Upwards of 80 firefighters arrived to contain the downtown San Jose structure fire on the morning of January 7, 2021. Three years later, the public still awaits answers.
What happened on a historical block in downtown’s core, one active with businesses on a street connecting San Jose State and urban neighborhoods to the city‘s center?
The blaze engulfed a vacant two-story commercial building which housed businesses including the San Patricios bar, Chacho’s, Cinebar and Mumbai Local on the block of E. San Fernando Street between 2nd and 3rd streets.
All businesses were closed and the building was unoccupied the morning of the incident. No civilian or firefighter injuries were reported.
The fire’s cause has not yet been determined, San Jose Fire spokesperson Erica Ray said at the time. SJFD said it would conduct an arson investigation, however the details of that investigation, and the full incident report, is still unreleased two years later.
Prior to the fire, Cinebar had been closed since March 16, 2020. A GoFundMe was established by Jeff Spicoli on behalf of the dive bar, raising close to $20,000 from community members.
“Businesses in this building are not going to be able to open back up,” Ray said at the time.
“Even if [the city] tore down the whole building, I’m going to rebuild,” STACY SUTHERLAND, co-owner of Cinebar, told SanJoseInside.com in 2021. “Give us a blank canvas and we’ll recreate it. I don’t care if it takes two or three years, I’m here for the long haul.”
