Sprinkler puts out fire at apartments that burned in 2007

Six years after a blaze destroyed a Madison apartment building, officials say the sprinkler system at a new building on the same site prevented serious damage from a weekend fire.

The fire started Saturday at the Glacier Hills Apartments near Elver Park on Madisons Southwest Side when a discarded cigarette ignited a Christmas tree on a balcony, authorities said.

By the time firefighters arrived, however, an automatic sprinkler had already extinguished the fire, leaving the building with only cosmetic damage, officials said.

Thats a far cry from July of 2007, when a fire started by a cigarette butt caused $3.5 million in damage, according to State Journal archives.

Although no residents were hurt in the fire, it left the building uninhabitable and forced dozens of people from their homes. A firefighter suffered minor injuries as well.

The building did not have a sprinkler system in 2007, but the Madison Fire Department pointed out it was re-built after the fire to include one.

This is a perfect example of how fire sprinkler systems limit damage and most importantly, save lives, Madison Fire Department spokeswoman Bernadette Galvez said in a statement.

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Sprinkler puts out fire at apartments that burned in 2007