Fire marshal Tim Hansen said a grease fire began on the stove of an Austin restaurant Saturday afternoon while food was being prepared before the restaurant opened for business that day.  A cook put a lid over the flames and the sprinkler system was activated, but it wasn’t enough to put out the flames.

A 65-year-old Austinite was stopped at the intersection in front of the restaurant when he noticed smoke pouring from the building.  When he pulled over to see what was wrong, the owner of the establishment ran out and told him to call the fire department.  Instead, the man ran inside, grabbed a fire extinguisher and put out the flames.

After putting out any kind of a fire, it is crucial to still call the fire department to make sure the flames have ceased completely. In February, a blaze that began as a grease fire in a Minneapolis restaurant destroyed the entire restaurant and four attached businesses.

To protect your business from risk of fire, trust the Austin sprinkler installation professionals of Ace Fire Equipment.  Contact us today at 512-835-2020.

A hotel in south Austin was destroyed on Sunday afternoon in an intentionally-set fire.

Officials estimate that the damage to America’s Best Value Inn on south I-35 near Oltorf may equal $1.5 million. The hotel is now closed. Firefighters arrived on the scene around 12:15 pm on Sunday after a 33-year-old man set fire to his room and called to report the incident. The man was arrested a few hours later.

Investigators said the fire spread very quickly because the rooms were not equipped with in-room fire sprinklers. Hotels constructed after 1988 are required to have these sprinklers, but the hotel was built in 1984. It had passed its last fire safety inspection last June.

To protect your property from the risk of fire, trust the Austin fire sprinkler installation professionals of Ace Fire Equipment. Contact us today at 512-835-2020.

A man plead guilty to charges of arson last Tuesday in Seguin. The man, 61 years-old, was arrested April 7, 2009 after an outbreak of fires in vacant residences.

Although police were able to identify the man at his first fire, there was not probable cause to make an arrest. Following another fire, this time on the 700 block of West Kingsbury Street, the state fire marshal’s office opened an investigation. The man then set fire to a vacant house in the 400 block of Gonzales Street. Although the arsonist had been indicted by a grand jury, he was able to set yet another fire to an empty home on Austin Street. By this time, he was apprehended after failing to appear at his arraignment.

His sentence included a 10 year prison term. He previously served an almost 20 year term in a state prison for a burglary that culminated him in setting a fire.

For more information on how you can protect your property, contact the Austin fire prevention experts at Ace Fire Equipment 512-835-2020.

A fuel refinery in San Antonio caught fire after a tanker truck exploded Wednesday.

Firefighters were able to stabilize the two-alarm blaze on the city’s South Side. A cloud of black smoke was visible forty miles away as firefighters went door-to-door urging residents to stay at least one mile from the fire, which threatened to ignite nearby fuel tanks.

“Our main concern is not the fire but the materials of combustion,” Fire Chief Charles Hood said. “It’s a very dynamic situation, and we’re still trying to get our arms around it.” Hood added that “a larger explosion could basically kill a bunch of people that are close by.”

Although there were no immediate reports of health complaints, Hood urged people with respiratory issues to remain indoors because officials are not sure what chemicals the smoke consists of.

To protect your property from the risk of fire, trust the Austin Fire Alarms experts of Ace Fire Equipment. Contact us today at 512-835-2020.