Sprinklers may have been the saving grace for a Spring Hill Goodwill store during a fire.
Hernando County Fire Resuce responded to the Goodwill located at 4750 Commercial Way Monday night at about 10 p.m. They arrived to find sprinklers on, keeping the fire to a minimum. Crews completely extinguished the fire and used an airboat to help ventilate smoke from the building.
Employees reported that the fire started due to sparks from a light fixture failure that ignited a storage bin of clothes. There were no injuries.
“This fire demonstrates the value of properly maintained fire sprinklers,” said Director of Public Safety/Fire Chief Hechler. “The system worked as designed and prevented a potentially much greater fire that could have caused significant damage.”
October 5-11 is Fire Prevention Week. More than 2,500 lives are lost each year and 12,600 are injured in home fires in the United States. Direct property losses due to home fires are estimated at $7.3 billion annually.
This incident is a good reminder for all home and business owners to perform monthly safety checks on fire sprinklers and smoke alarms. In addition, evacuation plans should be established and practiced at least two times each year.
The Spring Hill Goodwill is temporarily closed. A Goodwill trailer will be in the store parking lot by noon today to accept donations while the store’s drive-through donation lane is unavailable. Donations are also welcome at the following sites:
Goodwill Attended Donation Centers
Open 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. Mon – Sat. and 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Sunday
13050 Cortez Blvd., Mariner Square, near McDonalds, Spring Hill
14321 Spring Hill Dr. at Barclay Ave, Advance Auto Parts, Spring Hill
Goodwill Donation Bins – Available 24 hours a day
4269 Mariner Blvd., Advance Auto Parts, Spring Hill
848 South Broad St.,Advance Auto Parts, Brooksville