A fire on Sunday afternoon left eight people displaced in downtown San Jose.
More than 40 firefighters responded to the blaze, which erupted shortly after 2:30 p.m. at a house on the corner of Fifth and St. John streets. Crews arrived to find flames shooting from a second-story window, said Capt. Jesse Allread of the San Jose Fire Department.
The blaze remained uncontrolled at 3:30 p.m., due to the lack of fire breaks within the walls of the house, which had been divided into 12 apartment units, Allread said. The fire spread through every floor, from the basement to the attic.
The American Red Cross was called to offer shelter and other assistance to tenants. No one was injured.
The cause was not immediately known, and the fire remains under investigation, Allread said.
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 17: San Jose Fire Department firefighters fight a fire at the corner of North 5th Street and East St. John Street in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 17: San Jose Fire Department firefighters remove the siding on an apartment house at the corner of North 5th Street and East St. John Street in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 17: San Jose Fire Department firefighters keep an eye on a fire at the corner of North 5th Street and East St. John Street in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 17: A San Jose Fire Department firefighter fights a fire at the corner of North 5th Street and East St. John Street in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 17: A San Jose Fire Department firefighter removes the siding on an apartment house at the corner of North 5th Street and East St. John Street in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 17: San Jose Fire Department firefighters gather in front of an apartment house that caught fire at the corner of North 5th Street and East St. John Street in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 17: A San Jose Fire Department firefighter removes the siding on an apartment house at the corner of North 5th Street and East St. John Street in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 17: A San Jose Fire Department firefighter enters an apartment house at the corner of North 5th Street and East St. John Street in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 17: San Jose Fire Department firefighters fight a fire at the corner of North 5th Street and East St. John Street in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 17: A San Jose Fire Department firefighter looks out of a window at a fire at the corner of North 5th Street and East St. John Street in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
