Automatic Sprinkler Puts Stop To Fire At West Side Retail Store

For the Shopko store near West Towne Mall, the upcoming holiday shopping season wouldn’t be as merry and bright if not for the store's automatic fire sprinkler system.
 
The Madison Fire Department was dispatched to the store at 2:56 a.m. to investigate a water flow alarm. Looking through the front doors, Ladder Company 2 saw there was a light haze in the front of the store and smoke banked down toward the back of the store.
 
Firefighters retrieved keys from an outdoor key vault and entered the store to check the fire alarm control panel. The panel showed an active sprinkler flowing above one of the cash registers. It had already extinguished a small fire there.
 
Firefighters walked through the store and checked for fire extension, finding none. They shut down the sprinkler and ventilated the store. With squeegees in hand, firefighters pushed water toward floor drains to clean up the area.
 
The cause of the fire is under investigation.