Four Displaced By Three-Alarm San Jose House Fire
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- An early morning three-alarm fire completely destroyed a Victorian-style home in San Jose on Sunday, displacing four residents.
San Jose Fire Captain Michael Van Elgort said crews responded to the fire in the 400 block of North Fifth Street around 12:50 a.m. and as the first engine arrived, firefighters saw that it had quickly spread to the entire house.
"The family members got out of the house but we're still trying to figure out how the house was so deeply involved in the fire so quickly," said Van Elgort. "We're still investigating the cause and thankful that no one was injured."
After calling a third alarm, more than 50 firefighters managed to keep the fire from spreading to other homes in the neighborhood and contained it shortly before 2:30 a.m.
"The house was a total loss. We estimate the damage at between $500,000 and $700,000," said Van Elgort.
He said that the fire was especially hard to fight because the department was spread thin with a number of calls about New Year's revelers and violence throughout the evening and early morning hours in San Jose.
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