Apr 16, 2008 7:42 am US/Pacific
Families Saved As Fire Rips Through San Jose Home
SAN JOSE (BCN) ―
All eleven residents of a San Jose house destroyed in a fire Wednesday morning are lucky one resident awoke around 3:30 a.m. to flames in the hallway and warned the household to evacuate, officials said.
The two-alarm fire, reported at 3:31 a.m. at 1466 Mt. Palomar Drive, took approximately 65 firefighters to battle and was declared under control nearly two hours later at about 5:30 a.m., San Jose fire Capt. Steve Alvarado said.
In the six minutes it took firefighters to arrive on scene after the blaze was reported, the house became fully involved in flames, according to Alvarado.
The ten adults and one infant living at the single-story, single-family house were all outside and uninjured when firefighters arrived, Alvarado said.
"It was a close call for them," Alvarado said.
Firefighters tackled the blaze as well as worked to keep the fire from spreading to the houses on either side of the burning structure, according to Alvarado. One nearby house may have been singed by the flames or sustained broken windows, Alvarado said.
The house that burned was destroyed in the flames, according to Alvarado. The fire reportedly caused a preliminary estimate of $550,000 in damage to the structure. A damage estimate to the contents was not immediately available.
No injuries to firefighters or civilians were reported, Alvarado said.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation.
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