Prior to 8 a.m. today, fire sprinklers had activated in two separate Redmond area buildings to protect lives and property, according to Redmond Fire Department Capt. Tom Langton. Both incidents were promptly reported to the NORCOM fire dispatch center by alarm monitoring companies. 

In both instances, the activation of a single, fire sprinkler head controlled the fire until the arrival of firefighters. 

In the first case, the activation of the fire sprinkler provided time for two employees onsite to evacuate. In the second, the presence of the sprinklers protected a dog home alone until it could be evacuated by firefighters.

An early morning fire in an occupied commercial building, located in King County Fire District 34 just east of Redmond, was contained by the activation of a single, fire sprinkler head. Redmond firefighters were dispatched at 1:31 a.m. for a fire alarm activation in a building at the Redmond Ridge Business Park in the 22900 block of Northeast Alder Crest Drive.

Arriving firefighters found the fire confined to equipment in a single room of the building. Damage was limited to several, small, blower fans in that area. Firefighters completed extinguishment and assisted with water removal and smoke ventilation. There were no injuries to employees or firefighters Damage is estimated at less than $500. The business was able to resume operations within a few hours.

The second fire occurred later in the morning at a downtown Redmond townhome complex. The activation of the fire sprinkler system limited the spread of a stovetop fire and protected the dog home alone in the unit.

Units from the Redmond Fire Department were dispatched at 7:58 a.m. to an automatic fire alarm at Avignon Townhomes, located in the 10000 block of 156th Place Northeast. The first engine arrived at 8:03a.m. to find smoke issuing from the second floor of a townhome in the middle of the six-unit building. The majority of the fire was extinguished by the sprinkler.

Firefighters evacuated the dog from the home, ventilated the smoke and took steps to limit water damage. Despite the open floor plan of the townhome, fire damage was limited to the stove, microwave oven and the upper cabinets and wall surface directly above the stove. Smoke damage was confined to the kitchen ceiling. Firefighters completed extinguishment and assisted with water removal and smoke ventilation. There were no injuries to residents, firefighters or the dog. No adjacent townhomes were affected. Damage is estimated at less than $4,000. Facilities staff was initiating repairs this morning.