Yuma, Arizona - This morning at about 11:50 am, a fire was reported in the Ross Dress for Less store, 1430 South Yuma Palms Parkway. Yuma Fire Department personnel arrived to find the fire had been in a rack of clothes, and was first discovered by employees who began to evacuate customers.
While other employees were in the process of attempting to extinguish the fire, a fire suppression sprinkler head activated above the burning clothes and extinguished the fire. Firefighters stopped the flow of water from the sprinkler head, as well as ensuring the fire was out and had not spread.
Fire damage was limited to some clothes on the rack where the fire originated. Additional clothes in the immediate area got wet, but the fire was almost immediately extinguished. Only the one sprinkler head directly above the fire had activated. The store was closed to customers but will be able to reopen once the sprinkler system is back in operation and clean-up has been done. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Fire sprinkler systems can keep fires from spreading and can also extinguish them. Fire spreads quickly and can double in size every minute. Even small fires can cause significant damage to property, with smoke causing additional damage and endangering those in the structure. Contrary to many Hollywood portrayals, only sprinkler heads directly exposed to the heat activate, not those in the rest of the room, building, or complex.