Blaze Destroys Home Depot In San Jose, Raises Safety Questions

It took San Jose and mutual aid firefighters more than six hours to get a San Jose Home Depot fire under control just before midnight on Sunday -- at its peak 110 crews were battling the 5-alarm blaze.

The fire was reported on Saturday evening about 5:30 p.m. inside the store on Blossom Hill Road near Oakridge Mall, and the acrid smoke and flames continued to smolder enough to make passersby cough. The fire was reported near the lumber department.

Like all such facilities, the store contains a toxic smorgasbord of plastics, paints, pesticides, solvents, glues and chemical that emit toxins smoke and fumes when ignited.

One of the most perplexing and important questions that arson investigators are going to have to answer is: How can it be, with such a big building that has so many fire suppression systems, how could it burn almost completely to the ground?