Two Residential Fires on Memorial Day Weekend

Updated: May 31 at 12:43 p.m.

Residents weren't home at the time, but at least one neighbor called for help when they saw smoke coming from the roof. They alerted firefighters that there was a dog inside.

As part of the primary search, firefighters entered the house to check if there were any residents–or pets–stuck inside.

They pulled Ginger out of the single story house on Rocky Mountain Boulevard, while crews worked to keep the fire from spreading outside of the garage, said Rick Frawley, acting battalion chief of the Milpitas Fire Department.

The damage was contained to the garage and kept to a minimum. Relocation assistance from Red Cross was not needed, said Frawley.

A dryer in the garage started the fire, said Eric Emmanuele, fire investigator.

Earlier that day, the Red Cross was needed to find a temporary home for residents of a ground-floor apartment on East Calaveras Boulevard and North Gadsden Drive.

Firefighters entered the apartment around 10:30 a.m. to find an active fire inside. The fire was contained and did not damage the other three units inside the apartment building, said Frawley.

A Spanish language translator was needed to communicate with the tenants. The cause of the fire was later determined to have started in the kitchen, with a pot left unattended on the stove, according to Emmanuele.

No mutual aid assistance was requested from neighboring fire departments.