A police officer called in the fire at 10:24 a.m., according to San Jose Fire Department spokeswoman Capt. Allison Cabral. By 10:44 a.m. it had been put out. There were no injuries. The cause of the blaze is still under investigation.

Utility pole electrical wires that damaged the roof caused the first fire in December. The fire triggered an ongoing dispute with PG&E over who was responsible for the damages. Because of this dispute PG&E never reconnected the power, according to Bryan Matoba, a renter at the home. To compensate for the problem, Matoba and other renters at the property were using a generator for electricity. Matoba believes the generator in the garage might have started the fire.

Matoba said he had just come home and was sitting in his living room when he heard strange sounds coming from the garage. When he went to investigate, Matoba discovered the generator in flames and the flames were starting to spread.

He tried to stop the blaze with fire extinguishers, but he failed to put it out.

At that point, a San Jose police officer walked up to the house and asked Matoba if he needed help. Cabral said the officer just happened to be in the area when he noticed the fire. The fire department also received several calls from witnesses who reported a thick column of smoke rising from the home, Cabral said. There were also reports of explosions.

San Jose Fire Department engineer Jeff Welch, who was at the scene, said there were explosions, which he believes were caused by gas cans and other everyday chemicals blowing up inside the garage.

"At this point, we haven't found anything suspicious inside," Battalion Chief Gary Galasso said. "We haven't found anything in there that people don't normally store in garages."

There were also a number of air compressors, whose hoses and gauges may have popped, causing the exploding sounds.

Matoba said the garage was filled with computers and audio/video equipment that he and his roommates were repairing. He estimates damage at $25,000.

"Now it's all in flames," he said.