6 people displaced, 8 businesses damaged in 2 San Jose fires

SAN JOSE — Six people and seven dogs were displaced in one fire, and eight businesses were damaged in another one early Thursday, fire officials said.

The two blazes did not cause any injuries.

Fire crews first responded to the 2600 block of Alum Rock Road about 3:50 a.m. for a three-alarm blaze that ripped through a strip mall, San Jose Fire Department spokesperson Jake Pisani said. That fire caused some type of damage to eight businesses within the mall.

Fire crews called for three alarms, because of the number of businesses involved, officials said. Investigators have not determined what caused that blaze.

Authorities closed a stretch of Alum Rock Road to fight the fire and had it knocked down by 4:50 a.m.

By then, other members of the department were fighting a blaze in the 100 block of E. Gish Road. They had that one-alarm fire knocked down by about 5:10 a.m., about 55 minutes after crews were called there, Pisani said.

Six people and seven dogs lived in the homes that were behind a business located in the front of the property, Pisani said. The Red Cross was working with them to find temporary housing.