At 7:05am Monday, firefighters responded to reports from Rite Aid employees that they smelled smoke inside the store. Shortly after the call to 9-1-1, an automatic water-flow alarm notified dispatchers that a sprinkler head had likely activated.
Firefighters arrived within four minutes to find the employees safely evacuated and a light haze of smoke throughout the store. (The store was not yet open for business at the time of the call to 9-1-1, so there were no customers inside.) Firefighters systematically searched the store and found a small fire burning in a work room adjacent the pharmacy. A single fire sprinkler head kept the fire from growing and a single crew of firefighters was able to quickly extinguish the fire. At the same time, other fire crews checked for fire extension, shut down the sprinkler system, evacuated the smoke and salvaged items near the affected room. Approximately 23 fire personnel responded to this fire.
Without a fire sprinkler system, this fire could have grown much larger, potentially injuring occupants and causing a lot more damage to the building and contents. While fire sprinkler systems are required in commercial buildings, it is still illustrative of the benefits a fire sprinkler system can provide to any building, including a single-family home.
A fire investigator remains on scene processing evidence, but he has deemed the fire accidental. There were no injuries as a result of the fire and there are no damage assessments at this time.