November 30, 2005
Piggly Wiggly Grocery, West Bend
West Bend Fire Department firefighters responded
to a call from the Piggly Wiggly grocery store monitoring
company.
Employees reported that water was coming from an upper compressor
room and a fire had occurred involving the water heater located
there. Upon investigation, firefighters found the fire had
been extinguished by the fire sprinkler system.
The water heater had a fire sprinkler above it, which was
the only sprinkler that activated in the room. Upon confirmation
that the fire was out, the main water valve was closed to
prevent further damage of goods below. The fire sprinkler
was replaced that evening and the system was restored to
full operation.
Captain Edward Geidel, West Bend Fire Department Inspector,
spoke to the owner of the grocery store. The owner said the
fire sprinkler system saved thousands of dollars in grocery
items.
Had the building not been protected by a monitored fire
sprinkler system, the fire may not have been readily spotted
by employees since the room was not often used and the door
was closed.
This proves sprinkler systems can not only save lives, but
in this case also prevented the grocery store from being
closed down to business due to potentially larger fire damage.
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