Sprinkler stops fire outside Bend medical office

A fire sprinkler extinguished a garbage can fire beside a medical office in northeast Bend early New Year’s Day, preventing what could have been a very costly blaze, a fire official said.

Firefighters responded shortly after 3 a.m. to a monitored fire alarm at Central Oregon Radiology Associates at 1460 Northeast Medical Center Drive, said Deputy Fire Marshal Dan Derlacki.

A quick search of the building’s exterior found the garbage can that had caught fire beneath the building’s overhang, activating a single fire sprinkler head on the exterior of the structure that put out the blaze, Derlacki said.

“With the expensive imaging systems in CORA, this sprinkler head activation prevented what could have been a very expensive fire,” Derlacki said in a news release.

The cause of the fire – which caused about $100 damage – is believed to be a cigarette improperly disposed of into the garbage can, the fire official said.

Here’s some background on fire sprinklers, provided by Derlacki.

Fire sprinkler heads react to heat and when a sprinkler head is exposed to heat from a fire, that sprinkler head will activate, allowing water to flow on the fire. Fire sprinkler heads that don’t heat up don’t activate, Derlacki said. ” That allows minimal amounts of water to be applied to a small fire and keep it from growing.

The minimal amount of water also prevents extensive water damage. The flow of the water in the pipes is monitored by the fire alarm system. When the water started flowing, the fire alarm company was notified who in turn called 911. This is the first fire sprinkler save of 2016. These invaluable protection systems prevent many fires from becoming catastrophic. Not only could the CORA incident damaged sensitive imaging equipment, but employees of the business could have been out of a job until the systems could be repaired.

Many homes and businesses in Bend are protected by fire sprinkler systems. With this cold weather upon us, the Bend Fire Department would like to remind building owners, tenants, facility managers, and building maintenance personnel that have fire sprinkler systems to take measures to prevent fire sprinkler systems from freezing.

The Bend Fire Department responds to several fire sprinkler activations due to pipes breaking from freezing every year. These breaks can cause significant water damage, but can easily be prevented. Also frozen fire sprinkler pipes, even if they don’t break, render the sprinkler system inoperative to protect buildings from fire, thus jeopardizing lives and property.

Most fire sprinkler systems that do freeze are the result of lack of maintenance. Ensure that all periodic maintenance has been completed. Contact your fire sprinkler service company to schedule service if it is overdue. Frequencies for maintenance vary depending on the type of system that is installed.

For more information or for a free home or business consult, please feel free to contact Bend Fire Department at 541-322-6309 during business hours.