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At approximately 8:00 P.M. on the longest day of the year, FASCV was paged by the San Jose Fire Department to a 3-alarm house fire near the intersection of Curtner and Meridian. Located at 2417 and 2425 Westpark Drive, the fire actually involved 2 houses. Apparently starting in the yard between the two structures, the fire spread to the fences and then got under the eaves of both buildings. Not helping the firefighting effort was the heavy shake roof of one of the houses.
Although reporterd to be a 2-alarm fire, because of the very hot weather, a third alarm was called so Engine 17 could provide downwind "bran patrol". With the day's temperature down just a little from the triple-digit high, firefighters were glad to have some of FASCV's lemonade on hand. Bottles and bottles of water were also consumed. On hand for FASCV were members Don Gilbert (who brought Support Unit 2), Fred Oehm, George Hoyt and your "Blog Master", John Whitaker. After extensive overhaul, FASCV was released shortly after 10:30 P.M.
News stories can be read at: KTVU News and CBS5 News
John Whitaker's photos are at: SJS - Westpark Drive Fire
At the June meeting, it was decided by the FASCV membership that the monthly meeting for July should be canceled. Concerns were raised about the date's (Thurs., July 3) close proximity to the Fourth of July Holiday. The next monthly meeting will be held on Thurs., August 7. Watch this blog for details.
On Wednesday evening, May 21, Fire Associates was paged by San Jose Fire to a tier-3 grass fire. Located near the intersection of East Capital Expwy. and Tuers Road. Responding to the 5:20 P.M. page were Don Gilbert and John Whiteside in Support Unit 2. Also on scene were FASCV members George Hoyt, Mike Chappell and John Whitaker. The fire burned an area south of Capital Expressway and was spread quickly by strong winds. San Jose Fire, with the help of Cal Fire and Copter 106 had the fire under control within two hours. Fire Associates helped with the ordering, pick-up and delivery of pizzas to hungry firefighters that responded to the dinner-hour event.
To see John Whitaker's photos, go to this link: Tier-3 Grass Fire
On Monday, May 19, John Whitaker and John Whiteside brought Support Unit 2 to a Community Service/Fire Safety Presentation for the Second Graders at Sakamoto Elementary School. The school is located at 6280 Shadelands Drive. John Whitaker arranged for the program with Engineer Rob Cone and Capt. J.P. Santos of San Jose Station 12. Station 12 is the first-due company for Sakamoto School.
John's wife, Liz Whitaker, had taught at Sakamoto for 34 years when she retired in June, 2006 (Liz's first day of teaching was the same day Sakamoto opened it's doors for the very first time). Now, a close family friend is retiring from teaching 2nd Grade at Sakamoto after 25 years of service. As a gesture of appreciation, John arranged for Engine 12 and Patrol 12 to come to the school playground and make a special presentation to all four Second Grade classes. Second Graders learn about the fire department and fire safety as part of their Social Studies curriculum.
Capt. Santos and his crew gave two, 25-minute presentations on fire safety that were well-received by the students. At the end of the program, all the children got to climb through the Engine, try on a fire turnout coat and were given a cup of lemonade by the Fire Associates Support Unit. While John Whiteside dispensed the drinks, John Whitaker talked about the importance of the service provided by Fire Associates. After sitting in the hot sun for 25 minutes, the children got to see first hand how refreshing a cup of lemonade can be to the firefighters.
Photos of the event can be seen at: Sakamoto School Photos.
Sunday, May 18 was a busy day for Fire Associates and the San Jose Fire Department. Read on...
"The Villages" - It started off at about 11:30 A.M. with a 4-Alarm fire at a retirement complex in the Evergreen district of the city. First reported as a "Precautionary First Alarm", the fire actually fully-involved 4 units of an 8-unit building. Your Blogmaster (ever on the spot) lives just a few blocks from the sprawling retirement community and quickly noticed a large column of smoke immediately after the first dispatch. John Whiteside was called on the phone to be ready to "saddle up", while John Whitaker headed to the fire scene. Whitaker arrived at 5028 Cribari Vale just behind the 2nd-in engine and took some spectacular photos (view here) before calling Whiteside to inform him that this was "the real deal!" John Whiteside brought Support Unit 2 and FASCV members Mike Chappell and Brian Woodson also arrived on scene. Firefighters worked hard to contain the major damage to the 4-plexes where the fire began, limiting the extent of the fire in the other half of the building to minimal fire damage in the attic space and water damage. Unfortunately, as reported in the SJ Mercury News, the fire resulted in the death of the occupant of the unit where the fire started.
