Automatic Sprinklers to the Rescue for Novato Restaurant

By City News Service

An automatic sprinkler located above a dumpster next to a
restaurant put out a fire Wednesday that could have spread to the restaurant, according to the Novato Fire District.

Firefighters responded at about 10:30 p.m. to the fire in the dumpster in the 100 block of Vintage Way and verified that the fire was out.

“This is a great example of how automatic fire sprinklers protect property, and keep businesses open,” Novato Battalion Chief, Fire Marshal
Bill Tyler said in a statement. “If there was no fire sprinkler present, we could have had a large structure fire.”

Crews replaced the sprinkler head and restored the automatic
sprinkler system to its regular operating condition.

Restaurant employees had discarded mesquite and hot coals into the
dumpster, igniting the paper and cardboard inside. The sprinkler that put out the fire is on a wood trellis above the dumpster.