Automatic fire sprinklers saved The View hotel in the Village of Oak Creek on Nov. 21, for the second time in a year. An automated call from the alarm system that monitors the sprinklers came in at 8:12 p.m. and Sedona Fire District crews were on the scene within four minutes.
Larson Newspapers
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Automatic fire sprinklers saved The View hotel in the Village of Oak Creek on Nov. 21, for the second time in a year.
An automated call from the alarm system that monitors the sprinklers came in at 8:12 p.m. and Sedona Fire District crews were on the scene within four minutes.
The sprinkler systems are wired to alarm systems that quickly notify SFD when they go off.
Crews from each station responded, as is standard procedure on commercial structure calls.
The fire was caused by a malfunctioning bathroom fan in Room 107.
The fan had been left on to deal with a water problem in Room 106 that had overflowed into 107.
The guests originally staying in Room 106 had attempted to flush a paper bag full of dog excrement down the toilet, according to SFD Fire Inspector Gary Johnson.
The bag became lodged in the piping, causing the toilet to overflow.
The guests were temporarily moved to Room 107 until it, too, began to flood.
Fans were left on in both bathrooms to dry them out.
The bathroom ceiling fan in Room 107 appeared to be the source of the fire, according to Johnson.
When a sprinkler system is activated, the sprinkler head closest to the fire source goes off first.
?That one head contained the fire,? Johnson said.
?This is the importance of sprinklers,? he said.
The fire at The View last year was also put out by a sprinkler.
SFD requires all new commercial buildings to install automatic fire sprinklers.
The fire caused $10,000 worth of damage and affected only one room.
