County firefighters scoured a single-family home in Campbell today with flames engulfing one of the rooms, as they followed up on a report someone might be stuck inside.
Luckily, it turned out the house was empty, and the Santa Clara County Fire Department was able to quell the flames—at Bismarck Drive and Clarita Avenue—within 12 minutes.
“They were concerned about a victim right off the bat,” said Capt. Justin Stockman, a spokesperson for the department. “It got a full structure response.”
Authorities received the fire report at 1:32pm and SCCFD sent four engines, a rescue truck, a hazmat unit, two battalion chiefs and a safety officer to knock it down, Stockman said.
Firefighters arrived on scene within six minutes and found smoke pouring from the house, he said.
‘We are lucky in Silicon Valley to have high resource density’
—Capt. Justin Stockman, Santa Clara County Fire Department spokesperson
Crews started looking for a possible victim, while also spraying water directly into the dwelling from the front.
“That will increase survivability,” he said of the two-pronged approach, adding firefighters quickly reported good news. “They didn’t find anybody.”
The San Jose Fire Department automatically sent a fire engine and a ladder truck to help with the battle, Stockman noted.
“We are lucky in Silicon Valley to have high resource density,” he said. “That’s a prearranged agreement between us and the City of San Jose.”
Campbell Police provided traffic control and prepared to evacuate neighbors, if necessary, he added.
A knockdown was declared at 1:50pm.
The cause of the blaze is still under investigation and authorities asked the public to steer clear of the street, for now.
“Be very mindful that crews will still be working for the next couple hours,” Stockman said. “Avoid the area.”
