Fire Support Unit 1 Responds to Mountain View Blaze

Photo By Mike Garcia

  
Date and Time: April 23, 2015, 3:03 A.M.
Agency: Mountain View Fire
Incident Address: 728 Lola Lane, Mountain View
Type: Full First Alarm
 
Details: 

Small, single-story, single-family frame dwelling. Fire was showing at the back of the building upon arrival of first-due Engine 52. Initial size-up revealed fire in the back room of the house already vented and involving a large eucalyptus tree. Engine 52 made an attack with a 1-3/4-inch line and Engine 51, which arrived second-due, stretched a large-diameter supply line to Engine 52 from a hydrant about 150’ away, then took another line off Engine 52. Ultimately, Engine 52 pumped four lines. Initial attack was offensive and took into account the report of an occupant in the building. Once the victim was found to be expired, the attack shifted to defensive. Exploding ammunition and a report of gun powder in the building made things even more exciting for a while. Jerry Haag was monitoring the initial radio report and got up and went to the scene with bottled water in his POV anticipating that the hard-working crews would need at least that much Rehab. Once arrived, he consulted with the IC about the need for more extensive rehab. The Chief agreed and Jerry phoned Mike Garcia with a request that he roll Unit 1. Unit 1 arrived in about 30 minutes and Dan Wong later arrived with donuts, which got a good reception from the firefighters and a chuckle from Deputy Chief Juan Diaz. Unit 1 was released from the scene at 0600 hours.
 
Agency Responders:
MTV: E-51, 52, 53, 54; T-51; R-51; Batt-51 (Custodio-IC); 18A3
PAF: T-66; Batt-66 

FASCV Responding Unit: FSU-1.
FASCV Responders: Mike Garcia (driver), Jerry Haag, and Dan Wong.

• Mike's photos can be viewed at:  Mountain View Fire

-- Report submitted by Jerry Haag

Saratoga Building Rendered Uninhabitable After 3-Alarm Blaze

   

Photo by Bruce Dembecki

Date and Time:  April 19, 2015, 1016 hours
Agency: Santa Clara County Fire
Incident Address: 20810 4th St., Saratoga
Type: Three Alarms
 
Details: Two-story, four-unit residential building in a fairly large complex. Restricted access, and proximity of nearby exposed building and trees presented a challenge to arriving units. E-73 was first–in. E-78 laid a long 5-in. water supply line to E-73 and took off the second attack line while T-71 opened the roof. E-73 ended up serving one 2-1/2-in. and two 1-3/4-in. lines.  The fire, which originated in a second-floor unit, ultimately involved the roof space. Building will not be habitable for quite some time. There was no damage to exposures or trees.
 
Agency Responders:
SNC: E-71, 72, 73, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82; T-71, 74, 85; R-73, 83; HM-72; Batts-72, 73, 83 (Falarski-IC)
SJS: T-14 (cancelled en route)
 
FASCV Responding Unit: FSU-1. Arrived: 1100; Released 1300.
FASCV Responders: Bruce Dembecki, Mike Garcia (driver), Jerry Haag, Dan  Wong, and Quinn Dembecki (guest).

• Bruce Dembecki's photos can be viewed at:  Saratoga Blaze

-- Report submitted by Jerry Haag

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.

• John Whitaker's photos can be viewed at:  Vegetation Fire

    
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...

• John Whitaker's photos can be viewed at:  Jimmy's Fire
     
• An NBC BayArea news video can be viewed at:  Fire at Jimmy's

 -- All reports submitted by John Whitaker

Fire Associates Members Respond for Meal Service at San Jose Blaze

  

On Sunday, March 29, before 1400 hours, San Jose Fire Dispatch saw the need for Fire Associates' support at a fire in East San Jose. Because it was not a multi-alarm incident, FASCV members had not been paged to this incident. A few Fire Associates members were contacted by telephone in an effort to get someone to respond with 40 meals to the police/fire scene.
  
Don Gilbert was one of this handful of people called. He answered and replied he would respond. At this point, Don called John Whiteside and they picked up Fire Support Unit 2 around 1530 and drove to the area of Eastridge Mall to pick up the meals from a local Togo's sandwich shop. 
  
The event was at 1394 Mocho Court near the cross street of Flory Drive, just a few minutes drive from Eastridge Mall. While FSU-2 was en route, the scene was rendered safe. So, upon their arrival, Don and John set up a rehab area for meal service. In the meantime, the garage fire was extinguished and grateful police, medical, and fire personnel enjoyed a sandwich and drink. They thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to sit in the shade on a warm day. 

  

FSU-2 was released at 1520 and returned to SJS Station 6 for restocking.  

  

-- Report submitted by John Whiteside

House Fire In Milpitas Requires Two Alarms

    

Photo by John Whitaker

Late Tuesday morning, March 24, the Milpitas Fire Department responded to a house fire in a residential neighborhood just north of Dixon Rd. Located at 186 Autrey Street, first reports of the fire came in shortly before 10:50 A.M. The blaze was described as burning in the roof and attic space of the house.

