A Spell of 3-Fires-In-1-Day Livens Up October

 
After a period of no activity during the middle of the month of October, that all changed for Fire Associates members on Sunday, October 28. Read on...

San Jose Condos:

Photo By Craig Allyn Rose

   
The San Jose Fire Department was the first to request our aid. During the early morning hours, a fire broke out in a garage complex attached to a row of seven, two-story condominiums. The first-arriving engine company reported that a garage was on fire at 3131 Creekside Drive in San Jose's Berryessa neighborhood. By the time the fire crew had positioned the engine and deployed their hose lines, the single garage fire had spread to 3 garages. A second alarm was immediately called and the increasing inferno eventually grew into a 4-alarm event. Only the two end-unit condos and garages escaped fire damage, but all units experienced some water or smoke damage.

Fire Associates was paged at 8:02 A.M. John Whitaker had been listening on his emergency scanner and immediately responded in Fire Support Unit 2. He was joined on scene by Ron Green, George Hoyt and Mike Chappell. Because the narrow streets in the area were lined with parked cars, fire apparatus were filling the streets when FSU 2 arrived on scene. The Support Unit was positioned several hundred yards from the Rehab location and all food and beverages had to be walked to the location.


Photo By John Whitaker

As the firefighting efforts wound down, Rehab became a very busy place. All four portable, 6-man benches (ours and the two off SJFD Med 30) were quickly filled with tired firefighters. A folding table was set up to serve coffee and nutrition bars with the coffee being made at the Support Unit and then transferred into air pots.
  
John returned FSU 2 to quarters at Station 6 just before noon.

• John's photos can be viewed at:  Creekside Condo Fire
       
• Craig Allyn Rose's photos are at:  4-Alarm Blaze
   
• A San Jose Mercury News story can be read at:  Townhouses Damaged by Fire

 -- Report submitted by John Whitaker

   
San Jose House Fire:
    
The day's second call for assistance came at 9:32 P.M., just as the San Francisco Giants were wrapping up their World Series sweep of the Detroit Tigers.
    
A house was on fire on San Jose's east side...and the 3-alarm fire was threatening to spread to adjacent structures. John Whiteside responded in FSU 3 and submitted this report:
    
"I was watching TV as the local team was celebrating its World Series championship, and listening to my fire scanner. The San Jose Fire Department was fighting a residential fire in east-central San Jose at 10292 Murtha Drive at South White Road. As the fire escalated in alarm levels, I prepared to respond to the scene with a Fire Support Unit. When the third alarm trigger was reached, I notified Sonitrol, our answering service, for the response page and responded to SJS Station 35 to take FSU 3 to the scene -- going en route at 2130 hours.
  

At the scene, I was joined by members Bruce Dembecki, Ron Green, George Hoyt and guest, Walter Huber. Bottled water, Gatorade, lemonade and CLIF bars and were provided, as well as 2 folding bench sets for the firefighters in Rehab. Around 2300 hours, some fire units on scene were re-dispatched to a minor fire at a local high school. FSU 3 was released and returned to quarters by 2330 hours."

• A KTVU.com story can be read at:  10 Displaced in House Fire 

-- Report submitted by John Whiteside

 

San Jose's 3rd Fire:



Photo By Craig Allyn Rose

On Monday morning, October 29, the third multi-alarm fire in San Jose in less than 24 hours occurred in a large, abandoned structure.  Located at 19600 Almaden Road, the fire consumed the former home of the Almaden Valley Gymnastics Club. Don Gilbert felt that it was his turn to take a support unit, so he drove Fire Support Unit 2 to its second fire of the day.

 

The very large, concrete tilt up structure was fully ablaze when fire crews arrived. The building had been abandoned since the successful Club had been disbanded in 2006 after 32 years of existence. A San Jose City redevelopment sign out in front of the property stated that the lot was to be the site of several new, single-family homes. Firefighters began an interior attack on the fire, but retreated after reporting swimming pools and several water-filled landing pits inside the building. A master stream off Truck 13 was set up in front of the building and hose lines were extended along the sides of the fire towards the rear. Although the exterior walls were concrete, the wide open floor area was spanned by large timbers that provided fuel to the fire and threatened to collapse as the incident progressed.

Photo By John Whitaker

    

Fire Associates set up on the shoulder of Almaden Road, directly in front of the incident. It was a very foggy, fall morning and firefighters enjoyed several pots of hot coffee. As the morning commute traffic picked up in the area, Rehab was broken down at approximately 8:30 A.M.

