Sprinkler stops bathroom fire in NE Bend commercial building, sparing 2 businesses major damage
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A fire sprinkler system saved two northeast Bend businesses from major damage when a fire broke out in a bathroom Monday night, a Bend Fire official said.
The fire in a commercial building on Northeast 18th Street was reported around 9:35 p.m. by a fire alarm company, Deputy Fire Marshal Dan Derlacki said. As crews responded, the business owners called 911 and reported seeing smoke on their security cameras, so more firefighters were dispatched.
Crews found the fire had been controlled by the sprinkler system in an upstairs bathroom.
“The cause is still under investigation but not believed to be intentional,” Derlacki said in a news release Tuesday. Damages were limited to about $10,000 an the two businesses were able to resume normal operation by Tuesday afternoon.
The cause remained under investigation Tuesday, but Derlacki said it was not believed to be intentional.
Derlacki said the fire sprinkler system extinguished the fire with only one head activating.
"National data show that the presence of fire sprinklers in a building drastically reduce the fire damage and down time for businesses," the fire official said. "In this case, staff were able to clean up the water within a few hours and prevent any damage to stored goods in the building."
"With no one in the building at the time of the fire, without the sprinklers, this fire would've gotten out control before it was large enough to be noticed in a large industrial park," Derlacki added.
