Inferno causes nearly $290,000 in damages, leaves residents
homeless, vehicles destroyed
San Martin – A man and his mother watched in horror Monday afternoon as their house and two vehicles went up in flames.
A strong north wind helped spread the two-alarm fire, which started in the garage attached to the home. The blaze destroyed the garage, scorching the one car inside and then engulfed the one-story cottage. The inferno also spread to a van outside the house.
The owner of the home, who did not want to be identified, said he was inside the home, located at 13490 Harding Ave., when the fire started, and his mother was out in the field behind the house. His mother was not injured.
He received minor injuries to his hands and arms in the blaze. He said he re-entered the house to retrieve some of his belongings, but was unable to.
Damage is estimated to be $290,000, including the vehicles, structure and contents, according to Dave Witmer, California Department of Forestry South Santa Clara County Unit Battalion Chief.
The man’s mother reportedly had a small fire in the yard which she was using to burn off the hard outer husks of fava beans to get to the beans themselves. Near the fire, there were several burlap bags; the son, worried the bags would catch on fire, put them in the garage before going into the home, according to Witmer.
What he didn’t realize was that the bags were already smoldering. Witmer said the call from neighbors came at 11:58am, and a heavy column of black smoke was visible as the engines drove south to San Martin.
The home’s garage was quickly engulfed in flames. Minutes later, only the skeleton of a sedan-type car, heaps of metal and ash were all that remained.
The Windstar van parked in the front yard nearly escaped the blaze as a man in a work truck happened to drive by, see the fire and stop. He used a rope to try to pull the van away, but the flames seized it. After several blasts with a fire extinguisher, he was forced to abandon the attempt to save the van.
“I saw the smoke; that’s why I got out,” said the man who lived in the home.
His clothing was torn and tattered, and there were drops of black residue on his bare skin. “It was so unexpected.”
“I went back in to get some of my stuff,” he added, visibly distraught. “It was such a small fire. I didn’t think it would go so fast.”
Paramedics examined him at the scene; he did not receive further medical treatment.
Obviously shaken by the event, the man did not want to speculate about the fire, but he did say he has enemies.
There were 25 firefighters on scene with three South County engines and a water tanker, plus two CDF engines.
The home is uninhabitable, Witmer said. He requested Red Cross assistance for the owner and his mother.
The house is in a rural area with homes spread out on large lots.
Neighbors outside said they didn’t know anything, had just seen the smoke and didn’t know the man.
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or at md****@mo*************.com.
