Fire at Sugar Mills Apartments Quickly Extinguished

At 10:15 in the morning, the fire department was called to a  fire at  Sugar Mills Apartments, 9900 Riverside Drive.  Apparently, a Peruvian guest, his first time in this country was  staying in an apartment on the third floor of the building. He was trying to cook his breakfast.  Confused on the workings of the stove , he turned all of the controls to the ‘on’ position. Something on the stove, caught fire, and the gentleman fled down the hall knocking on the neighbors door. Since he spoke no English, it was difficult for neighbors to understand what he was talking about until they smelled the smoke coming from the apartment. The alarm sounded and they called 911. Within 4 minutes 2 police cars arrived at the scene along with the battalion Chief. They quickly got people out of the building and 2 minutes later the Rescue and Fire engines began to arrive. The Fire was quickly put out within a few minutes.  As a result, damage was limited to the apartment alone.

This fire demonstrated the level of cooperation between the Fire and Police Departments. The communication was excellent as the battalion chief established a command post at his truck, and organized the rescue and fire fighting efforts at the scene.  It also was a good indication of how response times within the City of Coral springs has been substantially improved, and the level of professionalism that has been established.

On scene was the Fire Departments Instructor looking over the details of how the Fire Fighters performed, as well as how the response and procedures can be improved in the future.

The three story structure was built in the early eighties and does not have fire sprinkler protection.  The building codes of that time did not require them.  Kitchen fires are one of the most common incidents that the Fire Department is called to.

Seen below  is one of the residents who made sure to bring his pet birds out of the apartment complex..