First arriving fire crews from Station 86 found flames rolling out of the structure and a large column of smoke was visible. Since a "full structure response" pretty much involves all of Milpitas' fire apparatus, a second alarm was called for additional manpower and station backfill. Units from San Jose and Fremont responded to fill out that need. Milpitas Fire Department spokesman, Sean Simonson, said the cause of the fire is under investigation, but that nobody was trapped in the structure, there were no injuries, and anyone who was inside the single-family home was able to get out safely.

With the second alarm request, Fire Associates members were paged to the scene. Mike Garcia went to get Fire Support Unit 1 while John Whitaker left his home to go directly to the scene. Once at the fire, John was able to status the need for rehab with BC Jason Schoonover. A location for the support unit was scouted out, and when Mike arrived, rehab was quickly set up with a table, benches, drinks and snacks. As it became obvious that the extensive overhaul operation was going to extend into the lunch hour, Milpitas PIO Sean Simonson arranged for sandwiches to be delivered. They were quickly consumed by tired and grateful firefighters.

In the category of "find a job and fill it", John and Mike spent part of their time protecting a 2-inch hose line that had been laid from a hydrant on Arizona Ave. to the fire scene. Although cones had been put out, vehicles were constantly driving over the brand new fire hose. John and Mike were able to protect the line by getting drivers to make u-turns and take an alternate route.

As the operation wound down, and hose lines were picked up, FASCV was released from the scene at approximately 1:45 P.M.

• John's photos can be viewed at this link:  Autrey St. Fire
     
• A San Jose Mercury News story can be read at:  2-alarm Fire in Milpitas

-- Report Submitted by John Whitaker

San Jose Fire Responds to 3-Alarm Garage Blaze Near Downtown

    

Photo from San Jose Fire Department

On a damp and chilly mid-winter day, the San Jose Fire Department called for a structure response on North 9th Street near the city's downtown. The fire was burning to the rear of 229 N. 9th Street. First-arriving fire crews found a garage and multiple cars already fully involved.

   

With the fire going strong in the detached garage, the flames began to invade the 2-story house and firefighters had their hands full keeping it out of the Victorian-style structure. At the same time, the fire was also spreading to the two adjacent garages or sheds. A second alarm was called, followed by a precautionary third alarm because of the close proximity to century-old wood buildings.

   

With the third alarm, Fire Associates responded with Fire Support Unit 2. Driven by FASCV member John Whitaker, the Support Unit arrived on scene at approximately 11:00 AM. John was met by Bruce Dembecki and Mike Garcia who had already scouted out a location for Rehab across the street from the involved structure. They were also joined on scene later by FASCV member George Hoyt.

    

Photo by John Whitaker

Cold drinks and Clif Bars were quickly set out and it wasn't long before the IC requested for sandwiches to be ordered as the lunch hour was quickly approaching. Bruce and Mike went to a downtown Togo's location to pick up the meals and returned to find tired and hungry firefighters awaiting their arrival. The 45 sandwiches and assorted chips were greatly appreciated by the crews working overhaul.

    

Of course, as luck would have it, it began to rain heavily just as the lunches arrived. The serving table was quickly moved to a location under a nearby shade tree along with the portable benches and ice chests full of drinks. It was close quarters as everyone huddle out of the rain.

    

After everyone had been fed and the operation was winding down, FSU-2 was released back to quarters at approximately 2:00 P.M.

• John's photos can be viewed at:  3-Alarm Downtown Blaze
      
• A San Jose Mercury News story can be read at:  Downtown Garage Burns
       
• An NBC Bay Area report with photos and video can be viewed at:  3-Alarm Garage Fire

-- Report submitted by John Whitaker

New Radio Fund - $7,500 Remaining to Reach Our Goal

  

The conversion of Santa Clara County fire agencies to the new 700MHZ digital trunked systems is starting. Santa Clara City Fire and Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety will be the first to go to this system. As additional agencies convert, Fire Associates rig radios will be rendered obsolete. For safety and operational reasons, we must be able to communicate with our served agencies.
   
Previously, we have had surplus radios donated to us by various agencies or have funded them from our own resources.  However, surplus radios are not available and new dual-band replacement radios for our four rigs will cost nearly $20,000.
   
We cannot fund that cost from current assets without seriously depleting our reserve funds. As a result, the Board of Directors has established the FASCV Radio Fund. Donations from members, firefighters, agencies, and benefactors will be greatly appreciated.
  
Currently, our fund raising total stands at $12,500.00.
  
Checks should be made payable to "FASCV" with a notation in the memo field indicating “Radio Fund” and sent to the attention of Cliff Smith,1307 S. Mary Ave., Ste. 250, Sunnyvale, CA 94087-3071. 
  
Donations may also be made by PayPal and additional mechanisms available at our web site: http://www.fascv.org/Donate.html. 
    

