Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Fire Associates Called for Service 3 Times in 24 Hours

   
Most people know that California is experiencing a near-record drought. But what you may not know is that Fire Associates is also going through its own drought -- all-be-it of a different kind.
   
Through the end of March, Fire Associates has only responded to 8 calls for service -- compared to 31 calls for service at this time last year!
   
Well, FASCV's "dry spell" was broken during the 24 hours of April 15-16.
   
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015
SAN JOSE FIRE CALLS FOR FASCV ASSISTANCE AT VEGETATION FIRE
    
Photo By John Whitaker
On Wednesday, April 15, the San Jose Fire Department responded to a vegetation fire at 2039 Flintcrest Dr. on the City's east side.The original call came in from the San Jose Police Department's "Air 2" helicopter. During routine patrol, they spotted bushes burning to the south of Flintcrest Drive.
    
Within minutes of the initial report, the fire spread to an adjacent fence and the roof of a house on Flintcrest Dr. Not helping matters -- the house had a wood shake roof! From there, the fire spread along the fence line to another house where the fence fire caught a backyard shed on fire.
   
It did not take long for a full-first alarm to be called. With Air 2 providing continual updates of hot spots, firefighters were to work attacking both the vegetation fire and the structure fire. The vegetation was part of what had once been Mt. Pleasant Golf Course. The golf course had long since been abandoned with the vegetation overgrowth being somewhat controlled by a herd of grazing cows.
   
On a warm Spring afternoon, it wasn't too long before a 2nd and a 3rd alarm were called. With the 3rd alarm, FASCV members were summoned for Rehab assistance. John Whiteside responded to the call with Fire Support Unit 3. While he was getting the rig ready to roll, John Whitaker went directly to the scene to scout out a location for Rehab. Once FSU-3 was on scene, a formal Rehab was set up in the driveway of a nearby home. By this time, FASCV guest Ken Needham had arrived along with FASCV member Mike Garcia.
   
With the meal hour approaching, and the necessity of a lot of overhaul, John Whitaker coordinated with the IC to get meals ordered. Thirty sandwiches were prepared by Togo's and John went to get them in his personal vehicle, with Ken's help.
    
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015
FASCV PAGED TO GAS EXPLOSION AND RESULTING HOUSE FIRE
     
So, while FSU-3 was set up on Flintcrest Drive, a second call was heard on the emergency radio. A house was reported to be burning near the intersection of McLaughlin Ave. and Interstate 280. Very shortly thereafter, FASCV pagers were activated with a call for assistance. First-arriving firefighters found that a gas explosion had apparently occurred and an interior search resulted in the discovery of an occupant fatality. The location of the incident was 919 Jeanne Ave. in San Jose.
  
While FASCV members started to quickly dismantle the Rehab at the Flintcrest Dr. incident, John Whitaker contacted San Jose Fire Dispatch to get the details of the request for FASCV help. Once the IC was contacted, it was determined that the page to FASCV was premature and FASCV help was not going to be needed on Jeanne Ave.
  
With that news, members continued to shut down Rehab on Flintcrest and FSU-3 returned to service at approximately 7:00 P.M.
       
THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015
SAN JOSE COFFEE SHOP FLUE FIRE GOES TO A THIRD ALARM
     
Photo By John Whitaker
As a mid-Spring, Thursday morning was getting off to a start, the San Jose Fire Department received a call for a kitchen fire at a coffee shop on Capital Expressway. This long-established structure is well-known to residents of San Jose who commute to work on the expressway. Originally called "Cindy's", the blaze was located at 222 W. Capital Expressway at what is now known as "Jimmy's Restaurant".
  
Once the full-first, structure alarm was called, responding firefighters reported seeing a "large header" coming from that direction while en route. Smoke was billowing out of the roof upon arrival and firefighters began an interior attack. It was originally thought to be a kitchen fire, but firefighters found little fire in the kitchen area. They then began pulling the ceiling to see if there was an attic fire only to find no flames of any significance in that space, either. Some time during this operation, a second alarm was called by the IC.
  
It was eventually determined that the fire was primarily located in the kitchen flue and had spread to the roof facade that surrounded the air conditioning units. With the roof being comprised of heavy Spanish tiles, there was fear of a collapse into the restaurant. Fire crews were ordered out of the structure and a defensive operation was begun.
  
At that time, a third alarm was struck for additional crews. John Whitaker, who was already en route to a meeting at the San Jose Fire Museum, responded to Station 6 only to find FSU-2 out of service. A quick phone call to John Whiteside was made, and he responded to Station 35 to bring FSU-3. Meanwhile, John Whitaker went to the fire and found new FASCV member Bill Roth already on scene. Eventually, members Len Williams and Mike Garcia also arrived to provide support. An informal rehab area was established and the firefighters were grateful for lots of cold drinks on an already warm day.
  
Here's a funny story: As things were winding down, John Whiteside was talking with BC-2 Patricia Tapia. She was describing the sequence of events as firefighters were trying to find the seat of the blaze. She said that crews entered the kitchen looking for flames and all they found was a pan piled high with breakfast meat. To which John Whiteside replied, "So, you can say that firefighters saved their bacon!" I wish I had thought of that...

 -- All reports submitted by John Whitaker

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