On Wed., March 30, at 11:30 A.M., John Whitaker had Fire Support Unit 2 out of the station to st retch its legs. It had been a while since the rig had been on a response -- and an even longer time since John had been on a response.
As a des tination, John headed over to SJFD Station 1 in downtown San Jose. But, as luck would have it, just as he arrived at the station, the dispatch radio crackled with the report of a warehouse fire in the area of Alma and S. 7th Street. A full first alarm was called and all of the Station 1 equipment responded as part of the dispatch.
John sat in FSU-2 at the rear of the station to see what the first-arriving units reported. The report came back that the fire was burning at the rear of the warehouse and a second alarm was called. John immediately headed for the location to see if Rehab support was needed. The actual location of the fire turned out to be more in the area of 1460 S. Monterey Hwy. -- just south of a new Walmart shopping center.
Once on scene, John contacted the Battalion 1 Chief and Med30 and it was decided that Rehab was not needed. While there, John was met by FASCV member Don Gilbert who arrived in his personal vehicle. He had been out shopping and noticed the smoke.
It turned out that the fire was actually a large trash fire along the railroad right of way at the rear of the building. Fire crews made quick work extinguishing the blaze. John stayed on scene until the crews were released and then headed back to Station 6.
-- Report submitted by John Whitaker
