2 strings of suspicious fires under investigation in San Jose

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Firefighters are investigating two strings of suspicious fires that all occurred within a 2-mile radius in Central San Jose early Thursday morning, fire officials said.

All six fires began outside, starting on piles of debris, San Jose Fire Capt. Don Torres said.

The first three fires were all reported between 1:57 a.m. and 2:11 a.m. in the area around Clark Street and Dorothy Avenue in Willow Glen, but did not cause much damage.

Three more fires were reported between 4:38 a.m. and 5:01 a.m. in the area around Willow and Vine streets, about a mile away in the Tamien neighborhood.

The second of those fires reported at 4:49 a.m., in a debris pile behind a convenience store in an area containing the occupants' garbage and storage, Torres said.

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That fire spread to the store in the 200 block of Willow Street, leading to a two-alarm response. An aggressive interior attack by firefighters contained it to the store, fire officials said.

Last month, San Jose fire officials called in federal authorities to investigate a fire at the Assyrian Church of the East in Willow Glen.

Two or three other fires had been reported in the neighborhood that same week, fire officials said May 8.