At approximately 5:28 PM on March 23, 2024, the Bismarck Fire Department received a call for a report of a fire alarm with sprinkler activation at the Heritage Apartments on the 100 block of N 5th Street. Bismarck fire crews were dispatched to respond.
Fire crews arrived on-scene to find a four-story apartment building with the fire alarm sounding and the occupants evacuating. The fire alarm system indicated a smoke alarm on the fourth floor with sprinkler activation. When the firefighters got to the fourth floor there was light smoke in the hallway and water flowing under the door of an apartment. Firefighters entered the apartment and found that a stovetop fire had been extinguished by the building fire sprinkler system. The occupant of the fire unit was in the unit and was evacuated to the ground floor. The water flow from the sprinkler was shut down and the fourth floor was ventilated to clear smoke.
The Heritage Apartment building houses a population of people who have a range of disabilities including limited mobility. The Bismarck Fire Department would like to highlight that all fire protection systems were well maintained and performed as designed. The fire sprinkler system in this instance was critically successful in protecting the lives of the people living in this building.
No injuries were reported to occupants or firefighters. Three occupants were temporarily displaced due to water damage. The cause of the fire was determined to be unattended cooking.
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