(CNN)Two out-of-control wildfires in Southern California grew Tuesday, but while officials issued some new evacuation orders, they also told many residents from Irvine they could go home.
The Silverado Fire near Irvine has charred 12,600 acres and is 5% contained. Just north of that, the Blue Ridge Fire near Yorba Linda has ballooned in size, more than doubling its footprint, currently calculated at 15,200 acres. The fire, which is 0% contained, has damaged 10 homes.
More than 80,000 people have been told to stay away from their homes, including some NFL football players for the Los Angeles Chargers. That number is down by about 20,000, as many residents who fled Irvine have been told the area is safe now.
Southern California Edison said a power line may have played a role in igniting the Silverado Fire, according to a report filed with California Public Utilities Commission. The initial safety incident report describes overhead electrical facilities in the area where authorities think the fire started but notes no activity on the circuit.
“…(It) appears that a lashing wire attached to a telecommunications line may have contacted SCE’s power line above it, possibly starting the fire,” SCE spokesman Chris Abel told CNN.
Between the fires roaring in Southern California and dry, windy conditions prompting red flag warnings in Northern California, power companies have enacted Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS). Nearly 130,000 customers in California were without power Tuesday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.US. The bulk of the customers are managed by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) for Northern California and Southern California Edison.
Fire officials said 1,800 people are battling the two fires, and on Monday two of them were critically injured. The men suffered second- and third-degree burns while battling the Silverado Fire near Irvine, Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy told reporters.
Fennessy said Tuesday they were “fighting for their lives.” “I know them personally. They are strong. Having gotten to know their parents over the past 24 hours, I can see where they got their strength, Fennessy said. “It’s tough to feel this helpless.”
The men, ages 26 and 31, are part of Orange County Fire Authority’s ground crew. Their names haven’t been released. The team uses hand tools to stop wildfire flames from progressing, much like hotshots. Three other firefighters had minor injuries, were treated at the hospital, and released.
As Ed Pascasio fled from the Silverado Fire on Monday afternoon with his wife, niece and sister-in-law, he watched embers flying toward their neighborhood.
“The sky was orange, kind of like doomsday,” he said. “I’ve never seen it change dramatically that fast.”
The cars packed on main roads — filled with fleeing residents — resembled a movie scene, Pascasio said.
“A lot of neighbors were leaving at the same time. Everyone was shocked by the speed of it all,” he said.
This has been a devastating year for fires. At least 8,000 fire incidents reported by Cal Fire have burned a record 4 million acres and claimed the lives of 31 people this year so far. And dry, windy conditions have prompted power shutoffs to prevent more.
CNN’s Sarah Moon, Amir Vera, Joe Sutton, Eric Levenson, Stella Chan and Steve Almasy contributed to this report.
For more information about fire safety, call CJ Suppression at 888-821-2334 or visit the website at www.cjsuppression.com.
CJ Suppression proudly serves Corona, CA and all surrounding areas
When you live in California, dealing with a fire season is something we are all familiar with. And now that we are smack dab in the middle of wildfire season, it is important that we are prepared for any type of fire that may arise during these hotter months. Preparation is necessary, but it’s critical that you know the truth regarding fire safety. The following includes a list of five common fire safety myths:
Myth #1: A smoke detector provides enough protection.
Fact: Having smoke alarms can be a vital part of fire safety, but they shouldn’t be your sole form of protection. They don’t put out the fire and if not regularly checked, smoke alarms may also fail to work.
Myth #2: You can control and put out a small fire on your own.
Fact: Many damaging fires start with a small accident. No matter how big or small the flames are, be sure to follow any fire safety instructions you have set in your home or workplace.
Myth #3: Fire sprinklers systems will freeze during winter.
Fact: Rest assured that proper procedures are put into place during a fire sprinkler installation process to keep it from freezing, regardless of the temperature.
Myth #4: People always panic during a fire.
Fact: Having a fire suppression system and emergency fire safety plan in place can help keep people level-headed.
Myth #5: Newer buildings are safer that older buildings.