• John's photos can be viewed at:  Gym Club Fire
     
• Craig Allyn Rose's photos are at:  Almaden Road Fire
    
• An NBC Bay Area news story can be read at:  Former Club Burns

-- Report submitted by John Whitaker

   

FASCV Provides Assistance at Sunnyvale Blaze

 
At approximately 1:10 P.M. on Saturday, October 13, FASCV President Bob Gundrum was departing a shopping center at the intersection of Lawrence Expressway and Lakehaven Drive in Sunnyvale. Not normally something we write about in this blog, but when he observed a large column of smoke rising above the shopping center, it became an item of interest.
 
As Bob described the scene, "...1017 Lakehaven, a single-level single-family dwelling, was 3 lots north of the (shopping center) driveway and the garage area was well involved as I drove past. Noticing a hydrant on the corner of Lakehaven and Lakemuir, I parked well clear of the hydrant."
  

Photo By David Thompson

Bob immediately set about to provide some logistical assistance to the arriving fire crews.
 
A phone discussion with long-time FASCV member Len Williams indicated that the organization had been requested from the field and that Len would be bringing the support unit. In the meantime, members Dan Wong and Jerry Haag arrived and provided water that they had in their personal vehicles. FSU 1 did arrive on the scene and provided Rehab assistance until it was released at 4:20 P.M.
 
Sunnyvale fire apparatus on the scene were:

Engines - 1, 2, 4, 40, 5, 6 and 60
Trucks - 1 and 2
Rescue - 2
IC - Lt. A.J. Berrien (Battalion 20)
 
A special call was made for Santa Clara City Fire - Rescue 2 (for breathing support).
 
FASCV Members present were: Ron Green, Bob Gundrum, Jerry Haag, George Hoyt, Mike Wagner, Len Williams, Dan Wong and Guest, Walter Huber.
 
-- Report submitted by Bob Gundrum
 

FASCV Joins Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Relay

   

  
“What was all that noise?” ...that’s what many San Francisco Bay Area residents must have been saying as a caravan of emergency vehicles made their way up the Peninsula on Thursday, October 4th.
 
With “Code 3” lights and sirens blaring, a fleet of approximately 20 antique, classic and in-service emergency response vehicles joined the 23rd Annual Peninsula Firefighters Burn Relay. The event benefited the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation (AARBF). The non-profit organization is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life of burn survivors and promoting burn prevention education in the community.

Fire Support Units 1 and 2 are lined up next to a
Moffet Field Fire Battalion Chief vehicle.

Along the relay route, the Burn Foundation collected donations raised by local fire and public safety agencies. Money was raised through personal donations and annual community events, including golf tournaments, pancake breakfasts and spaghetti dinners. Stops were made at 16 fire stations in Santa Clara, San Mateo and San Francisco Counties.

Starting at 8:30 A.M., members of fire departments and emergency response agencies worked their way up the Peninsula. The convoy started at the Moffett Field Fire Department and traveled nearly 40 miles north, ending at the San Francisco Fire Department Training Center at the corner of 19th and Folsom. Fire Associates was asked by event organizers to join this year’s relay to provide cold water and Gatorade to the events’ participants. In response to this request, Fire Support Units 1 and 2 joined in the activities.

During the day, a light breakfast was served at the Moffett Field Fire Department, mid-morning refreshments were provided at the Menlo Park Fire Department, lunch was served at Foster City Fire Station No. 28, an ice cream social was held at Colma Fire Station No. 85, and dinner was provided by the San Francisco Black Firefighters Organization.

Burn Relay Emergency Vehicles proceed up The El Camino.

By the end of the relay, $66,125 was raised to support the many programs of the Southern California-based organization. Programs benefiting from these funds include the Foundation’s annual week-long residential camp for child burn survivors, Champ Camp.

Alisa Ann Ruch was a young Southern California girl who was burned over 97% of her body and lived only 5 weeks in the hospital. Following her death in 1971, her mother joined with firefighters and medical professionals to create a foundation to prevent burn injuries by teaching "Stop, Drop and Roll." Since the Foundation started, other burn-related services have been added not only in Southern California, but Northern and Central California as well.

For more information on the organization, please visit http://aarbf.org.

