Suffolk (VA) Firefighters Control Smoky Fire in Apartment Complex

Suffolk Virginia aerial ladder at apartment building fire

On May 14, 2022, Suffolk (VA) Fire & Rescue responded to the 1100 Block of Knotts Pointe Lane for a commercial fire alarm at the Royal Sail Apartments. Emergency communications dispatched the incident at 8:43 a.m. with the first units arriving at 8:47 p.m.

Engine 25 and Ladder 5 arrived to find heavy smoke showing from the electrical room of a five-story apartment building with smoke progressing into the entire building through the trash chute. Engine 25 upgraded the response to a commercial structural fire and Battalion 2 upgraded the response to a two-alarm fire with smoke on all five floors of the occupied apartment building.

Firefighters found the electrical service panel in the mechanical room on the first floor of the building on fire. The fire was suppressed in the mechanical room with smoke extending to the four floors above the mechanical room.

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The fire was placed under control at 9:31 a.m. The apartment complex’s maintenance person arrived on the scene and Dominion Virginia Power secured power to the apartment building and service drop to the entire building. Once power was secured by Dominion, firefighters were able to determine the fire did not extend from the mechanical room and the smoke was removed from the four floors above the fire room.

Smoke removal was mostly concentrated in the common hallways of floors 2-5, as the trash chutes were in the common hallways. Fortunately, the individual apartment units were not affected by the smoke rising up the trash chutes. Firefighters used 20-inch electric fans on each floor to evacuate the smoke into the stair wells and then out of each floor. Smoke conditions were moderate on the common halls and fire crews sheltered many occupants in place to prevent the spread of smoke into their apartments.

Fire in Suffolk apartment building electrical panel

There is heavy fire damage to the electrical service drops and panel box in the mechanical room. Two hundred occupants and one hundred 100 apartment units are affected by the fire. Power was secured to the entire building. BECO Asset Management is on the scene and are working with the displaced occupants for relocation and housing while the electrical service can be restored to the building.

No injuries were reported by firefighters or occupants. The Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause and origin of the fire.

Responding units included Battalion 1, Battalion 2, Battalion 3, Car 1, Engine 25, Engine 5, Engine 1, Engine 3, Ladder 5, Ladder 6, Rescue 1, Chesapeake E12, Chesapeake L10, Medic 5, EMS2, Safety 1, Fire Marshal 4, Suffolk Police, and BECO Asset Management.