Four people are lucky to be alive after a fire rips through their home in the middle of the night.
San Jose firefighters arrived at a home on Denise Ave. near Almaden Rd. in San Jose just after 3 a.m. Wednesday morning. They immediately called for a second alarm so a crew could move downwind to make sure embers did not spread to other homes.
One firefighter says flames were bursting through the roof within seven minutes of the 911 call. He says the fire was hard to fight because it was wind driven and the roof was made of shake -- a light wood that is very flammable.
"My mom, she woke up to hear the crackling of the fire and so she came in and woke me up," said Devante Voss who lives in the duplex. "There was somebody at our door and some neighbor was driving by and was banging on our door telling us there was a fire. Damn near close to tears thinking about how lucky we are."
Fire investigators will go in at first light to determine what started the fire.
