At 04:32, while on the scene of an early morning fire in Campbell, FASCV received a page for second fire -- this time a 4-alarmer in downtown San Jose. The fire was located at the intersection of Fourth Street and East St. John -- just a block from San Jose's new City Hall. Don and John were released by the Santa Clara County Fire incident commander and responded in Support Unit 2 to the San Jose Fire Department's event.
First-due Engine 8 arrived on the scene to find fire rolling up the exterior of the building and leaping 20 feet above the roof! A real bonfire! The fully-involved structure was a Victorian home known as the Houghton Donner House. Built in 1881, the house was placed on the historic register in 2002. The building gets its name because it was once the home of one of the survivors of the Donner party.
Don and John helped serve numerous pots of coffee, 4 dozen donuts and a box-and-a-half of Power Bars, as well as place traffic cones and direct traffic -- as many morning commuters seemed oblivious to a 5-inch supply hose as they drove over it in an attempt to park in a near-by parking garage. SJPD eventually took over the task. FASCV was released at 0935. It was a long morning.
John Whitaker's photos from this fire can be seen at: SJFD - Victorian.
News video of the fire can bee seen at: NBC11 News. Further details about the fire can be read at this link in The San Jose Mercury News.
-- This information provided by "The Blogmaster"