Fact: Any fire, regardless of the age of your home or building, can be dangerous and potentially life threatening. Choose a fire suppression system to make your home or building as safe as possible.
For more information about fire safety myths, call CJ Suppression at 888-821-2334 or visit the website at www.cjsuppression.com.
CJ Suppression proudly serves Corona, CA and all surrounding areas.
We all want to make sure we are protected from fire. Not only ourselves and our property, but our staff and neighbors are also at risk if something happens and a fire breaks out. One way to do this is with fire sprinklers. They are fast-acting and can really prevent damages by fire that would be happening while waiting for the fire department to arrive. But like anything, they become victims to wear and tear. This is why it is important to fire your fire sprinkler system inspected regularly. If you doubt the importance of fire sprinkler inspections, here are a few reasons to convince you why you should take them seriously:
Water supply and pressure. The efficiency of a fire sprinkler system relies on the available water supply. If too low, then the system won’t be able to work as it is intended to and fires will spread quicker, rendering the sprinklers almost useless.
Proper water flow. While pressure is checked during the initial design and installation phase, continued periodical checking makes sure the fire sprinkler system is okay and working properly.
Obstruction-free. The whole system will also be checked for obstructions that may damage the system. These obstructions are then cleaned out periodically to make sure that the fire sprinkler system works as intended.
It may be required by law. In most states, including California, the National Fire Protection Agency have set out quite a few regulations regarding fire sprinkler systems. They mandate the installation of such systems, especially in commercial buildings, but also require them to be checked periodically by a licensed inspector.
For more information about fire sprinkler inspection, call CJ Suppression at 888-821-2334 or visit the website at www.cjsuppression.com.
CJ Suppression proudly serves Corona, CA and all surrounding areas.
CARSON, Calif. (AP) – Firefighters have controlled a fire at a large refinery in metro Los Angeles.
Massive flames could be seen burning from the Marathon Petroleum Corporation located 13 miles south of downtown Los Angeles. (Source: KABC/CNN)
The fire erupted late Tuesday at the Marathon Petroleum refinery in the city of Carson.
Firefighters were still pouring water onto part of the refinery early Wednesday, but large flames from the fire had disappeared. No injuries were reported. No harmful products were found in the air near the facility.
An explosion preceded the fire in a cooling tower, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The department said the fire sparked about 10:50 p.m. Crews confined the fire and shut off the fuel supply around 1 a.m. Wednesday, according to a tweet from the fire department. Authorities could not immediately say what sparked the fire.
Marathon is the largest refinery on the West Coast and the company’s website says the refinery has a crude oil capacity of 363,000 barrels daily.
Copyright 2020 Associated Press. All rights reserved. Gray Media Group, Inc., contributed to this report.
For more information about our services, call CJ Suppression at 888-821-2334 or visit the website at www.cjsuppression.com.
CJ Suppression proudly serves Corona, CA and all surrounding areas.
While it’s true that most commercial buildings, and in many cases even residential ones, have some form of fire protection systems installed, not all put a premium on just how important they are. In fact, many often only have such systems installed because of certain bylaws or as requirements for certifications. If owners were given the chance, most commercial buildings probably wouldn’t have any kind of fire protection system installed, except for maybe a fire extinguisher or two.
According to the United States’ NFPA, residential fire sprinkler systems increase the resident’s survival expectancy during an accidental fire by as much as 80% because they’re the fastest to respond and control a fire at its exact point of origin.
While it is easy to raise the point on how fire
extinguishers are enough, one has to remember that in fires, it’s not the heat
nor flames that are the most dangerous. Rather, the aspect that poses the most
hazard to one’s health are the toxic fumes and smoke produced by a fire. Even
with fire sprinkler systems, toxic fumes and smoke will still be there, but
their production will be significantly reduced to breathable levels, which
could easily mean the difference between life and death.
It’s also important to remember that sudden fires can easily spread out to uncontrollable levels in just a few seconds. However, with fire sprinklers, that few seconds could extend to as much as 10 minutes, which is more than enough time for people to evacuate the vicinity and for the firefighters to arrive.
