Second fire in three months scorches vacant blighted lot in downtown San Jose
SAN JOSE — A second fire in three months has scorched part of a vacant city-owned lot in downtown San Jose that is taking on an increasingly blighted appearance after multiple blazes.
The fire broke out in an abandoned residential structure on West St. John Street just around the corner from the SAP sports and entertainment complex in downtown San Jose.
In September, a blaze broke out that destroyed a small building next to the building engulfed in the blaze on Monday morning.
The two properties that burned this year are both owned by the City of San Jose, public property documents show. The city also owns three properties that are adjacent to the burned-out structures, according to the Santa Clara County Assessor’s Office.
The blaze on Monday was reported to the San Jose Fire Department at 9:30 a.m., Battalion Chief Brett Maas told this news organization.
“We’ve had multiple fires in this area,” Chief Maas said.
The blaze Monday morning destroyed a residential structure at 407 West St. John St.
In September, a fire torched an adjacent structure at 405 West St. John St.
“Our guys did a great job at protecting the adjacent building,” Chief Maas said. “The residence was a total loss. Our job was to protect the adjacent building.”
The exterior of that building, a large commercial and industrial structure, was scorched by the flames but the firefighters managed to keep that adjacent building from become involved in the blaze.
“We were able to get a full stop on the fire,” Chief Maas said.
Fire officials didn’t immediately have a cause for the fire. No injuries were reported.
However, unhoused individuals have lived on the nearby banks of the Guadalupe River. Homeless individuals are known to have resided in the burned-out properties on occasion, city officials said.
City officials are aware that unhoused persons have broken into the largely empty property to take up residence in the structures, according to San Jose director of economic development Nanci Klein.
“The properties are going to be demolished,” Klein said Monday. “This is part of an agreement to create a surface parking lot for the San Jose Sharks” hockey team.
The adjacent — and so far unburnt — buildings include the old Forman’s Arena and old Milligan News property. The Milligan News building is the structure that firefighters rescued on Monday.
It might be a few more months before the demolition actually occurs.
Meanwhile, the property has become steadily more blighted with two burned buildings easily visible from West St. John Street.
San Jose city officials have directed harsh words at private property owners who have allowed their sites to become blighted, particularly in the city’s downtown district.
Despite rhetoric from political leaders and city staffers, the sites remain blighted for the most part.
It wasn’t immediately clear how quickly San Jose might act to deal with blight on sites owned by the city itself, such as the fire-torn West St. John properties.
A relocation notice has been issued for the Forman’s Arena property, according to Klein. It appears that no demolition can occur prior to Feb. 10 of next year, she added.
“The property is fenced off, but unfortunately, people have been using tools to break through the fence even though we have patched it up,” Klein said.