The Fire Department is touting the importance of installing sprinklers in buildings after a Long Beach restaurant was saved when a small fire broke out this morning that could have potentially caused much more damage.
A single sprinkler kept a fire in check at Wingstop Restaurant at 1806 Ximeno Avenue. Firefighters responded to a reported water flow alarm around 6:30am today and arrived to find smoke inside the building. Firefighters entered and discovered a smoldering fire with one sprinkler head controlling it.
They extinguished the flames and removed furniture to begin cleaning up the water, but damage was extremely limited to the small storage area where the fire was located. Without the sprinkler system, they say, it could have been much worse.
“Given the time of day and had this building not been sprinklered, this fire could have quickly and easily consumed the unit of origin and destroyed the entire building,” reads a press release from the Fire Department.
The restaurant will remain closed until the Health Department conducts a full investigation.