Two separate carport fires struck San Jose apartment complexes: at one near West Alma Avenue, residents reported hearing explosions, while a fire at 918 Del Mar Avenue displaced 10 people. Vehicles were charred or destroyed, and the Del Mar fire damaged nearby residential buildings. No injuries were reported in the Del Mar fire.
According to ABC7 Bay Area, a fire near West Alma Avenue was reported around 2 a.m. Thursday, destroying about 10 vehicles. KRON4 reported a separate fire near the apartment complex at 918 Del Mar Avenue, south of Interstate 280, around 11 p.m. Thursday; three vehicles in the complex's carport were completely destroyed. The West Alma and Del Mar Avenue fires were separate incidents.
At the West Alma Avenue fire, damage was concentrated in vehicle areas between two apartment complexes, per ABC7, with vehicles also damaged on the opposite side of a fence from where the fire started. The outlet reported that the blaze prompted a two-alarm response, with San Jose Fire Department crews upgrading the call to a second alarm after arriving on scene.
Flames Spread Into Two Apartment Buildings
At the separate Del Mar Avenue fire, flames moved into a nine-unit apartment building on Del Mar and another nine-unit building on Marlboro Court, per the KRON4 report. A third building on Del Mar Avenue sustained exterior damage from the heat, the outlet reported. All nine apartments in the Del Mar building were deemed uninhabitable, while one unit in the Marlboro building was destroyed, according to the same report.
A total of 10 people were displaced from the burned units, and the American Red Cross responded to help with housing, the station noted. The fires were knocked down by 12:08 a.m. and under control by 12:40 a.m., according to that report. No injuries were reported to any residents or firefighters.
Residents Describe Explosions and a Shattered Window
At the West Alma Avenue fire, ABC7 spoke with residents who said they heard explosions. One resident told the outlet he heard the blasts as flames spread through the vehicles. A woman living nearby said her window shattered and that she feared the fire would spread into her own apartment.
San Jose Fire Department official Robert Herrera said units began firefighting operations at the West Alma Avenue fire and upgraded the response to a second alarm, per ABC7's reporting. Fire crews remained at the complex afterward to make sure the area was safe, and vehicles were left heavily damaged in the aftermath.
Arson Unit Investigating as Residents Are Kept at a Distance
The cause of the West Alma Avenue fire remains under investigation by the San Jose Fire Department's arson unit, according to ABC7. Investigators taped off part of the carport area and asked residents to stay away while the investigation continues. In a comparable San Jose apartment fire, nbcbayarea.com reported that arson investigators' presence at the scene was standard procedure for a fire of that size rather than a sign of a specific suspicion.
Car-to-structure fires like this one are not unique to San Jose. An overnight carport fire at a Santa Clarita apartment complex in January 2022 damaged or destroyed at least 16 cars, according to ktvz.com, which reported that the wood-framed carport structure allowed flames to spread quickly before firefighters extinguished it. Residents there also reported hearing explosions as the fire moved through the parked vehicles, and no injuries were reported in that incident either.
