San Jose Crews Tackle Difficult Fire at Office Building
Source San Jose Mercury News, Calif.
After two hours, firefighters had gained a handle on a difficult blaze that started late Thursday at an office building near the intersection of Saratoga Avenue and Williams Road in San Jose.
Firefighters were called to the site of the former Saratoga Medical Clinic at 10:33 p.m., said Capt. Mike Van Elgort, and found a fire burning on the second floor of the large, currently vacant building. A second alarm was called at 10:53 p.m., a third at 11:36 p.m. and mutual aid summoned at 11:48 p.m.
"One thing that was complicating it was the building has a metal-clad roof," Van Elgort said. "One procedure we do is ventilate the roof, to control where the fire goes. You can't do that with a metal-clad roof."
By 12:40 p.m., Van Elgort said they had it "knocked down, but not under control." He said it was no longer smoking and expected it to be under control soon.
The cause is under investigation, but Van Elgort said it did not appear to be suspicious in origin. He said damages were moderate.
No one was inside the building at the time of the blaze, Van Elgort said.
Copyright 2012 - San Jose Mercury News, Calif.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
