Two residents, firefighter hurt in three-alarm condo fire in San Jose

A large three-alarm blaze ripped through a six-unit condo complex in San Jose on Wednesday afternoon, injuring two residents and a firefighter, authorities said.

A portion of the roof in the two-story building at 2358 Bear Valley Lane, near the Berryessa Road exit from Interstate 680, had sagged and was in danger of collapsing. The fire left the eight people living in the complex temporarily homeless.

One occupant was taken by ambulance to Valley Medical Center with significant second-degree burns, while another inhaled too much smoke and was treated by paramedics on scene, San Jose Fire Capt. Mary Gutierrez said.

One of the first firefighters on scene was taken to the hospital after failing a routine medical check while crews were preparing to leave.

"It was a pretty intensive firefight in the beginning," Gutierrez said.

When crews arrived at the fire just before 3:30 p.m., they saw heavy fire in one of the units. Within 10 minutes, firefighters feared the building would collapse, so they called in extra resources and evacuated the building, Gutierrez said.

The residents of neighboring condos heard the commotion and poured out into the street and parking lot, as well, although no other buildings were threatened. Firefighters controlled the blaze a little more than two hours after it sparked.

The fire shot through the roof at one point and destroyed two units, severely burned a third unit and moderately damaged the other three. Six detached garages were also damaged.

Search crews initially received reports that someone was inside trapped, but they did not find anyone.

Investigators were expected to be on scene past nightfall trying to determine what caused the fire.