Creek Estates Court - While on scene at "The Villages", firefighters in Rehab noticed a large column of smoke coming from a neighborhood just outside the complex's main gate. Fire units that had just been released from the 4-alarmer, quickly made their way to the address on Creek Estates Court to find the fence and side of the garage fully involved. It was odd to see Engine 3 and Truck 303 as the first-in equipment. They are a downtown-based station, but had been called to "The Villages" and became the primary equipment on this second fire -- way out of their normal response area. John Whitaker voluntarily left from "The Villages" fire in his private vehicle to provide these 1st-alarm crews with much-needed relief on a very hot day. All of these crews had just worked a 4-alarm fire and had not yet made it into rehab. Early impressions were that the Creek Estates fire looked serious, so Brian Woodson left "The Villages" to retrieve Support Unit 3 from its base at Station 26 on Tully Rd. When the Creek Estates fire was quickly doused, Brian brought the support unit back to "The Villages". John Whitaker's photos of this fire can be seen at: Creek Estates Ct. Fire.
Tier 2 Grass Fire - At 4:35 P.M., shortly after Brian Woodson arrived back at "The Villages" with Support Unit 3, San Jose Fire called a Tier 2 for a grass fire near a mobile home park on Old Oakland Rd. at Bern Ct. Brian and Mike Chappell responded from the Evergreen district to this fire way out in the north-central portion of the city. Brian and Mike provided much-needed service to the fire crews who had a difficult time containing the fire to an area along Coyote Creek and some surrounding grass and brush. The fire was adjacent to the San Jose Municipal Golf Course.
And now for the fourth fire of the day in San Jose!!!
6247 Solomon Court - At about 6:30 P.M., while John Whiteside was returning Support Unit 2 to Station 26, San Jose Fire crews were called to 6247 Solomon Court in the southern part of the city. This 3-alarm fire involved a large 2-story home -- the front of which was fully involved when the first equipment arrived, according to a San Jose Mercury News story. Fortunately, John was only one block from the station when the called was dispatched. "Fortunate" because his supplies were totally depleted from the two previous Evergreen-area fires. He quickly restocked, and headed out to the Blossom Valley district. Brian Woodson and Mike Chappell eventually joined John when their Support Unit 3 was released from the tier fire. FASCV members Don Gilbert and Jill Levy were also on scene to lend support. Most of the fire crews working this fire had either been on the earlier tier fire or had been at "The Villages" location. It was after 11:00 P.M. before John returned home. That is a long day in the hot sun!
On Wednesday, May 7, at 11:36 AM, Fire Associates was paged to a fire at "The Atrium". Located at 1009 Blossom River Way in San Jose, "The Atrium" is a independent living and supportive services apartment facility for seniors. The fire eventually went to a 4th alarm with mutual aide being supplied by Santa Clara County Fire.
With John Whiteside arriving in Support Unit 2, Fire Associates set up a rehab area in a portion of the facility's parking lot. Fortunately, the area was shaded by some large trees. Although not a hot day, it was sunny and the firefighters appreciated the shade with the mid-afternoon sun beating down. The fire began in a laundry area, but quickly spread through the walls and had to be "chased down" by fire crews. This required some heavy overhaul work in very smokey hallways.
Fire Associates had a very good turnout of members. This was helpful as we not only served a large amount of lemonade, but also were asked to deliver and serve Togo's sandwiches to fire crews and a larger than usual number of AMR workers. FASCV members also walked the perimeter of the large facility with water and lemonade that were served out of portable coolers.
A link to the SJ Mercury News story is at: The Atrium Evacuated.
A link to John Whitaker's Photos is at: The Atrium.
Fire Associates was paged at 5:13 A.M. on Friday morning to a 4-alarm warehouse fire. Located at 850 Faulstich Ct., the large, metal building was a total loss. An unfortunate occurrence during the firefight was the discovery of a body shortly before sunrise.
