Fire Sprinklers Save Fort Collins Apartment Building After Vehicle Fuel Leak Ignites
A fire sprinkler system prevented a potentially catastrophic blaze at a Fort Collins apartment complex after a fuel leak from a parked vehicle ignited in an attached garage beneath two stories of residential units.
Poudre Fire Authority investigators determined that heat from a recently driven vehicle ignited fuel that had leaked from the car, which was parked in the attached garage at 3400 Riva Ridge Place. The fire occurred the evening of September 20.
The location and circumstances created dangerous conditions for rapid fire spread, with flammable materials stored near the vehicle in the garage directly beneath occupied apartment units. However, the building's automatic fire sprinkler system activated immediately and contained the flames until firefighters arrived to complete suppression operations.
"We need people to know how big of role the fire sprinklers played in this one," said the PFA fire investigator. "The system saved that building."
The incident demonstrates the critical importance of fire suppression systems in residential buildings with attached parking areas. According to Poudre Fire Authority records, there have been no reported fatalities in fully sprinklered buildings within their jurisdiction over the past decade, and sprinkler systems control 96 percent of fires to the room of origin while reducing property losses by at least 60 percent compared to unprotected properties.
Fort Collins requires automatic fire sprinkler systems in all new residential construction, including attached garages, under the city's adoption of the 2021 International Fire Code with local amendments. The requirement has been in effect for new one- and two-family dwellings since January 1, 2012, and extends to multifamily residential buildings and their associated parking structures.
Vehicle fires in enclosed parking areas beneath residential occupancies present significant hazards due to toxic smoke production, potential ignition of structural elements, and rapid fire spread to upper floors if flames breach fire-rated barriers. Fort Collins building codes mandate sprinkler protection and proper ventilation systems in enclosed parking garages to prevent hazardous gas buildup during emergencies.
The Poudre Fire Authority's Fire Prevention and Community Risk Reduction Division conducts comprehensive inspections of all fire sprinkler installations, requiring formal plan reviews before installation and annual testing by licensed fire protection contractors to ensure ongoing system reliability.
Inspectors with the division work to ensure that fire suppression systems are properly installed and maintained for immediate activation during the critical first minutes before emergency responders can arrive on scene. All sprinkler and fire alarm systems must undergo annual servicing and testing, with inspection reports submitted to verify compliance with safety standards.
The fire authority serves approximately 235 square miles across Larimer and Weld Counties, including Fort Collins, Timnath, and surrounding areas, responding to emergencies affecting more than 220,000 residents from 13 fire stations.
PFA released dashboard camera footage from the incident commander's vehicle showing the initial minutes of the emergency response to demonstrate the rapid deployment of firefighting resources and the effectiveness of the sprinkler system in controlling the blaze until crews could complete suppression operations.