For more information about our services, call CJ Suppression at 888-821-2334 or visit the website at www.cjsuppression.com.
CJ Suppression proudly serves Corona, CA and all surrounding areas.
A fire broke out Wednesday morning in a 25-story Westside
residential building, sending residents climbing out windows and fleeing to the
rooftop to escape the flames. The blaze, which erupted on the sixth floor at
the Barrington Plaza apartments in the 11700 block of Wilshire Boulevard, was
reported shortly after 8:30 a.m. by fire crews, who were tending a nearby blaze
that had begun earlier.
At least 300 firefighters responded to help battle the fire
and evacuate residents inside the building. Eleven residents were injured;
seven were sent to a hospital for treatment, including a 3-month-old baby, and
four were treated at the scene. Most were suffering from smoke inhalation. Two
firefighters suffered minor burns.
One 30-year-old man required CPR and was listed in grave
condition Wednesday afternoon, and another 30-year-old man was in critical
condition, according to Los Angeles Fire Capt. Erik Scott. “The preliminary
information is the two most critically injured … were both in the unit of fire
origin,” Scott said.
Fire officials initially reported that some people had
jumped from the building to escape the flames. Authorities later clarified that
two people contemplated jumping but were rescued by fire officials. Residents
crawled on their bellies through thick smoke to escape. One man was seen
clinging to a ledge before a fire ladder was hoisted up to him. “This could
have been much worse,” Scott said.
Fire officials said residents won’t be allowed back into the
building overnight while they investigate the blaze, which was deemed
suspicious.
Firefighters took an unconventional approach in battling the
flames, hosing the building from the outside in an effort to cool the units
before allowing firefighters to tackle the flames inside. The bulk of the fire
was on the sixth floor of the 240-unit high-rise, though three other levels
were damaged by smoke, officials said.
While some crews focused on the fire inside, others were
tasked with evacuations. At least 15 people, some in bathrobes, were airlifted
to safety from the building’s rooftop. Officials said it was the first time the
fire chopper had been used in rescue efforts. “This was a herculean effort by
the members of the Los Angeles Fire Department,” said Fire Chief Ralph
Terrazas. “It takes a lot of coordination, and our resources did a good job.”
After an intense, hourlong battle that was made more
challenging by strong winds gusting up to 35 mph, firefighters were able to
knock down the flames shortly before 10 a.m. Deputy Police Chief Justin
Eisenberg said the Los Angeles Police Department and arson investigators were
studying the blaze to determine whether it was criminal or accidental. No one
has been arrested in connection with the fire, he said. The separate fire that
started earlier in the morning about three blocks away also is part of the
investigation.
Mackenzie Williams, 25, said she was driving to work at Pure
Barre — a fitness studio at Wilshire Boulevard and Granville Avenue — about 9
a.m. when she “saw one firetruck pass by me, then I saw two, then I saw 10,
then I saw about 20, so I definitely knew something was going on.” After seeing
smoke pouring from the building and the helicopter evacuations, she said, “I
just hope everyone is OK over there.”
John Tavakoli was outside when the floor where his
grandmother lives burst into flames. As firefighters rushed to evacuate her and
her neighbors, his initial horror settled into smoldering rage — another fire
like this one had burned here a few years ago, but little had changed. Like
others, he blamed the revolving door of short-term renters for unsafe
conditions in the building.
“A lot of people Airbnb here.” he said. “They party all
night — they’re up until 2 a.m. on a Tuesday.”
Meanwhile, he said, safety issues have gone unaddressed.
“Our rent goes up, utilities go up, but one elevator’s
always broken,” he said.
Resident Gavyn Straus stood barefoot on the sidewalk,
holding a towel around his American-flag bathing suit as he watched a Sheriff’s
Department helicopter hoisting stranded neighbors off the roof. He had been in
the pool swimming laps when he turned his head for a breath and noticed the
smoke. Right away, he leaped out of the pool and dashed up to alert neighbors
on his floor.
