San Jose Fire Reaches Five Alarms, page 1

An out of control fire reached 5 alarms in a downtown San Jose 1 story house. A large explosion happened when the gas leak continued spreading. There were 6 reported injuries but none of them were seen as life threatening.

www.mercurynews.com
SAN JOSE - Five firefighters and a police officer were injured this morning while battling an explosive fire at a one-story wood frame house south of downtown San Jose that reached five-alarms as a gas leak fueled the flames, according to a fire captain.

The neighborhood near the house up in flames on Edwards Avenue between Vine Street and South Almaden Avenue was evacuated as a hazardous materials crew, police officers, and several fire agencies battled the fire first reported as two-alarms at 1:16 a.m.

`One hour into it, a large explosion happened,` fire Capt. Anthony Pianto said. That's when firefighters called for help as flames fed by natural gas continued to spread, gutting the single family home and leaving its residents with no place to live.

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I've never really appreciated fire fighters or given them the respect that they deserve, but after hearing this story my hats of to all of them. I never knew fighting fires could be so dangerous, and i'm just glad that none of the injuries were fatal.

Does anyone know what it means for a fire to reach 5 alarms?