Sprinkler Contains Fire on UW-Madison Campus

Downtown firefighters were dispatched to 770 West Dayton Street (Gordon Commons) early Tuesday morning. The building’s alarm system indicated a heat detector activation in a lower-level room.

Ladder Co. 1 entered the room to find heavy white smoke and a dryer fire. An automatic sprinkler system had activated, keeping the fire from spreading, but there was still active fire in the appliance. Ladder 1 extinguished the fire with a water can extinguisher. Firefighters overhauled the appliance and disconnected all appliances in the room from electrical power.

It is unclear what caused the fire. There were no obvious signs of ignition. The dryer did contain rags and towels from the kitchen.

Public Health Madison-Dane County was notified of the incident due to food items in the area being impacted by the smoke. 

Gordon Commons is a dining and event center located in the heart of UW-Madison’s southeast campus. This is the second sprinkler save on the UW-Madison campus in just under two weeks. 

Both incidents demonstrate the positive impact of having automatic fire suppression systems in place, working hand-in-hand with firefighters to protect lives and property.