Calif. Firefighters Battle Two Fires at Same Strip Mall

Jan. 24--San Jose firefighters battled separate blazes at strip malls on Tuesday, the first at a Carl's Jr. in the morning and the second at a soon-to-open candy shop in the afternoon.

Fire crews extinguished a two-alarm blaze at a Carl's Jr. that erupted while a contractor was checking the restaurant's sprinkler system to make sure it was safe.

But as the contractor was inspecting the system, a fire broke out just after 10:40 a.m. at the 1689 North Capitol Ave. fast food restaurant and spread to the attic, Capt. Mary Gutierrez said.

The worker tried to put out the fire with nearby extinguishers, to no avail.

Carl's Jr. was open when the fire started, but there were no customers inside. The restaurant

sits in a busy strip mall, but no other businesses were affected or evacuated.

Then at 3:40 p.m., about 23 firefighters responded to a small fire at a new business under renovation at a West San Jose strip mall. The damage from the smoldering fire was contained to Sweet Tooth Confections at 1305 N. Bascom Ave, said Capt. Rob Brown.

Brown said firefighters arrived to find light smoke coming from an overhang. It took them a while to get into the tight space where the fire started but quickly extinguished it once they gained access.

No one was hurt and the business hadn't opened yet. Investigators think the fire may have started because of an electric problem but are not sure.

Staff writer Mike Rosenberg

contributed to this report. Contact Lisa Fernandez at 408-920-5002 or follow her at Twitter.com/ljfernandez

Copyright 2012 - San Jose Mercury News, Calif.