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| Photo By John Whiteside |
On Thursday, June 26, Don Gilbert and John
Whiteside discussed
the fact they would be the only drivers available for the southern portion of the county
until Sunday morning and agreed to a response plan if dispatched.
The next
afternoon, at 2:05 P.M., San Jose Fire dispatched a full first alarm to a four-plex located
at 778 Warring Drive, with a cross street of Playa Del Rey. Included with the dispatch was a report of possibly one person still inside the mostly two-story structure. A second alarm from San Jose was
quickly requested and eventually a third alarm was dispatched. The third alarm request was filled by Santa Clara
County Fire Department’s Los Gatos fire stations due to other calls being
worked by San Jose fire crews.
Don had been
monitoring the call and alerted John, who was doing his Friday volunteer work
at the Cal Fire's Morgan Hill Emergency Command Center. With both FASCV members listening to the radio traffic, the fire sounded
like it would escalate in alarm level. When John heard the third alarm being struck, he
began the drive back to San Jose to pick up Fire Support
Unit 3 from Station 35. Don drove to Station 6 to get FSU-2.
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| Photo By 111th Aerial & Architectural Photography |
Elevated master
streams from Trucks 9 and 13 were used extensively as well as multiple ground
hose lines to extinguish and prevent spread of the fire to adjacent four-plexs. A
steel roof made access and extinguishment difficult, especially after the roof
collapsed. Eleven people were displaced and provided assistance by the Red
Cross.
The FSUs were
released around 1800 and returned to their quarters. Don had to replenish the
depleted ice supply at Station 6 before he could clear the call and return
home.
- Photos from John Whiteside can be viewed at: San Jose 4-Plex
-- Report Submitted by John Whiteside
