San Jose auto parts store building destroyed by fire
SAN JOSE (KGO) -- There were huge flames and a major firefight in San Jose early this morning. An auto parts store was damaged by flames for the second time in less than a year.
A fence has been put up around the building to make sure no one gets too close. Some of the roof could still come down. This is another fire dealing a major blow to this O'Reilly Auto Parts store.
The smoke from this 2-alarm fire could be seen for miles in San Jose. Firefighters got the call at 3:02 a.m. When they arrived, the flames were huge. Firefighters made sure no one was inside and backed off and started spraying water from high atop three different ladder trucks. Going inside was too dangerous.
"That overhang always collapses when it's exposed to fire. And as you can see behind me you can see that it collapsed on the Charlie side here, the back side of the structure," said San Jose Fire Capt. Mike Van Elgort.
The O'Reilly's Auto Parts store has sat empty since a 4-alarm fire last June. There is no word on what started that fire. This morning, security guards reported homeless sleeping near the building, but firefighters are still looking for a cause.
"We were glad to find out there was nothing inside. If it was a functional business, now we have a very high hazardous materials risk, a lot of other chemicals, much more fire load it would have be much more concerning," said Van Elgort.
A representative from O'Reilly's Auto Parts said they were planning on re-opening the store, but with this latest fire, that's all up in the air.
