Oct. 04--SUNNYVALE -- Residents of a 12-unit apartment complex were displaced Thursday afternoon after a three-alarm fire ripped through the upper floor and attic of the two-story structure off East California Avenue.
The fire was reported by a neighbor shortly after 3 p.m. and quickly spread, witnesses said. Sunnyvale fire Capt. Dave Pitts said it "was a very hot fire" and arriving crews saw flames and smoke coming from the second floor and attic of the structure, quickly evacuating the building and going into defensive mode.
"It was way too involved for firefighters to be inside," Pitts said.
The roof collapsed, and while the main fire was knocked down quickly, crews were hosing hot spots in the upper part of the structure with multiple engines two hours later. Wisps of black smoke were still emanating from a corner of the building.
Pitts said it appeared that the fire started on the second floor in one of the units, but it was too soon to narrow down a cause.
"I smelled it and knew that's more than a barbecue," said John Miguel, who lives across the street. He said it spread fast and he could soon feel the heat from his front yard.
Naveen Bommi, who lives in one of the ground floor units, said someone knocking at the door alerted his wife to the danger, and she immediately rushed outside.
Bommi said his unit is "completely damaged," if not by the flames by the water dousing the ruined apartment directly above.
Michael Schneider, who has lived in the area all of his 30 years, said the fire appeared to have started at an adjoining apartment and "jumped over" to the building most seriously damaged.
"There was one lady who very heroically was going up and knocking on doors to make sure everybody was out," he said.
Schneider and Miguel both saw a firefighter rescue a little white dog from one of the ground floor apartments.
"It looked incredibly skittish, but did not look like it had been harmed," Schneider said.
Fire officials did not immediately have a number of displaced residents. The Red Cross was called to the scene to help find temporary housing.
Contact Eric Kurhi at 408-920-5852. Follow him at Twitter.com/erickurhi.
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