San Jose Warehouse Burned In Fire Found To Be Owned By City

SAN JOSE, CA —After some debate, city officials found that the city owns a vacant commercial warehouse that sustained damage in a three-alarm fire last week near the SAP Center. San Jose Real Property Agent Justina Chang said that the city just acquired the warehouse at the end of last year for a development project on North Montgomery and West St. John streets.

Chang was notified of the fire around 1 p.m. Tuesday and coordinated efforts to get chain link fences and boards up for public safety as soon as firefighters deemed it safe to do so, she said.

The fire was reported at 12:02 p.m. after SAP Center employees saw flames. The SAP Center, which is home to the San Jose Sharks hockey organization, is adjacent to the warehouse.

Fire crews responded within three minutes and found the warehouse already engulfed in flames, forcing crews to fight the fire defensively, fire Capt. Daniel Vega said.

Crews contained the fire by 2 p.m. but were not able to go inside and check if anyone was in the building until it was under control around 4:10 p.m. No injuries were noted in the fire department's report.

A hazardous materials team was called in when firefighters were alerted to chemicals at the scene, but luckily the chemicals were not involved in the fire, Vega said.

The captain called the chemicals "not exceptionally hazardous" after reviewing the chemical testing results.

The road in front of the warehouse was torn up, as trenches were needed to access gas pipelines underneath the street, Vega said. The street is still closed off to the public, but Vega said only one person has called to ask about when it will reopen, as it's a small road.

"That's up to the city now," Vega said.

A preliminary investigation has revealed that the fire started in the middle of the warehouse, indicating to fire officials that it may have been an act of arson by homeless people potentially squatting in the warehouse.

A debate ensued about who the owner of the warehouse was after fire officials, including Vega, were told that the city owned it but may have sold it to Google.

Chang said that fences are still up as a precaution and that an on-site city staff meeting will be held this Tuesday to discuss the next steps for restoring the area.

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By Bay City News Service

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