• John Whitaker's photos of the event can be viewed at:  2012 Burn Foundation Relay

  

PayPal Added to Fire Associates Donation Options

  

You may have noticed a change to the left-hand column of the Fire Associates blog (when viewing on a computer).
 
Fire Associates has added a PayPal account to the available options for donating to our all-volunteer organization. Donors can now contribute to FASCV using a credit card through the PayPal link on our blog.
 
When on your computer, scroll down our blog page and you'll see the "Donate" button on the left. Mobile device viewers must scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the "View Web Version" link.
   
Give it a try, if you wish (we never turn down donations!).
  
As the donor, you will receive an e-mail confirming the details of the donation. This will serve as your tax record. Remember, FASCV is a non-profit, tax deductible organization per Federal tax code, Section 501(c)4.
 
As the PayPal client, FASCV will receive an e-mail notifying us of the donation and confirming the transfer of money to FASCV's checking account.
 
Thanks goes to our Blogmaster, John Whitaker and Treasurer, Cliff Smith for working on this donation option.
 

Firefighters Tackle A Structure Fire On A Very Hot Day

   

Photo By John Whitaker

The members of Fire Associates don't get too many requests for assistance at fires that involve small, detached sheds. But, on this very hot, hot, hot day, the 1:46 P.M. call for our help on Wednesday, Oct. 3 made perfect sense.
 
With temperatures hovering right around the 100-degree mark, the fire quickly spread to a near-by perimeter fence, power pole and palm tree. The fire involved structures behind two residences at 5180 and 5190 Leigh Ave. - near its intersection with Los Gatos Almaden Road.
    
John Whiteside was listening to the incident on his emergency scanner and called San Jose Fire Dispatch to see if FASCV could be of assistance in Rehab. The reply from the IC was "Yes", so John responded in Fire Support Unit 3 and then put out a page that he was going to the fire. Responding to that message were FASCV members George Hoyt and John Whitaker.
   

Photo By John Whitaker

Rehab was set up on Leigh Ave. just across the wide street from the fire's location. Before FSU-3 arrived, firefighters had already staked out a Rehab site on a lawn area under a large tree. The cool grass and adequate shade provided a perfect rest area for hot and weary crews. Cold water, lemonade and Gatorade were high on the list of priorities as rehydration became a primary concern. In addition to these liquids, firefighters also enjoyed some banana bread provided the the homeowner at the Rehab location.  
   
Complicating the overhaul process was the fire's proximity to Leigh High School. Located across the intersection from the fire, students were leaving the school shortly after the fire began and had to be steered around the rehab area. This, in addition to parents driving into the area to pick up their students, made traffic control a little more challenging than usual. Fire Associates members broke from their usual Rehab duties and assisted with the traffic situation.

FSU-3 was released from service at approximately 4:15 P.M.

• John Whitaker's photos can be viewed at:  Leigh Ave. Fire

-- Report Submitted By John Whitaker
  

Milpitas Kitchen Fire Causes Fire Associates Response

   
It was Tuesday morning, October 2, when the Milpitas Fire Department put out a request for Fire Associates. Located at 456 N Abbott Avenue, an apparent stove top fire had spread into the kitchen cabinets and up into the attic space. Don Gilbert responded to the 10:12 A.M. call in Fire Support Unit 2. He was joined on scene by FASCV member Dan Wong.

Don reported that the fire probably would have stayed at a single alarm had it not been for the very warm weather. The Santa Clara Valley has been going through a spell of very hot weather and temperatures were climbing as the sun rose in the sky on this early Fall morning. Fire crews were hot and tired when cold water and Gatorade were provided in the Rehab area. Milpitas and Fremont fire crews were on hand to attack the 2-alarm blaze.

• A Milpitas Patch news story can be read at:  Milpitas Kitchen Fire

   

Warehouse Burns to the Ground in San Jose

  

Photo By John Whitaker

The last week of September continued to be busy for Fire Associates as we were called to a warehouse fire north of downtown San Jose. The request for help came from San Jose Fire Department dispatchers at 2:45 P.M. on Saturday, September 29. The 2-alarm fire was burning in a warehouse at 435 E. Hedding Street. Don Gilbert and John Whitaker responded in Fire Support Unit 2 while FASCV members Jerry Haag, George Hoyt, Mike Wagner, Dan Wong and guest, Walter Huber, met them on scene.

