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For the third time in the last four responses, Fire Associates again was called to the city of Morgan Hill. Located at 16500 Oak Glen, this time the fire was in a rural part of the city. Responding at 8:13 A.M. to a special request from Cal Fire was John Whiteside in Support Unit 2. He was later joined on scene by John Whitaker and his wife, Liz. Dropping by for a "look-see" was FASCV member Brian Woodson, who was on his way to a nearby jobsite. FASCV member Mike Chappell was on scene early as part of Cal Fire's firefighting effort.
The fire fully involved a 1,200 sq. ft., wood-framed home on the property of a small horse ranch. The single occupant of the residence was able to escape the inferno without injury. Fire crews from Santa Clara County, South County Fire District and Cal Fire responded to the event. Fire Associates provided coffee and cold beverages on a bright, sunny and unusually warm Winter morning. Later, FASCV helped with the distribution of lunch-time burritos for the hungy crews. FASCV remained on scene until being released shortly after 1:00 P.M.
The arrival of the New Year saw Fire Associates respond to yet another fire in Morgan Hill. Like our Dec. 23rd response, this one was on the West side of town...but, this time, several condos were on fire. Paged by Santa Clara County Fire at 1:50 P.M. to 149 Del Monte, Don Gilbert and John Whiteside responded in Support Unit 2 and were aided on scene by Mike Chappell, John Whitaker and George Hoyt.
The fire was located on the second floor in the middle of the complex. This made access difficult for the fire crews who responded. On scene were rigs from Santa Clara County Fire, South County Fire District, Gilroy and San Jose. Normally, on a Winter afternoon in January, you might think that hot coffee would be the popular choice. But, with temperatures in the mid 70s, it was lemonade and water that disappeared quickly. FASCV members were asked to remain on scene to help serve an evening meal to the overhaul crews. The Support Unit was not returned to quarters until after 7:00 P.M.
"Twas the night before Christmas..." -- actually, it was the night of Christmas when Fire Associates was paged by Santa Clara County Fire. At 9:55 P.M., on December 25, FASCV was called to a 2nd-alarm fire at 103 Ash Court (anybody see the irony?) in Los Gatos. John Whiteside responded in Support Unit 2 and was met on scene by Don Gilbert and John Whitaker.
The fire severely damaged a home at the end of a long, uphill cul-de-sac. Most of the fire equipment had to be parked short of the fire with firefighters carrying in a lot of the necessary equipment. That was no different for Fire Associates. With the Support Unit parked downhill from the incident, coffee was carried up to the scene in air-pots and water was carried up in an ice chest. With nighttime temperatures in the high 30s, and the wind whipping at an estimated 40 mph, hot coffee was in high demand. Gloves and heavy coats were the garments of choice!
FASCV personnel were on scene until well after midnight.