The smoke “was like a black wall” on the seventh floor, he
said. Higher up, he started banging on doors, telling neighbors to get out.
Twins Kristina and Kimberly Pagano, recent UCLA grads, were
asleep in their apartment when the fire broke out. They woke up to the sound of
firetrucks. Moments later, the building fire alarm went off, and they rushed
outside.
Both immediately thought of the 2013 fire, believed to have
been sparked by a cigarette. The building still allows residents to smoke in
their units on designated floors, which the sisters had toured before moving
in. Like others, they said the building hosts a large number of short-term
visitors.
“We always see people with luggage,” Kristina said.
“It’s like a hotel,” Kimberly agreed.
Officials have said that there is no indication the fire was
caused by anyone smoking inside or that it broke out in a unit rented as an
Airbnb. The building is covered by L.A.’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance, which
limits annual rent increases for tenants, but some of its units are exempt from
that law, according to housing department spokeswoman Sandra Mendoza. Under an
ordinance that went into effect last year, Angelenos cannot rent out their
apartments for short stays if they live in a rent-stabilized unit.
The 2013 fire erupted on the 11th floor of the building,
displacing up to 150 residents and injuring two people. It also raised concerns
about a lack of sprinkler systems in some buildings in Los Angeles. Barrington
Plaza was not equipped with a sprinkler system at the time. Because it was
built nearly 60 years ago, it does not fall under state regulations later
adopted that forced buildings taller than 75 feet to include such
fire-suppression systems unless granted an exemption.
Los Angeles has a loophole in its fire code that allows 71 residential high-rises to house tenants despite having no fire sprinklers in the buildings. The structures were built between 1943 and 1974, when new codes required sprinklers.
Deputy Chief Armando Hogan said Wednesday the building still
does not have sprinklers. There have been repeated attempts to require older
buildings to install sprinkler systems, including a push after Barrington
Plaza’s last fire, but landlords at the time argued they would cost too much.
A year ago, the City Council again tabled a proposal to
require sprinklers in all buildings. One of the sponsors of the measure said
the issue lost momentum amid opposition from landlords, but Councilman Mike
Bonin said he will reintroduce a mandate for sprinklers in light of the latest
blaze.
Curtis Massey, chief executive of fire safety consulting
company Massey Emergency Management, said the sprinkler systems typically seen
in modern high-rises quickly douse flames before they have a chance to spread. “It’s
like an on-duty 24-hour firefighter that’s able to respond faster in most
circumstances to a fire than the building staff or the fire department,” said
Massey, whose company has worked on fire preparedness plans for Century Plaza
and the Wilshire Grand Center.
Modern fire safety features also include elevator and
stairwell-pressurization systems that keep the smoke out of those areas, he
said.
In 2014, a group of tenants in the high-rise sued the
building’s corporate owner for negligence. According to residents, several fire
alarms failed to sound in Barrington Plaza as the October 2013 blaze spread. A
door to the roof was locked and the stairwells filled with choking smoke,
tenants said. “The conditions at the supposedly high-end apartment building
were atrocious,” attorney Mark Geragos said at the time.
Resident Ivo Gerscovich’s 2-year-old daughter and
father-in-law were found unconscious in a smoke-filled stairwell above the 20th
floor during the 2013 fire. “It’s a deathtrap,” Gerscovich said then. “It’s
totally insane and indefensible.” Ben Meiselas, an attorney with Geragos’ firm,
said the building “is a relic of the 1960s.” “It conformed to codes of the
1960s, and since that time, they’ve availed themselves through grandfather
clauses of the building codes of that bygone era,” he said.
Meiselas said building owners should be required to
prominently display whether their structures adhere to current codes. “You have
this building that advertises itself as a class-A luxury building, but back in
2013, at least, it really had fundamental safety issues,” he said.
Residents said that they weren’t aware of any additional
safety measures. “This situation really scares me,” said Ploy Pengsomboon, who
was able to evacuate from her ninth-floor unit only after smelling smoke and
hearing firetruck sirens. “I’m scared if one day I’m in a deep sleep and
something like this happens. I didn’t get a chance to prepare. They should tell
everyone to get out and shouldn’t let us learn about it ourselves.”
