Apartment residents set off sprinkler system
By John Joyce
Published in News on October 13, 2014 1:46 PM
Goldsboro firefighters responding to a fire alarm activation at an apartment complex off Fallin Boulevard in Goldsboro Sunday night found themselves battling a flood rather than a fire.
Apartment Manager Toni Manni said she called 911 when she received notification of the alarm to make sure help was on the way.
The incident happened at 121 Fallin Blvd., Apartment C1, inside the Legacy at Berkeley Place.
According to the fire report, the resident tried to hang a fruit basket from a sprinkler head, causing the sprinkler system to activate.
Alarms sounded throughout the building, sending occupants pouring into the street below, as water poured from the third floor apartment into the apartments below.
"We got the sprinkler heads shut off and contacted the alarm company and the sprinkler company," Assistant Fire Chief Eric Lancaster said at the scene.
"There is a little water in the apartment underneath on the second floor, but it is vacant," he said.
Minimal damage was done to the first floor apartment after firefighters were able to place salvage covers in time to protect property.
Lancaster was not sure whether the residents who set the sprinklers off would be able to return to their apartment Sunday night.
"The third-floor occupants might not be allowed back in. We had to cut the power off to shut off the sprinkler," he said.
Mrs. Manni said a cleanup crew would be contacted today to take care of the water damage. She would not be able to estimate the cost of the damage until that work had been completed.
She said she was relieved when she was told there had not actually been a fire and that no one was hurt.
The apartment does require all residents to maintain renter's insurance, she said.