By Paul Morello

NORMAL - The Normal Fire Department is crediting a residential sprinkler system with helping a resident escape an apartment fire Tuesday night.

Department spokesman Matt Swaney said firefighters responded to a fire call at 100 Northfield Drive just before 11 p.m. Firefighters found an activated sprinkler in the kitchen that had put out most of the fire.

“The sprinkler put water on the fire quickly and stopped the fire from growing to the stage where it generates large volumes of deadly smoke," Swaney said in a release. "Since most people that die in fires succumb to the toxic smoke, preventing the fire from reaching that stage is a testament to the value of a fire sprinkler system. Fire sprinklers save lives and in this case sprinklers spared the property from further damage as well.”

Swaney said firefighters stayed on scene to clear smoke from the building and to help maintenance personnel reset the sprinkler system and fire alarm.

He said no one was hurt and the damage was minimal.

Paul Morello can be reached at paul@wjbc.com.