2 Dead In San Jose House Fire Identified: SCC Coroner

SAN JOSE, CA — An 83-year-old woman and her 11-year-old granddaughter killed in a house fire in San Jose last week have been identified as Sydney and Jessica Brookbank, according to the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner.

The fire reported at 7:29 a.m. in the 1200 block of Greenmoor Drive was declared under control in about a half hour.

A 22-year-old man woke up to the smell of smoke and jumped out of a window. He sustained minor injuries and was treated on scene.

According to family members, Sydney had multiple sclerosis and was unable to escape the home. Jessica was visiting her grandmother, aunt and uncle for the weekend and was initially hospitalized in critical condition at Palo Alto's Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, but later succumbed to her injuries from smoke inhalation.

Coworkers of Sydney Brookbanks' daughter-in-law, Sandy, created a GoFundMe donation page for the family at gofundme.com/f/fire-victims-in-san-jose. A separate donation page for Jessica
has been set up at www.gofundme.com/f/jessica-brookbank.

The blaze destroyed the entire one-story building but firefighters were able to prevent it from spreading to neighboring structures. A family cat also died in the fire, and the cause is under investigation.

—Bay City News