Santana Row Development Fire (San Jose, California - August 2002) » Overview

On Monday August 19, 2002, the City of San Jose, California experienced the worst fire loss in its history. By the time the day was over, eleven alarms would be dispatched to a large structure fire and the numerous exposure fires ignited by flying embers from the fire. Extinguishment required the combined effort of 221 firefighters and sixty-five pieces of apparatus. Fortunately, no one was killed and there were only minor injuries sustained by a number of firefighters.

At 15:36 hours, a 911 operator answered a call reporting a fire at the Santana Row development construction site located at the southeast corner of Stevens Creek Boulevard and Winchester Street. The caller, located in a nearby high-rise building, stated that he could see flames and smoke billowing from the complex. At 15:37 hours, Communications dispatched Engines 10, 4, and 7; Trucks 4 and 14; and Battalions 10 and 1 to Incident #8972, a reported structure fire at 377 Santana Row.

While enroute, Engine 10’s crew could see a heavy column of black smoke rising from the vicinity of the reported fire and requested a second alarm at 15:39 hours. Fire crews had routinely visited the construction site and were well aware of the many hazards present at the site, including the fact that this was the largest wood-frame building in the City. Almost immediately thereafter (15:40 hours), Battalion 10 upgraded the response to a third alarm assignment before arriving at the scene. A fourth and fifth alarm were soon called for.

At 15:53 hours, one minute after the fifth alarm companies were dispatched to Santana Row, a 911 call was received reporting roof fires approximately one-half mile south of the fire. Communications advised the Santana Road IC that they had received numerous calls of possible structure fires on Moorpark Avenue. The IC instructed Communications to dispatch a separate assignment to that location. At 15:59 hours, Communications dispatched Engines 9 and 17, Truck 2, and Battalion 13 to Incident #8985, a report of a fire in a single-family residence at 2879 Huff Avenue. The actual address proved to be 2966 Moorpark Avenue, which is in the Moorpark Garden Apartment complex.

While enroute, Battalion 13 requested a second alarm (16:06 hours). Having anticipated this request, Communications had already dispatched a second alarm (16:01 hours). Engine 9 was the first company on location and reported a two-story apartment building with flames through the roof. They set up a master stream to protect exposures and deployed hand lines to attack the fire. A primary search was also conducted to evacuate the occupants. Battalion 13 arrived at 16:11 hours, assumed command and declared the incident to be a defensive operation.

Flying embers, some as large as two-by-fours, continued to ignite buildings in the area, including several townhouses at the Moorpark Village complex. At 16:08 hours, Moorpark Command requested two Strike Teams from the County (third and fourth alarms), which consisted of ten engines, two battalion chiefs, and thirty-two personnel. At 16:17 hours, an out of County Strike Team was ordered (the fifth alarm). A sixth alarm was requested at 16:56 hours.

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