A day after a raging fire destroyed the remnants of what was most recently the Swanson Ford Collision Center, Santa Clara County Fire Department sources put the value of the loss at $500,000. Some of the walls of the tilt-up concrete building were in danger of collapse because their supports were weakened or destroyed by the fire, so the building is not safe to enter.
Because it was an abandoned building with no one inside, and it was "fully involved" when the call came in at 4:13 p.m. Sunday, Battalion Chief Carol Miller opted to position her team outside, directing water at the fire from the perimeter and from the extension ladder of Truck 5.
"Just put up the big sticks" Miller said, meaning the ladder truck. "Surround and drown." Miller and about 40 firefighters had the fire completely out in about an hour. In addition to Truck 5, Patrol 5, Rescue 3, Battalion 7, and Engines 3, 6, 8, 10, and 11 responded. Equipment came from Miller's station on University Ave., the Shannon Rd. and Winchester Blvd. stations, and from Saratoga (Hwy. 9) and Campbell (Sunnyoaks and Union Ave.). Truck 5, the "big stick," is based at the Winchester Blvd. station. Its ladder extends to 75 feet, and it can pump 1,500 gallons per minute.
One media source reported that an explosion was heard before the fire, but police and fire sources cannot confirm that. Los Gatos/Monte Sereno Police have had repeated reports about people, particularly young people, hanging around the neglected building. In January, police investigated fireworks being set off on the property, and juveniles were seen running away.
"There have been no arrests or citations, and no serious damage" to the building in the past few months, said LGMSPD Capt. David Gravel.
Santa Clara County Fire Department Arson Investigator Dennis Johnsen and his team are continuing their investigation. Several bystanders watching the fire from the sidewalk speculated that the building's owner was tired of the building sitting vacant, but that explanation seems even less likely when you know that the building, like the former Swanson Ford showroom (now Akeena Solar), is owned by Peter Pau of San Mateo-based Sand Hill Property. Pau controls a large collection of commercial sites across Silicon Valley and up the peninsula. Sand Hill has proposed an office building for the 2.1-acre site at 15400 Los Gatos Blvd., and with the building slated for demolition, it is hard to estimate whether it would have any insurance value at all.
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