By Mike Rosenberg
The Contra Costa Times
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Their owner was just trying to keep them warm, but six chickens and two ducks died Thursday after the wiring for their heat lamps sparked a fire that took out their bird coop, a power pole and part of two nearby homes, firefighters said.
No people were injured in the two-alarm blaze, which took 35 firefighters about a half-hour to put out. About a dozen homes in the area were left without power for several hours into the evening.
About 1 p.m., San Jose firefighters rushed to the 4000 block of Paloma Avenue, a short neighborhood street between Highway 101 and Valley Christian middle and high schools.
“When we pulled up to the side, it looked like a house fire,” said Capt. Mike Van Elgort. “Huge plume of smoke, a power pole was involved” with the fire.
Then firefighters discovered a large chicken coop and shed behind the home were on fire, not the house.
The fire spread to a nearby power pole, causing power lines to drop and start sparking, and blacking out the neighborhood. The blaze then spread to the back bedroom of a house on Paloma and also burned the bedroom and attic space of a second house behind the chicken coop on Ventura Street.
Between the two homes, seven adults and four children had to look for temporary housing. The fire also killed six chickens and two ducks in the coop and displaced 10 dogs.
Van Elgort said the blaze caused at least $100,000 in damage.
“It’s hard to put a value on a huge chicken coop like that, and there was some damage to the (homes),” he said.
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. was on scene late Thursday trying to run power from another street into the nearby homes.
Investigators say it appears the fire was caused by an extension cord that ran from the home to heat lamps in the chicken coop.
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