Fire crews are crediting sprinklers for preventing extensive damage at a Huntsville apartment complex.
Joe Alzner lives on the main floor of an apartment building at Sabrina Park Drive and knew something was wrong right away.
“I came out here and I saw smoke coming out from the door there,” says Alzner.
Right behind Alzner was Jason Penrose, who was working in the building at the time.
“Once I open the door, the flames came at me. I noticed the wooden gate engulfed in flames,” he says.
Moments after the fire started, a sprinkler head right above a burning recycling bin in the garbage room went off. Huntsville fire chief Steve Hernan says the building, built in 1991, was legally required to have the sprinkler system in the garbage room.
“I'll go as far to say the sprinklers just get through this part of this room to the fact, that is the reason why this building is still standing tonight,” Hernan says.
Even though there are a few rooms with sprinklers, most of the building does not have them. However, Hernan says this incident is the perfect example of why all new builds should have sprinkler systems in place.
“We can't wait for governments to change laws and it takes a long time,” he says. “Homeowners don't have to spend a lot and can do it during brand new construction and can have them put it in for cheaper than putting a countertop in the kitchen.”
The Ontario Fire Marshal Office was on scene on Friday, sifting through some of the burnt debris looking for a cause.
“Looking through the debris trying to see if there's any ignition source in the recycling bin at this point,” says Lance Schubert, a spokesperson for OFM.
All of the residents in the building were allowed back into their units shortly after the fire because of the sprinkler system.
