Fire! at the Garden Theater (No, Not Really)

[Ryan]

At least that's what I thought when I drove down Lincoln Avenue on my way to work this morning. Fire and police crews were lined up outside the Garden Theater along with tennants and passerbys. Not a good sign seeing as Willow Glen 2.0 World Headquarters is on the second floor of the building.

Turns out it was a false alarm. Some one had smelled something funny and alerted the building management. As a precaution, the building was evacuated and PG&E and fire crews were dispatched. I counted at least to ladder trucks and a few police cars. The building was checked out and cleared as I was pulling in.

I spoke briefly with Michael Mulcahy, the building owner, who said simply, "Not a problem."

Moral of the story: Don't yell "Fire!" in a crowded theater. You'll delay latte production for a few minutes.

[Michael Mulcahy]

False Alarm, thank goodness. The good news out of this was the performance of the San Jose Fire Department and PG&E. The call went out from Starbucks staff to SJ Fire at 9:59 am, the first trucks arrived at 10:03 am, the building was evacuated by 10:15 am and the building was cleared for entry at 10:58 am. Very professional, thorough and thoughtful process. Stations 4 & our neighborhood 6 were both represented as well as the HazMat team. PG&E responded promptly after SJ Fire got them engaged. We are grateful for their efforts.