On Thursday morning, Mar. 25, at 4:04 A.M., Fire Associates was paged for support by the San Jose Fire Department. This time, a duplex was on fire at 2292 Freya Dr. -- on the corner of Aborn Rd. in the city's Evergreen district. A pre-fire Google Maps Street View of the structure can be viewed at this link: Freya Dr. Don Gilbert arrived in Support Unit 2 and was met on scene by John Whitaker, Mike Chappell, Jerry Haag and guest, Dan Wong.
First-due Engine companies found a fence fire that had spread up the wall of the duplex and moved into the attic space. As a Truck company went to the roof to start ventilation, firefighters below tried to gain entry to the residence and garage space. The word "tried" is used, because (once again) the house, garage and narrow side yard was full of stored items. Making the attack even more difficult, the attic had been lined with heavy plywood which increased the access difficulties. Command staff tried to keep the fire at a 2nd-alarm level, but the crews became too exhausted to keep up with the access efforts. A 3rd alarm was called for fresh manpower.
With Freya Drive being just a narrow access road to the series of duplexes, most of the fire rigs were spread out in the middle of Aborn Rd. -- including Rehab. At this location, Aborn Rd. is a 6-lane roadway that provides access to Capital Expresway and the U.S. 101 freeway for the many homes in the primarily residential area. The road was completely shut down throughout the early commute hours. Support Unit 2 provided the weary firefighters with hot coffee, cold drinks and the usual Clif Bar "breakfast". We were released at approx. 7:30 A.M.
- John's photos can be viewed at: Freya Drive Fire
- A San Jose Mercury-News story can be read at: 2 Fires in One Day
- A KTVU news story and video can be viewed at: Firefighters Climb Clutter