The warehouse was fully involved when firefighters arrived and the firefighting effort went defensive immediately. Truck 30 set up a master stream on the east side of the warehouse while Truck 1 set up their "stick" on the west side. From that point on, it was a matter of flooding the seemingly abandoned Allied Container Corporation warehouse and protecting some nearby apartment complexes. Complicating the effort was a Union Pacific railroad line on the west side of the structure and a rail siding on the east side.
    

Photo By John Whitaker

An informal rehab area was set up on N. 10th Street with cold water and Gatorade in demand. Although the effort was defensive, firefighters were hot and tired on a very warm afternoon. With the structure mostly burned to the ground, very little overhaul was required and rehab was broken down and FSU-2 released shortly after 4:00 P.M.

• John Whitaker's photos can be viewed at:  2-Alarm Warehouse Fire  
     
• A San Jose Mercury News story can be read at:  San Jose Warehouse Burns

-- Report Submitted by John Whitaker
  

Third San Jose Fire In Four Days Keeps Fire Associates Busy

  

Photo By Craig Allyn Rose

In a neighborhood where all of the homes have cedar shake roofs, the almost inevitable fire is bound to happen. That was the case on the morning of Friday, September 28, when a house fire at 1689 Mulberry Lane caused a 2-alarm response from the San Jose Fire Department. A fire that possibly began in either the attic space or on the roof was threatening to spread to adjoining homes when the first firefighters arrived on scene.
   
With that threat, and a fully involved wood shake roof ablaze, a second alarm was quickly called. At the same time, a response from Fire Associates was also requested. Don Gilbert responded in Fire Support Unit 2 while John Whitaker immediately headed to the scene. They were later joined by George Hoyt, Dan Wong, Bruce Dembecki and FASCV guest, Walter Huber.
     
Although the involved home was heavily damaged, a Herculean effort by firefighters kept the fire from spreading into the neighborhood of upscale, single-story, ranch-style homes. After an initial search, it was determined that all occupants were out of the house. At that point, crews could concentrate on extinguishing the blazing roof and protecting the exposures. Many tired and dirty firefighters passed through the Rehab area as the fire evolved into overhaul mode.
   

Photo By John Whitaker

Fire Support Unit 2 was able to set up directly in front of the residence and Rehab was established in a neighbor's semi-circular driveway. Upon arrival of FSU-2, benches were the first item to be set up followed by tables for coffee service and a few dozen bagels provided by an off-duty fireman. With the fire call coming in an hour before 8:00 A.M. shift change, no one had eaten breakfast before being called to the scene. And, judging by the very crowded Rehab area, the food was well-appreciated.
  
With only a few fire crews remaining on scene for final overhaul and awaiting board-up, Rehab was broken down shortly after 10:00 A.M. and FSU-2 returned to quarters at SJFD Station 6.

• John Whitaker's photos can be seen at:  Mulberry Lane Fire
     
• A San Jose Mercury News article can be read at:  Homeowners Escape Fire

- Report Submitted by John Whitaker
  

San Jose Calls 2nd Alarm for Mobile Home Fire

 

Photo By Juan Diaz

The San Jose Fire Department once again requested service from Fire Associates on Thursday, September 27. The 5:00 P.M. call was for assistance at a mobile home fire in the Magic Sands park at 165 Blossom Hill Road. The 2-alarm fire was located just 2 blocks from SJFD Station 35, the "home" of Fire Support Unit 3. John Whiteside brought FSU-3 to the fire scene where he was met by FASCV member John Whitaker. Also arriving were George Hoyt, Dan Wong and Walter Huber (guest).

The fire was burning in the rear bedroom of a double-wide mobile home in Space 125 on Oasis Drive. First-arriving fire units reported flames rolling out of the rear bedroom windows. There was immediate exposure concerns as another mobile home on the "Charlie" side of the fire was being threatened. Firefighters made good progress in keeping the fire confined to the rear of the structure and minimizing damage to the adjacent home.

Photo By John Whitaker

Fire Associates established an informal rehab area at the intersection of Oasis Drive and Bagdad Way - directly across from the fire's location. On a warm, early Fall day, firefighters were glad to have some cold lemonade, water and Gatorade to quench their thirst. Clif Bars were also provided until rehab was broken down shortly after 7:00 P.M.

