Willow Glen Resident

News

Photograph by Vicki Thompson

Burned: A burning mattress started a fire at a home on Newport Avenue. The inside of the home was destroyed in a three-alarm blaze.

Fire engulfs home on Newport, and causes $1 million in damage

By Mayra Flores De Marcotte

A three-alarm fire destroyed a Willow Glen home on the morning of Nov. 11. The blaze was reported at 2:27 a.m. When San Jose Fire Station No. 6 arrived on the scene, the dwelling was already engulfed. The residents were safely out of the home, but one individual was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation.

The fire department was able to contain the fire, which ruptured a gas line in the home, according to department spokesman Alberto Olmos. The fire was declared under control when a Pacific Gas and Electric Co. crew located and shut off a the gas line at approximately 5:51 a.m.

The two residents had noticed a burning mattress in one of the bedrooms and attempted to remove it through the back door. But the outside air accelerated the flames and caused some decorative landscaping in the back yard and the roof of the house to catch fire, San Jose Fire Capt. Michael Shaw said.

"The correct thing to have done in this situation was to shut the bedroom door and call 911," Shaw said.

Due to the intensity of the fire, firefighters were forced to take a defensive strategy to protect the neighboring homes, Olmos said.

"If there's an imminent collapse of the structure or a situation where firefighters can get hurt, a defensive tactic is taken," he said. "Our first and foremost priority is to protect life."

The fire caused nearly $1 million in structural damage to a 2,000-square-foot home at 1845 Newport Ave., Shaw said. There was an additional $100,000 to 200,000 in damage to the home's contents, which included four cars and two motorcycles in the 1,000-square-foot garage.

Although a request was made to the American Red Cross for arrangements for the two displaced residents, the request was canceled because the individuals were able to make other arrangements, Olmos said.

According to Shaw, the fire is being ruled an accident and although the department thinks it was started by a heating pad in the bedroom, the fire is still under investigation.