This was one fire where Rehab was well-staffed by FASCV members. First on the scene were FASCV members Jerry Haag and John Whitaker, who were able to guide two Fire Support Units into the scene. Arriving in Support Unit 2 was Mike Chappell and arriving with Support Unit 3 were Don Gilbert and John Whiteside. All the help was necessary as the early morning hours meant that coffee and donuts were in great demand by the firefighters. Extra cookies were also provided by a nearby bakery outlet and, eventually, FASCV members delivered and served breakfast burritos.
Supporting on-scene FASCV members in spirit was Len Williams, who provided this e-mailed observation:
"It went to a 4th, but the 4th-alarm companies, consisting of a box-alarm assignment from the city of Santa Clara, went to staging at nearby SJFD Sta. 5.
I heard it come in (on my scanner) straight from the top. I've been getting up extraordinarily early for the past week (with another 10 days to go until Apr. 15), so I was up when it came in as a report of a warehouse on fire in the area of Oakland Rd. and Gish.
The first alarm companies called for a 2nd alarm almost immediately.
While on my way into the office, shortly before 6:00 a.m., I heard the San Jose news radio station air unit saying that it was pretty spectacular from where they were." FASCV members were on scene until after the noon hour.
News stories can be viewed at: NBC11 and SJ Merc-News
John Whitaker's photos of the fire can be seen at: SJS - Warehouse Fire
A large group of members and guests was on hand for the April Monthly Meeting. Held at the San Jose Fire Museum, the members were greeted by our host, retired SJFD Asst. Fire Chief, John McMillan. Chief McMillan was our guest at the December Monthly Meeting, so, on this night, he provided an update on what has transpired since December.
The Museum is currently making a concerted effort to acquire San Jose's old Station No. 1. If successful, plans are to make that the new home of the San Jose Fire Museum. The current status is that the Museum continues to gain support from political leaders, former political leaders, developers, builders and a variety of community associations. There are several large hurdles yet to overcome, but the feeling is that the building will be saved from the wrecking ball.
After the presentation, members discussed a full agenda of club business, and then they were able to roam through the 16,000 sq. ft. warehouse to view the large collection of antique and classic apparatus and firefighting memorabilia. A good time must have been had by all as the last few members didn't leave until almost 10:00 PM!
The FASCV would like to thank Chief McMillan for opening up the museum to our members and hopes that this meeting might become an annual event.
Let's do this one more time!
The fourth FASCV response of the day (and the third for Santa Clara County Fire) was for a fire in the upstairs bedroom of a duplex. Located at 103 El Porton, Los Gatos, the fire was quickly knocked down by arriving firefighters.
FASCV was paged to the scene at 9:46 P.M. with John Whiteside again driving Support Unit 2. This time, he was met by John Whitaker who directed him into the scene. The fire was located within the "Rinconada Hills" gated community with lots of narrow roadways - some of which were blocked by 5-inch hoselines. Once set up, FASCV dispensed the beverage of choice - hot coffee. The evening was cold, firefighters were wet, and this was the third fire of the day for some of the crew. FASCV was released shortly after 12:45 A.M. - Sunday!
The Los Gatos Observer's news story can be read at: "Fire Destroys Townhouse".
John Whitaker's third set of photos for the day are at: CNT - Los Gatos Duplex.
For the third time in less than 24 hours, FASCV responded to a multi-alarm fire. This time, we were requested at approximately 2:09 P.M. by Santa Clara County Fire for a 2-alarmer in Los Gatos. Located at 805 University, Unit H, the fire involved a business named PupGear - a primarily web-based business located in a small, strip mall warehouse.
John Whiteside arrived in Support Unit 2 to find that FASCV members Don Gilbert, Jerry Haag, George Hoyt and John Whitaker were already on scene awaiting his arrival. Arriving firefighters had to cut through a 12x15 roll-up door to gain access to the fire. Once inside, the fire was hard to fight as it was primarily located in the ceiling space and then eventually spread to flats of cardboard shipping boxes. Once the fire was knocked down, FASCV provided lemonade, water and Cliff Bars to weary fire department personnel. Most of the command staff and some of the firefighters had already been at the earlier Campbell fire.
The Los Gatos Observer's news story can be viewed at: "Los Gatos Business Fire"
John Whitaker's photos can be viewed at: CNT - PupGear