The blaring of a fire alarm woke 84-year-old Dan Karzen, who
has lived in Barrington Plaza for 20 years. “I had my pajamas on, so I had to
hurry to put some clothes on, grab my phone and walk out the door of my
16th-floor apartment,” Karzen said. “I knew it was bad because there was all
this smoke.”
After leaving the building, he crossed the street to a strip
mall, where he stopped to await word from fire officials. “I don’t know when
we’re going to go back in, and I don’t want to leave because all my stuff is up
there,” he said.
When Liz Bowers was jolted awake by sirens, she smelled
smoke and immediately thought it couldn’t be another fire, remembering the 2013
blaze. But when she looked out her window, there it was. “I was like … it’s
Tower A again,” she said. She had a clear view of the flames and clouds of
black smoke. She could hear screams and windows blowing out from the heat of
the flames. Bowers ran downstairs to the public pool area shared by the two
buildings and continued watching as firefighters worked to quell the flames and
rescue residents. After witnessing the dramatic events, she decided she’d had
enough. She needs to move out.
Bowers thought about all the times she could smell cigarette
and marijuana smoke from her apartment, the result of little oversight from
building managers, she said. She spent three years knocking on the leasing
office’s door, writing letters and making phone calls to building managers.
Eventually, she gave up. “They should have put sprinklers in after the [2013]
fire,” she said. “They let everybody smoke. There’s a lot of Airbnb [rentals].
You get all these people coming into party and smoke pot. The landlords don’t
care.”
Times staff writers Matt Stiles, Dakota Smith, Colleen Shalby, Andrew J. Campa, Emily Alpert Reyes, James Rainey and Matthew Ormseth contributed to this report.
For more information about our services, call CJ Suppression at 888-821-2334 or visit the website at www.cjsuppression.com.
CJ Suppression proudly serves Corona, CA and all surrounding areas.
Fire safety is important for both you and everything you’re
responsible for. We are a one-stop shop for all of these needs because we are
dedicated to supplying top notch service with quality end results:
Inspections/certifications. Our trained technicians perform all required inspections and testing to ensure your fire protection system is fully operational.
Title 19 (5-year inspection). This procedure inspects
all components of your fire protection system and is performed every five
years.
Annual. This procedure inspects the required
components of your fire protection system on a yearly basis.
Quarterly. This procedure inspects the required
components of your fire protection system every 3 months.
Fire pumps. Fire pump inspections are typically
performed annually and more frequent depending on the authority having jurisdiction
or insurance carrier.
Backflow. Testing and certification are required
annually in most jurisdictions.
Flow tests. Hydrant flow testing are needed for
system inspection/certification and water flow requirements for system
hydraulic calculation design.
Kitchen hoods. We perform installation, inspection, testing, certification and cleaning of kitchen hoods per NFPA codes requirements.
Maintenance. We can provide a structured maintenance
program with automatic scheduling within our in-house database.
Repairs. We provide repair service of any type of
fire protection system from underground fire line to overhead wet, dry or
special hazard systems.
24-hr emergency service. Our on-call staff can
facilitate support for any type of emergency around the clock.
Employee training. We provide education and training
sessions of all types of fire protection systems to employees and or
management.
Fire extinguisher service. We specialize in service
and sales of all fire extinguishers.
Fire extinguisher training. Our onsite training for any size company to ensure proper protocol in case of a fire event.
For more information about our services, call CJ Suppression at 888-821-2334 or visit the website at www.cjsuppression.com.
CJ Suppression proudly serves Corona, CA and all surrounding areas.
When you hear the words fire suppression, what do you think of? For many of us, it would include things like fire extinguishers and fire sprinklers. But there are lots of ways that a fire can be suppressed. The real issue is which method is best for you. Electronics-filled datacenters, where traditional fire sprinklers are not only ineffective, but can potentially be very damaging to the assets they’re meant to protect. But for other buildings, those fire sprinklers are exactly what you need. Fire suppression systems come in many different styles and can be incredibly useful for a variety of industries:
For kitchen environments, wet chemicals such as
potassium carbonate are often used.
