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| Photo By John Whitaker |
On a day that set a near record for heat in San Jose, a fire call came in at 9:23 P.M. for a house fire. The temperature at the time of the call was in the mid-80s. Located at 2224 Foxworthy Ave., the fire was reported as burning in the rear of the residence. The first-arriving engine company reported, "Smoke and flames showing."
It was not long before a second alarm was called as the structure was of old, wood construction and the fire was quickly spreading. Of immediate concern was the exposure on the bravo/charlie corner and the next-arriving engine companies were directed to protect that exposure. Radio traffic was busy as the crews worked feverishly to contain the blaze. When a report came in that the adjacent structure was beginning to catch fire, a third alarm was struck for additional resources.
The third alarm call brought a request for Fire Associates. As a result of recent discussions with the San Jose Fire Department, FASCV members were notified of a need for their service by the Department's automated Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) system. This was the first time that FASCV has been requested automatically by the SJFD. Up to now, requests for service had to go by telephone from dispatchers to our paging service, who then sent out the request as a page or text message. It is hoped that this new method will greatly speed up the notification process.
Don Gilbert and John Whiteside responded to the call for assistance. They met up at SJFD Station 6 and brought Fire Support Unit 2 to the scene -- Don as the driver and John riding "shotgun". They were met by John Whitaker, who had been alerted to the fire by his PulsePoint app on his iPhone and gotten a head start to the incident. Also arriving st the fire was FASCV member Mike Garcia and Kenny Von Needham (guest).
Rehab was quickly established as the fire crews were in need of cold drinks -- and lots of them! Med30 set out his 2 benches and requested that Fire Associates also set out their portable benches as the crews needed a place to sit and rest. The firefight was hot as, at one time, flames in the rear of the structure could be seen from the street. Lots of Gatorade, bottled water, and ice-cold lemonade were consumed. As the incident wound down, crews were returned to quarters and FSU-2 was released from service at approximately 11:30 P.M.
The temperature at 11:30 P.M. in April -- 74 degrees! It might be a busy summer...
- John Whitaker's photos can be seen at: Foxworthy House Fire
- A KRON TV news story can be read at: Two Displaced
