Sprinkler System Limits Damage From Sterling Apartment Fire

STERLING, VA — Several Loudoun County Fire and Rescue units responded Sunday night to a kitchen fire in a second story apartment in Sterling. When firefighters arrived on the scene, they found that the kitchen fire had been extinguished by the building’s automatic fire sprinkler system. There were no reported civilian or firefighter injuries.

Just after 9 p.m. Sunday, Loudoun County Fire and Rescue units from Cascades, Sterling Park, Kincora, Ashburn, and Fairfax County along with command and safety officers responded to a reported structure fire on Ridgehaven Terrace.

Two apartment units were affected by water from the sprinkler system and a total of six residents from two affected units were displaced. The property management staff handled accommodations for the displaced residents. The fire was determined to be accidental and a result of unattended food on the stove, according to the fire department.

The quick activation of the sprinkler system kept the fire contained to the kitchen, keeping the damage to only two units, the fire department said.

“It’s important to educate the public about how automatic fire sprinklers help to contain and prevent fires from becoming more significant emergencies,” Loudoun Fire Chief Keith Johnson said Monday in statement. “Fire sprinklers save lives, including those of first responders, and greatly reduce the physical, emotional and financial damages that fires bring to a community.”