1 person arrested in South San Jose storage fire; renters wait for word on their belongings

SAN JOSE, Calif. - San Jose Fire Department crews remained at the scene of a massive storage facility fire Thursday. Investigators announced one person was arrested in connection with the blaze. Officials haven’t identified the suspect or revealed the pending charges.

Meanwhile, for many unit renters at Public Storage, it’s a wait-and-see game to find out if any of their possessions can be salvaged.

"I’ve seen the drone footage. I’ve talked to the chief. It’s very unlikely anything made it through," said Bryce Grenon.

Since early morning, renters had been coming to the South San Jose fire scene, and staring at 10,000 square feet of destruction. Many were hoping against hope for the best.

By midday, multiple fire crews were continuing to douse hotspots with water. Investigators said the 2-story structure had collapsed onto itself, creating difficulties in making sure the fire was completely tapped out.

"The building’s not safe enough for us to put people inside to actually start pulling that apart. So we’re using our aerial devices with our master streams to try and get that water down there, and put those hotspots out," said San Jose Fire Department Battalion Chief Brad Cloutier.

Arson investigators have now joined the hunt into the cause of the three-alarm fire, which started Wednesday evening. Explosions from fireworks were heard, as flames ravaged most of the units at the Public Storage facility at 88 Blossom Hill Road.

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"I would imagine that for any fireworks, that are illegal in San Jose, that if you are gonna have any, you have to be licensed, bonded. They have to be in the appropriate storage facilities," said Cloutier.

Fire investigators said the San Jose Police Department arrested one person in connection with the fire. However, neither fire nor police officials would identify the suspect, or specify the charges they face.

Meanwhile, Bryce Grenon faces a hurdle harder than this fire. He has lost everything he and his long-time girlfriend own, just shy of moving their belongings to a new home in Sacramento. Now, he must break the bad news to his 8-year-old daughter, Madeline, who is celebrating her birthday Saturday.

"Still working that out, trying to figure out what to say," said Grenon.

KTVU called the Public Storage facility, and officials said they don’t have information or a time frame for when renters will be allowed onto the grounds to shift through debris.

San Jose fire officials said it could be the weekend before the fire scene is safe enough for all personnel and equipment to leave.

Jesse Gary is a reporter based in the station's South Bay bureau. Follow him on Twitter, @JesseKTVU and on Instagram, @jessegontv