Around 2300 hours on March 13, York Village Fire was dispatched to the Stage Neck Inn for a fire alarm activation. The alarm company was reporting a “waterflow” alarm from the sprinkler system. Squad 2, Truck 8, C-1 and C-4 responded to the call while Engine 4 stood by at the station. When the companies arrived on scene they found a single sprinkler head flowing in the front function room. No fire or smoke was encountered. Crews quickly shut the system down with assistance from facilities/maintenance personnel. Crews looked for an obvious cause for the activation of the single sprinkler head and found that the nearby heating vent was putting out hot air at temperatures between 145 and 155+ Fahrenheit. The sprinkler head in this location was a standard 155 degree Fahrenheit operating temperature head and it was likely fused due to the nearby heat register putting out hot air that was enough to fuse the single head. Water damage was relatively minor compared with what it could have been, that was attributed to a rapid response from the York Village Fire Department, and a familiarity with the facility and its fire protection features.
