HOT SPRINGS – At 11:51 p.m. on Monday night, March 10, the Hot Springs Fire Department responded to a report of a structure fire occurring at the historic Woodman of Union Building, located at 501 Malvern Avenue. Arriving on the scene at 11:54 p.m., the firefighters were informed that the fire was occurring on the third floor in Apartment 314. They made their way into the building and located the apartment. Upon entering, firefighters found that the fire had been extinguished by the activation of a single sprinkler head.
After the fire was extinguished and initial actions completed, it was determined that the apartment’s occupant had been cooking and experienced a fire on his range top.
“This incident is a real-life example of fire sprinkler systems saving lives and property,” Fire Chief Ed Davis stated. “What could have been a catastrophic fire was turned into only an inconvenience for the building residents.”
City Building Official Mike Scott supported fire department operations at the scene by responding to the incident to inspect the building’s electrical infrastructure, which was found to be undamaged by the fire.