Oxygen-deprived fire chars floor, smokes out house
GILROY
A two-alarm blaze ate away the floor of a nearly century-old house and caused about $100,000 in damages, but left the structure standing, firefighters said.
An overheated furnace ignited a fire beneath the floor of a single-story house on Church Street between Fourth and Fifth streets, about 11:30 p.m. Saturday, Battalion Chief Phil King said.
Despite abundant thick smoke, the danger of backdrafts – where an oxygen-starved fire explodes when suddenly exposed to abundant oxygen – and a weak floor, no firefighters or residents were injured.
A neighbor called in the fire after seeing an abnormal amount of smoke pouring out of the house’s chimney, King said. When firefighters arrived, no flames were showing, but the windows were black with soot and smoke was seeping out of the eaves of the house.
When firefighters opened the front door of the home, the smoke had filled the whole home, King said. They entered, not knowing where the fire had started, and within steps one firefighter fell through the floor, but was not hurt.
After about 20 minutes, firefighters located the origin point of the fire and put it out, King said.
The fire was smoldering beneath the dining room and had charred the underside of the floor in multiple rooms. However, it could have done more damage if it was not so oxygen-starved.
“Had there been a window open and the thing could get air, it could have burned the whole place down,” King said.
Firefighters spent the next three hours cutting out the charred floor with chainsaws, dragging it out into the yard and extinguishing burning embers. The owner of the house and his family, who had been gone all day, returned during this process.
The man did not need housing assistance as other family members offered to house him.
