San Jose residents search for housing after apartment fire
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) — Some San Jose residents are still trying to figure out their next steps after a fire heavily damaged their apartment complex.
On Thursday, the San Jose Fire Department responded to a blaze at the David Avenue apartments.
The Red Cross opened a shelter at the Camden Community Center. Howard Vu has been alternating nights here and at a friend’s house.
“I was tired and just frustrated because I don’t have clothes, I’m having to scramble around, buying socks, shoes, and then it wasn’t until Monday when I drove by my complex and I saw the maintenance guy and I was like I need to get in,” Vu said.
Vu said he was given 10 minutes to get as many of his belongings as he could.
“You see it all the time on the news with social media with fires and floods and then it doesn’t hit you until you got to experience it firsthand,” Vu said.
Officials say the fire is believed to have started in the attic, and the cause is still under investigation. The building has been red-tagged, meaning it’s unsafe to enter until repairs are made.
Jaime Diaz said members of his family have lived in their unit for over 30 years. “I used to play soccer every day here before everything just happened… it’s just kind of weird,” Diaz said.
Now they’re trying to find a place to fit his family of five. Diaz is a freshman at Del Mar High School.
“I had emailed my teachers as well that I’m probably going to need some extra help, and they said they understand and that to focus on the personal life,” Diaz said.
On Tuesday, the director of the city of San Jose’s Housing Department told ABC7 News that, depending on immediacy of need, some displaced residents have been offered housing.
Vu said he received a call from the city on Tuesday that a room at a Motel 6 would be provided for 14 nights. Vu said he’s grateful for the shelter but had a sense of humor about communal living.
“Just like high school and middle school, when you’re sharing the gym and all that,” Vu said.
Vu said he has a meeting on Wednesday with one of the apartment property managers about renting a unit at a different complex they manage.
One resident told ABC7 the complex is boarded up better now after she had to file a police report of looting on Monday.