Two people trapped inside an upstairs apartment as a fire burned in an adjacent unit were rescued early Wednesday morning by firefighters who used a ladder to help them escape through a window, in what authorities are investigating as a possible arson.
A man suspected of starting the fire was located, but not arrested, and was placed on 72-hour involuntary hold at a local psychiatric emergency facility, according to San Jose police. The man’s identity, and any connection between him and the site of the fire, were not immediately disclosed, but police dispelled early media reports that a domestic-violence situation preceded the blaze.
San Jose Fire Capt. Mike Van Elgort said the two people who were rescued from the upstairs unit on the 700 block of Menker Avenue, located off Parkmoor Avenue, were not injured.
Firefighters responded to the complex just before 9 a.m. after receiving a 911 call from a person who was “hysterical” and claimed that someone had started a fire, Van Elgort said.