In areas with high volumes of flammable liquids,
many suppression systems tend to use foams, such as custom detergents or
polysaccharides.
Areas sensitive to liquid damage, such as
datacenters, medical offices, and libraries, peptafluoropropane (a colorless halocarbon
gas) can suppress fire without damaging paper or electronics.
In areas with explosive fluids, such as
gasoline, solvents, or propane, dry chemical suppressants are often used, such
as sodium bicarbonate or potassium bicarbonate, or Monnex (potassium
allophananate).
Unoccupied areas, such as transformer vaults and
electrical containment rooms, carbon dioxide may be used.
Finally, in places where ordinary substances
need to be protected, simple water or water mist may be used.
Because there are a number of different federal, state and local codes to follow, and industry best practices to consider when designing, installing, and maintaining your fire suppression system, consulting with an expert is vital to complying with the law and maintaining a safe environment for both people and assets.
For more information about fire suppression systems, call CJ Suppression at 888-821-2334 or visit the website at www.cjsuppression.com.
CJ Suppression proudly serves Corona, CA and all surrounding areas.
Having safe and protected buildings are a top priority for any landlord. Not only does it keep your tenants safe, but it also keeps your investment protected. And as time goes on, wear and tear take place and buildings need to have some improvements done. The same goes for fire safety – we need to invest some time and money in order to protect everyone and everything from a fire. Fire sprinklers are a fantastic investment in order to keep up your fire safety, but even this needs to be improved from time to time. It is time to call in a professional.
But where do you start? It can be a daunting task trying to figure out just what you need to be fire safe. You can rely on word of mouth, but can you be sure? When making tenant improvements, it is essential to confide in a reliable company that will get the job done in a timely manner. After all, improving anything will surely disrupt your daily business, so having things done quickly and correctly is necessary to keep things moving smoothly. The professionals of CJ Suppression have years of expertise with tenant improvements and specialize in all of the following:
Installation
Relocation
Rework within improvements
Remodels
Modifying fire sprinkler systems
Thorough tenant improvements ensure that your business runs smoothly and efficiently. For this reason, it is vital to rely on our company to avoid any complications. Call CJ Suppression in Corona, CA today and ask about how our experience with tenant improvements can help you.
For more information about tenant improvements, call CJ Suppression at 888-821-2334 or visit the website at www.cjsuppression.com.
CJ Suppression proudly serves Corona, CA and all surrounding areas.
Did you know that small fire can start with just a little flame and fully submerge a room in less than three minutes? That’s an extremely short amount of time. But if fire sprinklers are available, they can reduce the risk of death by about 80%, so why would you not install them in the home? It may seem unnecessary, but here are six reasons you may change your mind:
The sprinkler heads activate individually. Fire sprinkler heads activate only over the area where the fire is. Only the sprinkler heads closest to the fire will activate to spray water on the fire.
Fire sprinklers are activated by heat, not smoke. For instance, if smoke from a recently blown out candle or burnt food from an over or toaster will not trigger the fire sprinkler like a smoke detector.
Many fire sprinklers activate within 30-60 seconds, growing and spreading while the firefighters are in route. The longer it takes to put out a fire, the higher the risks for residents and property damage.
Residential fire sprinklers are smaller than commercial sprinklers and can be incorporated into the ceilings of many homes. Residential sprinkler fixtures are available in many types of finishes to make them more inconspicuous.
Fire sprinklers cause less water damage than a fire hose. Fire hoses discharge 80-125 gallons per minute, while fire sprinklers only discharge around 8-25 per minute.
Smoke alarms only alert residents but won’t extinguish a fire. Fire sprinkles can put out a fire while the residents flee from their home, increasing people’s safety and reduces the amount of property damage.
For more information about fire sprinklers, call CJ Suppression at 888-821-2334 or visit the website at www.cjsuppression.com.
CJ Suppression proudly serves Corona, CA and all surrounding areas.