Calif. Apartment Fire Injures One, Displaces 13

Sept. 11--One person was injured and 13 people were displaced by an early morning fire that broke out in an apartment building in San Jose.

The blaze swept through the 8-unit complex located on Villa Monterey, located off Lewis Road between Senter and Monterey roads, according to San Jose fire Capt. Rob Brown.

The fire was reported at 2:57 a.m. The first fire crews to respond found an upstairs unit in the complex fully involved in flames, Brown said. Firefighters were also initially told some residents may have been trapped inside.

However, firefighters soon learned that the two people living in the unit heavily involved in flames escaped through a window near a staircase, Brown said. The people inside that unit woke up to heavy smoke and fire, including flames that blocked access to the front door, Brown said.

One of those people suffered second-degree burns to the arm and was taken to a local hospital.

Firefighters had the blaze under control at 4:09 a.m.

The American Red Cross Silicon Valley Chapter will help the displaced residents with housing and clothing, Brown said.

Contact Mark Gomez at 408-920-5869. Follow him on Twitter @MarkMgomez

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