School Kitchen Fire Investigated In Menlo Park

MENLO PARK, CA -- Fire investigators were on scene Monday following Sunday's school kitchen fire that prompted an ADT alarm at the John and Susan Sobrato Pavilion in Menlo Park.

The call from the Nativity School campus at the 1200 block of Laurel Street was reported at 2.21 p.m.

Capt. Seth Johnson with the crew on Menlo Fire Engine 6 arrived on scene three minutes later reporting smoke and water inside the gym the fire was extinguished by alarm system that doused it.

A fire on the commercial kitchen stovetop had apparently spread to the overhead filters and was quickly extinguished by the automatic Ansul fire suppression system and two adjoining sprinkler heads in the room. Once firefighters got the sprinkler heads shut down, they quickly addressed the water situation that seeped onto the wood gym floor before it could cause further damage.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. Firefighters were unable to determine who had been using the stovetop and what exactly had triggered the event. The building was turned over to the custodial staff, who also provided a fire watch until the protective systems could be restored and operational on Monday.

"The suppression systems in the kitchen saved the day. If it wasn’t for them, the fire, heat, smoke and water damage would have severely impacted the entire building," Battalion Chief Tom Calvert said. "We still needed to use fans to help blow the smoke out of the building and mop up the water on the floors, but that was minimal work and effort given the potential for the fire to have severely impacted this facility.”

A total of three Menlo Park engines, an aerial ladder truck and a battalion chief and 14 personnel responded to the incident. The scene was cleared by 3.36 pm.

--Images courtesy of Peter Mootz