Thursday night.
Around 6:45 p.m., a residential structure fire was reported at 21210 McGilvray Road. Crews arrived to find smoke in the rare of the home, in the area of the woodstove, said fire Capt. Darren Root.
The homeowner, Travis Perkins, was inside with a garden house, putting out flames between the ceiling and roof, Root said. Perkins left the home while crews confined the fire to the living room.
Losses were estimated at $10,000 to the structure and $5,000 worth of contents.
The fire captain said the cause of the blaze was improper installation of a flue adaptor flange in the ceiling. The homeowner will work with a contractor to repair the damage, Root said.
The firefighter reminded residents who use woodstoves or fireplaces to have them inspected and cleaned annually. All new woodstoves are to be permitted and approved by the local building department.
