String of 10 fires break out in downtown San Jose within an hour, investigation underway
SAN JOSE, Calif. - In San Jose, arson investigators are looking into a spate of 10 fires over the course of about an hour, all in the downtown area.
The burn pattern and position of objects suggest the fire on South 7th and East San Salvador streets was no accident. Downtown San Jose resident Nakim Benson says the sound banging on his windows and doors around 6:20 a.m. Friday signaled trouble.
“I came outside and found out there was as fire outside the house,” said Benson.
Someone had set fire to a dumpster, which spread to a nearby garbage can, and then the side of the Alpha-Pi-Alpha fraternity house.
“It’s a shame that someone is out there not really considering that they might be hurting someone else inside the house. Could’ve have killed someone,” said Benson, whose car was parked nearby and also could have been damaged or destroyed.
The fire at 400 South 7th Street was the last in a string of 10 small blazes in downtown San Jose over the course of about an hour. Flames first erupted around 5:20am on South 10th Street near the I-280 entrance ramp. A garbage can was burned, along with the side of a palm tree, but there were no injuries.
Then there was nine more incidents, all spaced a few blocks and minutes apart. From the freeway, north to the college campus area, and back again in a serpentine pattern. The garbage dumpster outside the Delta Gamma sorority house marked the halfway point in what could be a crime spree.
“The only way I knew there was a fire is when I went to dump something I could smell it,” said Dee Davis, a chef for Delta Gamma sorority.
San Jose fire arson investigators were out checking each scene, but so far no definitive conclusions.
“It could have been nine or 10 separate incidents that just coincidentally happened at the same time. San Jose is a big city. It could be we’ve got a problem with somebody setting fires. We don’t know. That’s why we’re investigating,” said captain Mitch Matlow of the San Jose Fire Dept.
As the investigations progresses, life moves on. Nakim Benson has family in town for his graduation ceremony Friday. But for now, the search isn’t for clues in the case, but rather how to get ready for Friday’s graduation procession, without lights or hot water.
“It’s a memory I’m going to have forever, I’ll tell you that much,” said Benson.