The City of Bowie Fire Department responded to an early morning fire at Milano’s Pizza in downtown to find the sprinkler system had contained a small fire in the back of the building.
Fire Chief Doug Page said the fire call came in at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday. The alarm company reported a water flow alarm indicating the system had been activated.
Firefighters found the outside indicators show water was flowing in the system.
Page said the firemen made entry and found a single sprinkler and the fire it contained on a back stairway in the building going to the third floor.
“There were two, five-gallon buckets filled with kitchen rags on the stairwell and at this time we believe there was spontaneous combustion that started a fire. For restaurants this is a common finding which is why there are recommendations on how to store them,” said Page.
There was very little damage added the chief other than a burn on the landing and the plastic had melted.
“Without the sprinkler system going off the fire could have easily run the building before it was found. This is the second building in downtown where a sprinkler system contained a fire,” concluded the chief.