Second Arson Fire Erupts in Los Gatos

A second fire that broke out at about 1 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 12 at a , according to Santa Clara County fire investigators.

A fire on Oct. 28 also consumed much of the same property, whose homeowner has been identified as single mother Jill Britt, said Dennis Johnsen, Santa Clara County Fire Department's Arson Unit chief.

A sign on one of the property trees alerts the public that the second blaze was also caused by arson and offers a $10,000 reward to anyone with information about the fire.

Damages to the house from the fall of 2011 blaze have been estimated at nearly $300,000 and nearly killed the family dog, which had been left inside the property in a small crate.

Santa Clara County firefighter paramedic Spencer Peterson from Engine 6, Shannon Road station; and firefighter paramedic Chris Stuehler from Engine 3, the University Station; administered oxygen to the animal saving his life during the Oct. 28 blaze.

Neighbor Gene Martin, who lives a couple of blocks down from the home on Vista del Monte, said he had driven past the house on Friday and saw a firefighter putting crime-scene tape around the house.

He then went for a walk down the street with his wife and noticed a big hole in the house in the roof of the garage and another hole in the house.

"You could smell fire ... we started talking to a couple of neighbors out in the street. They said it had burned the night before, but we hadn't heard any fire engines," Martin said.

"We were very surprised ...There's been a lot of talk in our little neighborhood email network, people saying they were sorry this had happened and wondering if there was anything we could do to help," Martin added.

The fire apparently took more than two hours to put out and about 20 firefighters responded.

Britt apparently has three children and was not in the home when the second fire erupted. The home had been in the process of renovations and was almost ready for Britt to move in, Martin said.

"They had contractors there and they were just about to move into the house and they had a lot of stuff stored in the garage and it looked like the garage itself was targeted," Martin indicated. "The neighborhood would like the authorities to apprehend whoever is targeting this family. To have two fires in the same home is rather suspicious."

If anyone has information or may have seen something suspicious in the area the evening of the fire, they are urged to call the Santa Clara County Fire Department's anonymous hotline at 1-888-341-4401.