By Khalida Sarwari
A fire that destroyed a southeast San Jose duplex early Wednesday morning appears to have been started by lights from a Christmas tree, a fire captain said.
The residents at 162 Bendorf Drive along with their next-door neighbors were displaced following a two-alarm fire that was reported shortly before 12:15 a.m.
Arriving firefighters found one unit of the duplex fully engulfed in flames and its roof had collapsed, fire Capt. Scott Kouns said. The fire was controlled by about 2 a.m.
Three residents, a man and his children, were apparently inside the unit when the fire began and the man was taken to a hospital to be treated for minor injuries.
Three other residents in a neighboring duplex were also displaced because their unit was also deemed uninhabitable.
“We’re really fortunate that they all got out safely,” Kouns said.
He advised residents to remove Christmas trees from their home to prevent fire hazards.