Early-morning fire guts San Jose restaurant
SAN JOSE -- Fire swept through a restaurant in San Jose early Wednesday morning, virtually destroying the building.
The fire burned at Holder's Country Inn Coffee Shop on the 900 block of De Anza Boulevard just south of Bollinger Road. The San Jose Fire Department said units responded just before 4:15 a.m. after a passerby reported smoke coming from the roof of the building.
Firefighters began a defensive operation, pouring water on it from the outside since they were not able to attack the fire from the inside over fears the roof could collapse.
"If you look behind me, that overhang that comes out away from the building, it's called a mansard. It's unsupported, it doesn't have any poles holding it up," said San Jose Fire Capt. Christopher Pickup. "So you get fire in there that risks collapsing and trapping firefighters inside the building. And it was already through the roof."
Pickup said the fire appeared to have started in the back corner kitchen area, but the cause of the fire was not immediately known.
No one was injured. The building appeared to be a total loss, according to Pickup.
De Anza Boulevard was to be closed for several hours between Bollinger Road and Clarendon St. as firefighters performed mop-up duty.
