Dog dies, 4 people displaced after 1-alarm house fire in San Jose

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ByMatt Keller KGO logo
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
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SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Fire severely damaged a home in East San Jose overnight. Flames erupted at the home on Mt. McKinley Court near Clayton Road just after 11:30 Monday night.

A dog died and four people were displaced in the one-alarm fire. Two others pets escaped unharmed.

It took firefighters about a half hour to knock down the flames but they were delayed a bit because power was still on to the home.

"One of the complicating factors here is that we had a live wire, the building is still charged with electricity, therefore water streams with electricity is not a good thing. They can actually transmit the current to the firefighters, as well as it makes it harder to extinguish because it's getting additional juice and energy from electrical current," said San Jose Fire Captain Mike Van Elgort.

Firefighters say the fire appears to be accidental and possibly started in the kitchen.