April 4, 2008 -- 4th-alarm Response for SJFD

Fire Associates was paged at 5:13 A.M. on Friday morning to a 4-alarm warehouse fire. Located at 850 Faulstich Ct., the large, metal building was a total loss. An unfortunate occurrence during the firefight was the discovery of a body shortly before sunrise.

This was one fire where Rehab was well-staffed by FASCV members. First on the scene were FASCV members Jerry Haag and John Whitaker, who were able to guide two Fire Support Units into the scene. Arriving in Support Unit 2 was Mike Chappell and arriving with Support Unit 3 were Don Gilbert and John Whiteside. All the help was necessary as the early morning hours meant that coffee and donuts were in great demand by the firefighters. Extra cookies were also provided by a nearby bakery outlet and, eventually, FASCV members delivered and served breakfast burritos.

Supporting on-scene FASCV members in spirit was Len Williams, who provided this e-mailed observation:

"It went to a 4th, but the 4th-alarm companies, consisting of a box-alarm assignment from the city of Santa Clara, went to staging at nearby SJFD Sta. 5.

I heard it come in (on my scanner) straight from the top. I've been getting up extraordinarily early for the past week (with another 10 days to go until Apr. 15), so I was up when it came in as a report of a warehouse on fire in the area of Oakland Rd. and Gish.

The first alarm companies called for a 2nd alarm almost immediately.

While on my way into the office, shortly before 6:00 a.m., I heard the San Jose news radio station air unit saying that it was pretty spectacular from where they were."

FASCV members were on scene until after the noon hour.

News stories can be viewed at: NBC11 and SJ Merc-News
John Whitaker's photos of the fire can be seen at: SJS - Warehouse Fire

Large Turnout for April Monthly Meeting

A large group of members and guests was on hand for the April Monthly Meeting. Held at the San Jose Fire Museum, the members were greeted by our host, retired SJFD Asst. Fire Chief, John McMillan. Chief McMillan was our guest at the December Monthly Meeting, so, on this night, he provided an update on what has transpired since December.

The Museum is currently making a concerted effort to acquire San Jose's old Station No. 1. If successful, plans are to make that the new home of the San Jose Fire Museum. The current status is that the Museum continues to gain support from political leaders, former political leaders, developers, builders and a variety of community associations. There are several large hurdles yet to overcome, but the feeling is that the building will be saved from the wrecking ball.

After the presentation, members discussed a full agenda of club business, and then they were able to roam through the 16,000 sq. ft. warehouse to view the large collection of antique and classic apparatus and firefighting memorabilia. A good time must have been had by all as the last few members didn't leave until almost 10:00 PM!

The FASCV would like to thank Chief McMillan for opening up the museum to our members and hopes that this meeting might become an annual event.

March 29, 2008 -- Once Again, A Response for SCCFD

Let's do this one more time!

The fourth FASCV response of the day (and the third for Santa Clara County Fire) was for a fire in the upstairs bedroom of a duplex. Located at 103 El Porton, Los Gatos, the fire was quickly knocked down by arriving firefighters.

FASCV was paged to the scene at 9:46 P.M. with John Whiteside again driving Support Unit 2. This time, he was met by John Whitaker who directed him into the scene. The fire was located within the "Rinconada Hills" gated community with lots of narrow roadways - some of which were blocked by 5-inch hoselines. Once set up, FASCV dispensed the beverage of choice - hot coffee. The evening was cold, firefighters were wet, and this was the third fire of the day for some of the crew. FASCV was released shortly after 12:45 A.M. - Sunday!

The Los Gatos Observer's news story can be read at: "Fire Destroys Townhouse".

John Whitaker's third set of photos for the day are at: CNT - Los Gatos Duplex.

March 29, 2008 -- Another Santa Clara Co. Response

For the third time in less than 24 hours, FASCV responded to a multi-alarm fire. This time, we were requested at approximately 2:09 P.M. by Santa Clara County Fire for a 2-alarmer in Los Gatos. Located at 805 University, Unit H, the fire involved a business named PupGear - a primarily web-based business located in a small, strip mall warehouse.

John Whiteside arrived in Support Unit 2 to find that FASCV members Don Gilbert, Jerry Haag, George Hoyt and John Whitaker were already on scene awaiting his arrival. Arriving firefighters had to cut through a 12x15 roll-up door to gain access to the fire. Once inside, the fire was hard to fight as it was primarily located in the ceiling space and then eventually spread to flats of cardboard shipping boxes. Once the fire was knocked down, FASCV provided lemonade, water and Cliff Bars to weary fire department personnel. Most of the command staff and some of the firefighters had already been at the earlier Campbell fire.

The Los Gatos Observer's news story can be viewed at: "Los Gatos Business Fire"

John Whitaker's photos can be viewed at: CNT - PupGear

March 29, 2008 -- Response for Santa Clara Co. Fire

On Saturday, March 29, FASCV was paged by Santa Clara County Fire to a house fire in Campbell. Located at 133 West Rosemary Lane, the fire was contained to the rear of the structure. This was the second response by FASCV for the day, as earlier in the morning, Jerry Haag was at the scene of a 2nd-alarm fire in the City of Santa Clara.

For this event, Jerry Haag once again responded in Support Unit 1. Helping out on scene in Campbell were: Don Gilbert, John Whitaker and George Hoyt. After supplying the usual morning fare (donuts, coffee, etc.), we were released at approximately 10:00 A.M.

John's Photos can be seen at: CNT - Campbell House Fire.