El Maguey Mexican Restaurant 6125 Ronald Reagan Drive, Lake St. Louis, MO Wentzville Fire Protection District A pan of cooking oil inside a commercial oven was left unattended after closing of the restaurant with the oven still turned on. The cooking oil ignited and fire came out of the top of the oven door and range top. Because the fire was in the front of the appliance, it went up and outside of the steel kitchen hood and suppression system, fusing the nearest extended spray sprinkler head. The sprinkler head held the fire in place until responding suppression crews arrived to extinguish the fire inside the oven. Fire damage was limited to the commercial range. The restaurant was able to open for business after only one day! Wentzville Fire Investigator: Chris Newbold The next day, Chris went to businesses on both sides of the restaurant and told them they were still in business today, due to the sprinkler save.

A large plastic rolling container filled with rags & towels caught fire in a housekeeping storage room in a St. Louis area 500 bed hospital. This container was right up against corregated boxes on shelves. A single sprinkler head activated and contained the fire to one area of the original container. The cardboard boxes adjacent to the container had no fire damage.

A fire in an attached garage of a 3-year old house started when an accidental fire had ignited in some storage in the garage and began to spread. One sprinkler activated, fully extinguishing the fire prior to the fire department's arrival.

A Two-Alarm fire on November 3, 2009 at Jaymar Companies, 1227 St. Louis Ave. in St. Louis City. The building was a 4 story brick printing / direct mail facility. The fire mainly involved one first floor office and the adjacent interior hallway. There was minor fire spread to the second floor via direct flame contact to the exterior window frame, and through the tongue and groove floor. Six sprinkler heads activated (4 in the office, and 2 in the hallway).The fire encountered by interior crews was confined to the ceiling area above the sprinkler heads, 2 wooden window rames, and the 2nd floor tongue and groove flooring. The sprinklers prevented the fire from spreading beyond the control of interior fire attack lines, and probably prevented a general alarm fire which would have destroyed the building and threatened an attached building addition. Deputy Chief Brian Walsh.

A fire started in a laundry room at about 2 a.m. Sunday at Emmaus Homes, located in the 500 block of New Ballwin Road. The home had a working smoke detectors and a fire sprinkler system, which kept the fire from spreading. A fast-acting staff member, Quinna Campbell, on duty alone overnight, quickly evacuated all the residents. Chief Mike Krause of the Metro West Fire Protection District pointed out that Sundays fire can serve as an important lesson to people, that having working smoke detectors and home fire sprinklers can be lifesavers.

Oct. 9, 2009 at 8:14 pm. 1st alarm for smoke on the 4th floor of a residential high rise at 5655 Kingsbury. Firefighters found a pot on the stove of a 4th floor unit had been extinguished by one fast acting sprinkler head mounted on the kitchen ceiling. There was literally no fire damage to the unit, and only minor smoke damage. There was moderate water damage to the fire unit, adjacent units on the 4th floor, and units beneath the fire unit down to the ground floor. Three (3) residents were treated for minor smoke inhalation, and water clean-up took over an hour. This would have been a major incident if not for the sprinkler system. Access to the building for aerial apparatus was limited, and the building contained many elderly and disabled occupants. StLFD Deputy Chief Brian Walsh

A fire damaged a section of Pattonville Heights Middle School early Wednesday morning. The fire was started with a device thrown through a window of the building. The fire was contained to that building due to the sprinkler system. Damage was minimal and classes were not interrupted.

1600 N. 22nd, Connector Castings Inc. 3 story brick 1/2 block square combined occupancy (production / warehouse). 3 heads activated confining the fire to the first floor room of origin. The fire had originated in a first floor window (arson) and extended straight up to the unenclosed wood ceiling. The sprinklers did a nice job considereing most of the fire was above the heads. But enough steam was generated to slow the fire which was quickly extinguished with one hand line. This fire had multiple alarm written all over it if not for the sprinkler system. Interior hazards to the crews also would have been significant including acetylene and oxyger cylinders, and an operating blast furnace (which is left operating during after hours apparently because it is too difficult to power down, then too expensive to repower up).

A small grease fire occurred last night in the Tudor Building at 1916 Lucasaround 8:00. The fire was contained to unit #234 and was started by guests of the resident in that unit. Four sprinkler heads popped off when the water rushed to that loft. The water drenched that unit and carried four units to the east, six units to the west, and five units to the north (interior two beds). The fire department responded, shut off the sprinkler system, removed what water they could, replaced the four sprinkler heads, then turned the system back on. The Fire Department arrived about 8:00 and were gone by 10:30.

A fire at the Peine Lake Apartments in Wentzville (Flint Hill area) caused by dry cooking. The fire was extinguished by the sprinkler system. This was one of two sprinkler saves this weekend. Both would probably have been spectacular blazes making all the news media – but instead, thankfully, nobody really knows anything happened except us. Chris Newbold

A fire at the Enclave Apartments in O'Fallon (Winghaven area) was caused by careless use of some "incense" burning. The fire was extinguished by the sprinkler system. This was one of two sprinkler saves this weekend. Both would probably have been spectacular blazes making all the news media but instead, thankfully, nobody really knows anything happened except us.

Thursday evening (10-16-08) The Temple Inland Company, located on North Highway Drive in Fenton, experienced a fire in the machinist shop. The fire broke out while employees were on break. Fenton firefighters were notified by an automatic alarm and found a single fire sprinkler put the fire out. Other than a scorched block wall there was no damage. The plant, after a very short clean up, went back into full operations after the sprinkler system was placed back into service. The cause of the fire is under investigation but believed accidental.

Sprinkler activation Sunday September 14, 2008 in a commercial business. Located at 9965 Winghaven Blvd in O'Fallon at the Winghaven Center Building 1. It was in an "Anna Nails" nail salon. Fire started in a file cabinet and activated one (1) extended spray head. Lot of water but it saved that building! Chris Newbold, Wentzville FPD

On Monday, August 25, 2008 at 16:51 hrs. Ferguson Fire Department was dispatched to a Still Alarm for an alarm sounding at 3400 Pershall Rd. (St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley) in the Theater Building. While enroute, the alarm was upgraded to a First Alarm because of a report of a fire in the building. Upon arrival, the first engine company found smoke in the upper storage loft area with the fire sprinkler system operating. The crew found two couches smoldering,overhaulled them and removed them from the building. The crews were only on the scene for approximately an hour and a half. Investigation found that the fire was extinguished by two fire sprinkler heads. Fire damaged was limited to the couches with water damage to the upper loft area and stage area, along with some electrical equipment. It should also be noted that at the end of May 2008, a brand new state-of-the-art fire alarm system was installed in the building. It is the opinion of the college staff and me that if it was not for the fire sprinkler system and the new fire alarm system that the damage from this fire would have been much worse. But since it was not, the building was back in full use for students and college staff within two days.

A resident in #1 South (Psych Ward) ignited a blanket. One Central Institutional Head extinguished the fire and residents were able to occupy the building.