Two-alarm fire burning at San Jose Carl's Jr

Fire investigators were trying Tuesday to determine what caused a two-alarm fire that damaged a Carl's Jr. restaurant in San Jose that morning, a fire captain said.

A fire sprinkler company employee was servicing the fast-food restaurant's fire safety system in the kitchen when a Carl's Jr. employee noticed the fire and called 911 at about 10:40 a.m., Capt. Mary Gutierrez said.

At the time, there were six employees inside the otherwise empty restaurant at 1689 N. Capitol Ave., she said.

The fire appeared to have started in the kitchen's flue and quickly spread to the building's attic space, and firefighters fought the blaze mostly from above, Gutierrez said.

"We had to do quite a bit of cutting on the roof to get to that fire," Gutierrez said.

Firefighters declared the fire under control at 11:44 a.m.

The fire sprinkler company employee was being evaluated for injuries, Gutierrez said.

There was no estimate as of noon Tuesday on how much damage the fire caused to the building, but Gutierrez noted that there was "quite a bit of water damage in the kitchen" and significant damage to the roof.