• John Whitaker's photos can be viewed at:  Magic Sands Fire
     
• A San Jose Mercury News story is at:  5 Occupants Displaced

-- Report Submitted by John Whitaker
  

FASCV "Johnny-On-the-Spot" at San Jose Blaze

    

Photo By John Whitaker

(Note: The following is a first-hand report from "The Blogmaster" John Whitaker. The following is, for lack of a better term, the anatomy of a Fire Associates response. Many readers of this blog may not be aware of the coordination needed during the execution of our tasks. If you fall into that category, this should prove interesting.)
 
On the evening of Tuesday, September 25, I was sitting at my computer doing some work. As is typical of many Fire Associates members, I was monitoring the fire radio channels quietly on my emergency scanner as I worked. The time was 7:09 P.M. and I was just about to go downstairs to prepare some dinner.
   
Usually, the "noise" of the scanner is just in the background, but, all of a sudden, I heard some key information:
  
"Engine 31, Engine 24, Engine 11, Truck 16 and Battalion 2, a garage fire at 3156 Midhurst Court. Report of a garage on fire with possible people trapped."
 
Well, that got my attention because those three engine companies all respond into my Evergreen neighborhood. I immediately went to my upstairs window, looked to the north, and there (about a mile away) was a large column of smoke with a tell-tail orange glow at the base. Since, this was the condition right at the time of the dispatch, I knew that this was going to be a serious fire!

I returned to my computer and sent out a "heads up" message to all Fire Associates drivers giving the location of the incident and alerting them to the possibility of a response. I then changed clothes into my normal response "uniform" and headed for my car. Several minutes had passed by this time and I could hear Engine 11's siren as they responded down San Felipe Road from their nearby station.


Photo By John Whitaker

As I drove towards the fire, I could see other responding SJFD units arriving at the scene ahead of me. By this time, the battalion chief had put out a Second Alarm request due to the "smoke showing" report from several fire rigs that were en route. Traffic was heavy because, between my house and the incident, was Evergreen Valley Community College and a medium-size shopping center. As I was responding, FASCV member John Whiteside phoned me and said that he was standing by and would bring Fire Support Unit 3 in case we were need.
 
I decided to approach the fire from the neighborhood to the east of the incident as I anticipated that most fire equipment would be coming into the scene off San Felipe Rd., to the west. As I turned the corner at San Felipe Road and Delta Road, flames were licking over the pre-fab concrete wall that separated the burning home from the sidewalk along Delta. It was hot as I drove quickly by!
  
I parked my car about a block away from the fire and immediately sought out Battalion 2, who, on this A-shift evening, was Chuck Rangel. I asked Chuck if he wanted a support unit and the reply was, "Yes." I then called John Whiteside and told him to respond.
  
At this point, I went looking for Med30, Mike Van Elgort, to find out the location of Rehab. Mike was very busy statusing the health condition of the home's occupants and asked me to scout out a suitable location. I found a spot on the corner of Midhurst Court and Midhurst Way and coordinated the location with Med30 and the Rural-Metro EMS crews who had responded. That's right - "crews" - plural. Early reports had the possibility of 4 occupants trapped in the home, so a request for an EMS task force was made by the IC. That brought several EMS units and a Rural-Metro supervisor. As it turned out, several residents were home, but all made it out safely on their own.
  

Photo By John Whitaker

At this point, there was not much more I could do besides waiting for the arrival of the FSU. So, being the "Blogmaster", I started taking photos for use in this article. It was an interesting scene with a lot of fire equipment packed into a cramped little cul-de-sac. First-arriving firefighters had made a good knockdown by this time and the fire was not nearly as spectacular as it had been early on. The home had a 30-year-old wood shake roof and a very large attic space that was filled with lots of stored items. This all made for a heavy fuel load for the fire.
  
By the time the support unit arrived, FASCV guest Walter Huber was on scene and we were joined later by members George Hoyt and Mike Chappel. We got to work quickly and made a couple of pots of coffee and put out cold water and Gatorade along with our usual Clif Bars. As the crews were leaving, many took advantage of our "provisions" and expressed their gratitude for our presence.
  
With only one fire rig remaining on scene for "Fire Watch", rehab was disbanded at approximately 10:00 PM. We all left and I returned home to finally have some of that dinner I was going to prepare.

• John's photos can be viewed at:  Midhurst House Fire
     
• John's video can be viewed at:  Midhurst Fire Video
   
• A San Jose Mercury News story and ABC7 video can be seen at:  Family Displaced By Fire

-- Report submitted by John Whitaker