Structure Fire Kills Man, Displaces 15 In San Jose

SAN JOSE, CA -- A man is dead and 15 people were displaced after a fire ignited at a San Jose apartment building early this morning, according to the San Jose Fire Department.

Capt. Brad Cloutier said someone called the fire department around 4 a.m. to report smoke coming from a second-floor apartment on the 1200 block of Blossom Hill Road. Firefighters arrived and quickly knocked down the flames. But when they went into the apartment, they found a man unresponsive. They tried to resuscitate him but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Cloutier said the man appeared to be in his 30s.

The fire seriously damaged the man's apartment, along with six neighboring apartments. Around 15 people were displaced, and the Red Cross is helping shelter them, Cloutier said.

"The apartments will not be occupied for the foreseeable future," he said.

Cloutier said authorities don't yet know what caused the blaze. An arson investigator was at the scene looking into it. Blossom Hill Road was shut down at Russo Drive. Cloutier said he didn't know when it would be reopened.

--Bay City News/Image via Shutterstock