Sprinklers activate, residents escape Clackamas fire
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CLACKAMAS, Ore. (AP) - Firefighters say sprinklers contained an accidental fire Wednesday night in a Clackamas apartment building.
Fire crews arrived at the Town Center Station Apartments on SE Monterey Avenue at about 10:30 p.m.
The flames were out when firefighters arrived, but there was heavy smoke. All the occupants got out safely.
Firefighters ventilated the building and no injuries were reported. Firefighters said the sprinkler system contained the fire to one unit.
The Red Cross is helping residents of three apartments that are now uninhabitable. A damage estimate was not immediately available.
Firefighters said the fire started when a stove was turned on accidentally and items on the stovetop caught fire.
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And now the rest of the story..............
At 10:22pm multiple tenants of the Town Center Station Apartments, located at 8719 SE Monterey Av. began calling 911 to report a fire in the building. Clackamas Fire Crews arrived to find heavy black smoke from the second story and quickly went to work to locate and confine the fire. Upon making entry, crews were able to identify the room of origin however the fire had already been extinguished by a built in fire sprinkler system. Firefighters then performed salvage and overhaul to reduce damage to the building contents and ventilation to remove the dangerous smoke and gases from the structure. No injuries were reported and all occupants were evacuated to a safe location. At this time fire crews are working to get the building occupants back into their units, however three units remain uninhabitable. The red cross is onscene and is working with Firefighters to ensure that those people who have been displaced will have temporary housing. Fire investigators are on scene and have ruled the cause of this fire to be accidental. Damage estimates to the building and contents are not available at this time. The fire in this case was contained to a single unit due to early detection and the sprinkler system activating. Had this sprinkler system not been in place there was potential for the damage to be far worse. Clackamas Fire Crews would like to remind people to ensure they have a working smoke alarm on every level of their home and outside all of the sleeping areas.
 @uknow2 I used to install fire suppression systems (sprinklers). One of the cool parts of the job was knowing that they may save someone's life someday, and in this case they probably did.
 @uknow2 Good in-depth reportage. However, a truly responsible journalist would cite the sources for the facts.
 @uknow2 that post was 10 times better than the news report.
Those sprinklers are no joke. They output water at a rate of around 100 gallons a minute each. Compared to a standard faucet or shower head of 1-3 gallons per minute. Hope you brought your boogie board!
 @UselessOpinionÂ
Water damage can be significant if left on but they sure do save lives.
^^^FACT!!^^^ Â The MGM Grand is shinning example.