Fire Associates Responds to Sunnyvale House Fire

  
Date and Time: 02-24-2015, 0505 hours

Agency: Sunnyvale Public Safety

Incident Address: 1383 Fisherhawk Drive, Sunnyvale

Type: Two Alarms

  

Photo by Mike Garcia

Details: Approximately 1400 sq. ft. single-story, single-family dwelling. Patrol units responding to report of smoke smell in the neighborhood discovered a well-developed fire. Fire units arrived to a fire already venting through the roof. Large diameter hand lines and one elevated stream were deployed defensively. A nearby dwelling on the “B” exposure was starting to catch at the eaves but the fire was quickly knocked down and that structure sustained minimal damage. Later, a fatality was discovered in the structure of origin.

  

Agency Responders: 
SNY: E-41, 42, 43, 44, 243, 244; T-41,42; R-42; Batt-42 (Ahearn-IC) 
SNC: E-95, 97 (station fill)

MTV: E-54 (station fill)

   

FASCV Responding Unit: FSU-1. Arrived: 0615; Released 1300.

FASCV Responders: Bruce Dembecki, Mike Garcia (driver), Bob Gundrum, and Jerry Haag

   

-- Report submitted by Jerry Haag

5-Alarm Valentines Day Blaze Destroys Industrial Buildings

Photo By Craig Allyn Rose

Not exactly a "Valentines Day Massacre"... but, it was a "Valentines Day Conflagration!"

  

On this Valentines Day, Saturday, Feb. 14, Engine 5 was not only the first due Engine, but also the "reporting party" at a blaze not far from their station. Upon noticing a column of heavy smoke showing from their fire station, the crew requested a full first alarm dispatch. Shortly after arrival, a second alarm was requested.

  

Once on scene at 1039 Commercial Court, Engine 5 firefighters made a 2-1/2” hand line attack into the building backed up by second arriving Engine 16. Engine 1 was third arriving and initiated attack at the opposite end of the building.

   

Faced with a heavy fire loading and nearby exposures to similar large buildings on two sides, the IC declared a defensive operation and requested a third alarm -- followed shortly after by a request for a fourth alarm. The 3rd alarm request resulted in a page being sent to Fire Associates less than 20 minutes after Engine 5 first saw the smoke column.

  

Hand-line and deck gun attacks continued and two aerial streams were put into operation. At 8:47 A.M., the fifth and final alarm was requested. Special calls were made for HazMat units because of the nature of the occupancy and the large amount of fire water run-off.

 

The need for heavy overhaul was made necessary by the large amounts of combustible upholstery and other materials stored throughout the building.

 

Fire Associates Support Unit 2 provided Rehab services to personnel on the scene for a total of 8 hours. During the incident, Fire Associates served 5 dozen trans-fat-free donuts, and later in the day, fetched and served 70 burritos for lunch.

 

Agency Responders:

SJS: E-1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 16, 23, 29 619; T-1, 2, 29, 30; S-18, 26, 30, 34; USAR-A&B; HIT-A&B; Command Van-1; Foam Unit-29; Air Unit-30; PP-26; Batt.-1 (Brown-IC), 2, 10, 29, Acting Div. Chief Ward

SNC: E-90, 94, 95; T-98

CNT: E-72: HM-72, BS-72; Batt. 83

MLP: Batt. 186

MTV: Batt. 51 (Alameda)

PAF: 6A3 (Capriles)

XSC: Med 10, 30; RMA Sup

 

In addition to the large presence on the fire ground, San Jose was assisted by additional crews from Milpitas, Santa Clara City Fire, and Santa Clara County Fire providing station coverage throughout San Jose.

 

FASCV Responding Unit: FSU-2. Arrived: 0745 (less than 50 minutes after the fire was first reported); Released 1535.

 

FASCV Responders: Mike Garcia, Don Gilbert (driver), Bob Gundrum, Jerry Haag, Dan Wong, and Jason Back (guest).

•  Photos by Craig Allyn Rose can be viewed at:  Commercial Ct. Fire

• A San Jose Mercury News story can be read at:  5-Alarm Blaze

-- Report submitted by Jerry Haag and Bruce Dembecki

Late-Night Fire Displaces Four Mountain View Residents

 

Date and Time: 01-27-2015, 12:04 A.M.
Agency: Mountain View Fire
Incident Address: 428 Bella Corte, Mountain View
Type: Second Alarm
   
Details: Two-story, single-family house. Chimney fire. Four displaced. One blanket dispensed.
   
Agency Responders:
MTV: E-51, 53, 55; T-51; R-51; U-51; 18K2 (Garrett); 18A2 (Diaz); B-51 (Harvey-IC).
PAF: E-62, 64; B-66; BS-64 (cancelled).
SNY: T-41
XSC: Med-80.
  
FASCV Responding Unit: FSU-4. Arrived: 12:30 A.M.; Released 01:30 A.M.
FASCV Responders: Larry Carr (driver), Mike Garcia, and Jerry Haag

-- Report submitted by Jerry Haag