Two women were rescued and a man was taken to the hospital with "significant" injuries after a blaze ignited at an apartment building in San Jose Wednesday morning, according to a fire official.
The fire broke out shortly before 9 a.m. at the residential building located along the 700 block of Menker Avenue, Mike Vanelgort with the San Jose Fire Department said. One of the residents said she heard an explosion before she realized she was surrounded by flames and smoke.
The injured man managed to get out of the upstairs apartment unit that caught fire, Vanelgort said. The two women who were saved were in a neighboring unit, but they could not escape because of smoke. Firefighters used a ladder to rescue them.
Witnesses said they saw a man running away from the building shortly after the explosion.
The upstairs unit that burned sustained smoke and fire damage, Vanelgort said. A unit below it was also said to be uninhabitable at this time. Nine people were displaced by the blaze, officials said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, Vanelgort said. Investigators were trying to determine if the fire was set intentionally.
