April 4, 2006, at 18:43 hrs San Jose Firefighters responded to multiple reports of a house fire on Mt. Pakron Drive in 95120.
Heavy smoke was reported enroute by Engine 22 personnel lead by Captain, Scott Ackemann. Upon arrival Firefighters were challenged with a fully involved garage fire with flames endangering the home next door. Firefighters quickly determined nobody was in the involved house and deployed hose lines to protect the endangered home. Seconds later support units arrived and deployed hose-lines through the front door of the involved house and pushed the fire away from the living quarters to protect the home contents. Firefighters endured intense heat and smoke saving the uninvolved portion of the house. A total of 34 Firefighters including six companies and seven support units under the direction of Battalion Chief Juan Diaz brought the fire under control in just over an hour. Although there were no human casualties, two dogs, two cats and two birds perished in the fire. A preliminary report indicates the cause of the fire appears to be accidental and is still under investigation.
Once a fire starts in your home, there’s no time to plan an escape. A home can fill with thick black smoke and be engulfed in flames in minutes. Most house fires also occur at night, when people are least prepared.
1.
Have fire extinguishers on hand and train your family how to use them.
2.
Ensure that your family knows where your gas, electric, and water main shut-off controls are located and review how to safely shut them down in an emergency.
3.
Assemble a Go-Bag for each person. Review the Make a Go-Bag
page for preparation guidance and the checklist.
4.
Create a home fire escape plan. Review your escape plan with everyone in your home. Practice your escape plan both during the day and night. Practice your escape plan at least twice a year.
5.
Prepare area escape routes for different contingencies. Remember there are limited ways out of Almaden Valley. Mark up a map with color codes for the different routes.
Emergency Alerts
Sign up for AlertSCC, Santa Clara County’s emergency alert system, to receive important emergency information and instructions.
During the fires in August 2020 we had large fires threatening Almaden Valley from both east and west ridges. The smoke pollution reached very unhealthy levels for several days.
You can monitor the real time air pollution from multiple sensors in the valley on PurpleAir.com
Photograph by Ed Resler
Smoke Tracker
The video clip below shows a bird’s-eye view of the smoke location and direction in our area. Click the video to open a new browser window with the most current smoke status. Tip provided by Ken near Williams
