Four Alarm Fire Near U.C. Berkeley

A four-alarm fire at a mixed-use building near the University of California at Berkeley took 6 hours to be contained early Saturday morning. No firefighters or other injuries were  reported as fire crews continued to tackle the fire the had spread and become a major fire.
The fire at the five-story building with 39 units on the corner of Telegraph Avenue and Haste Street was first reported at 8:48 p.m. on Friday November18. As of 12:15 a.m. in the morning the fire had spread throughout the entire building and had not been contained according to reports by the Berkeley Fire Department.
A fire unit was at the scene by 9:00 p.m. and the fire progressed to a third-alarm fire by 9:15 p.m. Several local agencies had responded to the fire, including firefighters from Alameda County and Oakland.

The building has commercial space on the first floor and 39 residential units on the other floors. Businesses contained in the building include the long-time Telegraph fixture Cafe Intermezzo and Raleigh's Bar and Grill. Residents were evacuated, many residents found housing quickly, and the Red Cross was on hand to assist those who needed help in finding housing.

No reports if the building had any early warning fire alarm systems and or fire suppression systems
 

California Home Care Facility Fire

A fire at a California home care facility for the disabled has killed four adults and left two others hospitalized, authorities said Sunday.
The fire was reported at around 11:45 p.m. Saturday in Marina, a small coastal community in Monterey County, about 100 miles south of San Francisco.
Three Marina police officers suffered smoke inhalation when they tried to rescue people inside the burning single family home, police watch commander Robin Nowak said. The officers have been treated and released.

The four people who were killed were residents of the home, Nowak said. Nowak didn't know who operated the home.
The cause of the fire was under investigation, but investigators with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on the scene Sunday. ATF officials didn't immediately return a call to The Associated Press seeking information on the investigation.
The fire was reported by a driver on nearby Highway 1 who saw the flames, Bay Area KION-TV reported.

The Associated Press

Published: Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011 - 12:29 pm

Last Modified: Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011 - 2:06 pm

What makes fire sprinklers so effective

A fire starts when intense heat is concentrated in an area with plenty of oxygen and fuel. To survive, fires need to eat, breathe, and stay hot. A spark from an overloaded power strip, an unattended candle, or flammable materials left too close to a radiator are all common sources of fire in the home.

Fires can't live without fuel, air, and heat. To put out a fire, you need to remove one of those three things. Here's how it works:

• The fuel. If it runs out of fuel, a fire will extinguish on its own. Firefighters sometimes clear a ring around brush fires to keep them controlled.
• The air. Fires can also be contained if they're smothered quickly enough. That's why you can put out a small fire by dropping a blanket over it and stamping it out.
• The heat. Fire can't burn if it gets too cold. Water puts out fire by dropping its core temperature below a certain amount. 

Fire sprinklers work by removing a fire's heat. Fire sprinklers drop water at the core of the fire, extinguishing it before it can burn out of control. And because they work so quickly, the fire is usually controlled before it can do significant damage.
That's why fire sprinklers are the most effective method of fire prevention you can buy.