Two firefighters with a nose for smoke helped save an apartment complex from burning up Thursday morning, according to the San Jose Fire Department.
Capt. Rob Brown also said that if Alexsandr Levin and Scott Coscarelli hadn't smelled smoke and spotted haze in the area of 1919 Fruitdale Ave. just before 11 a.m., it's possible a 51-year-old man sleeping inside the burning unit may not have made it out alive.
The man had removed his smoke detector three days ago, Brown said, because the steam from his shower kept setting it off. Fortunately for him, a fire truck on its way back from an earlier morning blaze was in the area, and Levin, a firefighter-paramedic, and Coscarelli, a fire engineer, smelled something smoky, Brown said.
They turned their rescue medic vehicle around and called for help.
Once they arrived at the complex, they began pounding on unit doors, waking people up and shouting "fire." A mother and three children were evacuated. The 51-year-old man also woke up just about the time the firefighters were pounding on doors, grabbed an extinguisher and put out the fire in his unit himself, Brown said. It started with an electrical problem with the man's water cooler.
Brown reminded the public that installing smoke detectors and changing batteries save lives.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
