Fire Marshals Association of Minnesota - Fire Sprinkler Saves
Here are some fire sprinkler saves that have taken place in Minnesota.
Remember there have been saves in the past but we have just started to post them on the FMAM as of May 2011.
These are fires where sprinklers either extinguished or held the fire in check until the fire department arrived. The 20 cities experiencing the most sprinkler saves for the past 15 years (2004-2018) are:
- Minneapolis: 164
- St. Paul: 95
- Bloomington: 52
- Duluth: 44
- Plymouth: 38
- Burnsville: 37
- Rochester: 34
- St. Cloud: 31
- Eden Prairie: 27
- Blaine: 24
- Edina: 22
- Coon Rapids: 20
- Eagan: 20
- Maple Grove: 20
- Roseville: 20
- Shakopee: 18
- Brooklyn Park: 17
- Mankato: 15
- Fridley: 13
- Minnetonka: 13
Many of the communities listed above have been very proactive in supporting the installation of fire sprinkler protection in buildings. These efforts are paying off and have saved millions of dollars in lost property and exposed fewer people and responding firefighters to the dangers of fire.
2022
St. Paul 7/2022
The fire department was called to the report of an apartment fire. Firefighters arrived to find flames visible in a
second floor apartment. The occupant reports smelling a burning odor prior to the alarm sounding in her apartment.
She found a fire burning at an electrical receptacle in the living room where she had plugged in a phone
charger. There was no phone connected to the charger at the time of the fire and the charger is approximately six
months old. There are no known problems with the charger. Investigation revealed an Apple phone charger that was
plugged into a living room wall receptacle suffered an internal electrical failure and caught fire and spread to nearby
combustible items. A sprinkler was activated and kept the fire from growing beyond the corner of the room until
firefighters extinguished the fire with a hose line.
2021
Anoka 5/2021
This was a fire on the fourth floor of a senior living community. The fire started in the kitchen and was contained by a properly operating sprinkler system. The fire alarms also operated as intended. The damage was contained the the room of origin.
Hutchison 2/2021
The City of Hutchison had a significant sprinkler save in a commercial business complex when a cart of flammable paint supplies caught fire after the building was vacated. One sprinkler activated and contained the fire until the fire department was able to complete extinguishment.
St. Paul 7/2021
St. Paul Fire Department responded to a fire in a third floor apartment. No occupants were present during the fire. The sprinkler controlled of the fire until the Fire Department was able to complete extinguishment.
St. Paul 11/2021
St. Paul Fire Department were alerted to a fire in an apartment building by the alarm/sprinkler system. They arrived to find a sprinkler containing a small stove fire.
2014
Blaine 3/2014
Sprinkler save we had just Sunday morning. Box of combustibles to close to the water heater. Occupant discovered the fire and then pulled the box away from the water heater and it flared up at which point the sprinkler head in the hall activated and extinguished the fire.
2013
Woodbury, 8/2/2013
August 2nd, 2013: There was a fire in the kitchen apartment on 1st floor at the Classic at the Preserve apartments. Evidently it was started by cooking oil on the stovetop. One sidewall residential sprinkler put out the fire
Alexandria, 07/29/2013
Deephaven 7/28/2013
Edina, 7/25/2013
Burnsville, 7/6/2013
Alexandria, 06/11/2013
Rochester, 3/18/2013
Firefighters responding to an apartment fire alarm got a little more than they bargained for Monday afternoon — in the form of snakes.
Red Wing, 3/9/2013
( Red Wing, Minn.) – On March 9th at 1500 hr, the Red Wing Fire Department received a call reporting a fire alarm at 225 East Ave.
Firefighter/paramedics were on scene within 3 minutes of receiving the call and discovered that a fire had occurred in a bathroom.
Chanhassen 2/22/2013
Upon arrival Chanhassen FD was met by an employee at the front door. She said there was a fire in the production area. As we got closer to the origin, moderate smoke was visible.
Eagan, 2/13/2013 and 2/18/2013
- 2‐3‐2013 Commercial Warehouse 1 head fused Controlled fire
- 2‐18‐2013 Residential/Multi‐family 2 heads fused Extinguished Fire (kitchen)