Fire in Unoccupied Home Causes Massive Damage

A fire in an unoccupied and unfurnished home at 409 Hadley Ct. Thursday caused massive damage to the structure, including a partial collapse of the roof, according to Gilroy Fire Chief Dale Foster.

None of the surrounding buildings in the neighborhood near Sixth Street and Rogers Lane were damaged, and there were no injuries.

Gilroy firefighters received a call reporting the fire at 2:23 p.m., arriving within five minutes to discover growing flames that had originated in the corner bedroom of the approximately 1,000-square-foot building.

The incident was upgraded to a two-alarm fire before the first crew had even arrived, the chief said.

Two engines and a ladder truck from Gilroy responded, joined by an additional engine from CAL FIRE. Gilroy police provided traffic control, closing off access to the area while firefighters tacked the flames.

The fire was brought under control by 3:12, said Chief Foster. In all, 25 people were called into action, including a fire crew from Morgan Hill who came to staff the city’s Las Animas station during the incident.

Firefighters raked extensive amounts of material from the roasted structure, saturating the exposed parts with water to ensure that it had cooled down and would not reignite.

The cause of the fire is currently unknown. Despite the partial collapse of the roof at the rear of the house, damage was considerably less in the kitchen and garage at the front of the structure, according to the chief.