Home Depot will pay more than $1.3 million after numerous violations that investigators said contributed to an arson fire at a San Jose store in 2022, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office said.
Authorities began investigating Home Depot stores in the county after the April 2022 blaze destroyed the 98,827-square-foot store on Blossom Hill Road.
Home Depot is set to pay $850,000 in civil penalties and will provide $150,000 to a nonprofit focusing on fire prevention and outreach in the county.
After the fire, Dyllin Jaycruz Gogue, 27 years old at the time of the arrest and a San Jose resident, was charged with aggravated arson, seven counts of grand theft, and three counts of petty larceny in connection with the fire that destroyed the building and caused over $17 million in damages and lost goods.
Prosecutors said Gogue had allegedly attempted to steal tools from the Blossom Hill Home Depot, but before leaving he set a fire in an aisle. He allegedly tried to leave with a cartful of tools and fled in a vehicle.
The quickly spreading blaze prompted employees and customers to run from the store while water was not being dispersed from the sprinkler system. Authorities said no injuries were reported. The arson case against Gogue is still pending, and jail records show his next court hearing is set for June 7.
“Fire code violations are potential tragedies in waiting. Ignoring them isn’t just risky; it’s reckless. It risks far more than property. It risks lives.” District Attorney Jeff Rosen
It was concluded that the store had various serious fire code violations that critically impeded firefighters and the saving of the store, according to investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives and San Jose Fire Department.
During the five-alarm fire, Home Depot’s automatic fire suppression water sprinkler system was disabled, and investigators said the store had been notified but didn’t fix the system.
However, the investigation showed that the non-compliance with fire code regulations was not just at one single Home Depot store.
From 2018-23, 13 other stores across the county were issued notices of violation under the fire code.
“Fire code violations are potential tragedies in waiting,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement. “Ignoring them isn’t just risky; it’s reckless. It risks far more than property. It risks lives.”
Additionally, the DA’s office said firefighters responding to the scene were blocked from the fire lane and fire department connections by high piles of pallets.
The San Jose Fire Department will get back costs associated with the fire and all other county fire departments will receive costs associated with the investigation, according to the DA’s office.