Sprinkler stops kitchen fire from spreading in Charleston home

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) A kitchen fire in downtown Charleston Friday evening was kept from spreading to the rest of the home by a sprinkler system, firefighters say.

According to the Charleston Fire Department, crews were called to a George Street home around 5:30 p.m. where they could smell smoke and saw water running underneath a door.

The building was evacuated and firefighters forced their way into the home where they found the water was coming from a single sprinkler head that had contained the fire to the kitchen, officials said.

Firefighters finished putting out the fire and made sure there were no other areas of concern.

Without the fire sprinkler system we would have had a substantial event, damaged multiple apartments, and displaced numerous families, said Fire Marshal Mike Julazadeh. The fire sprinkler system was part of the critical life safety components of this building. In this case, a single fire sprinkler head operated and controlled the fire event until the fire department could arrive and mitigate any remaining hazards. Management is working to repair water damage and restore minimal smoke and fire damage.

Fire investigators said the fire was accidental and started on the stove when the tenant left something combustible on the stove. One of the control knobs was hit, turning on the eye and sparking the fire.

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Sprinkler stops kitchen fire from spreading in Charleston home