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3-Alarm San Jose Fire Displaces Dozens Overnight

SAN JOSE (KCBS) – A three-alarm fire displaced 30-50 people at a 20-unit apartment complex in San Jose early Sunday morning.

San Jose Fire Department Battalion Chief Scott Kouns said that crews responded to the fire near the corner of South King Road and Bowling Green Drive around 1:20.

Upon arrival, they found heavy smoke and flames coming from the building.

Kouns said it was a heroic act that helped save several residents.

"We had six people that we rescued, including one off a balcony," he said. "Crews put up a ladder very quickly, getting to that resident and saving their life."

Kouns said one firefighter suffered minor burns to the face and two residents were also injured, with one being taken to a local hospital.

"This building has a common attic. So imagine that you have a tunnel and you have smoke going in from one end to the other," Kouns said. "We needed to get ahead of this fire and have people in place in case the fire ran the entire hallway."

He said the fire was mostly under control after about 45 minutes.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. Kouns said that while most of the building was still intact, a few units sustained heavy damage.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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