The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Two-alarm fire destroys Sunnyvale apartments

Firefighters say an iron started the blaze

By Justin Berton and Steve Enders

A two-alarm fire in a Sunnyvale apartment Thursday ruined one unit at the Fair Oaks West apartment complex and damaged another so badly that the complex has been deemed uninhabitable by city building inspectors.

The fire started inside the ground-level apartment in the Maplewood building because the occupant left an iron on after leaving for work that day, according to Sunnyvale public safety Capt. Doug Lamar.

No residents or firefighters were injured by the fire, he said.

Vinod Kashyap, a resident who lives on the top floor of the three-story building, said he was watching the second episode of Mysterious World on the Discovery Channel just after 1 p.m. when he heard a rap at the door.

"Someone was shouting, 'Fire, fire! get out, get out!" Kashyap recalled as he stood in front of the charred building while fire inspectors sifted through the remains.

Kashyap, in gray sweats and sandals, grabbed his blue briefcase containing his passport and college diplomas before he ran down the stairs to safety.

According to Lamar, a Sunnyvale public safety officer patrolling El Camino Real at 12:59 p.m. on Thursday noticed smoke rising into the air nearby. When he checked on the smoke, he found it coming from the apartments at 655 S. Fair Oaks Ave. At that time, dispatchers began receiving calls about the fire as well.

Other officers arrived a minute later and began evacuating the building. Unit 109, on the first floor of the three-story complex, was engulfed in flames, and officers used a hose installed in the hallway to keep the flames inside the apartment.

Five minutes later, at 1:05 p.m., Sunnyvale firefighters began arriving on the scene. Lamar said they found it difficult at first to stretch the hoses from the trucks to the apartment, which is located about 30 yards from the parking lot.

"They really had to extend the hoses," Lamar said. "Everything worked out really well, and it being one o'clock on a workday--that helped."

Eight trucks eventually arrived at the complex, and 45 firefighters put the blaze out in about 15 minutes.

The apartment located directly upstairs from unit 109 was deemed uninhabitable because of damage to the ceiling and floor of the two units. That unit, number 209, also suffered moderate smoke damage. The apartment on the third floor also sustained some minor smoke damage, Lamar said.

Lamar said the structural damage to the apartment is estimated at $101,000. He said the occupant lost about $15,000 worth of personal items.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, April 22, 1998.
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