Heartbreak on Foss Avenue: San Jose Buddhist Temple Lost to Fire for the Second Time

For San Jose's diverse faith communities, places of worship are irreplaceable anchors of culture and belonging — making the repeated destruction of Chua Duyen Giac a deeply painful story for neighbors and worshippers alike.

🔥 Temple Owner Speaks Out After Second Devastating Blaze

A three-alarm fire broke out before dawn at Chua Duyen Giac, a large two-story mixed-use Buddhist temple on the 90 block of Foss Avenue in San Jose. Firefighters were dispatched around 5:37 a.m. and found the back of the structure fully engulfed, threatening neighboring homes. No one was inside at the time and no injuries were reported. Critically, the temple had not yet passed its final inspection following repairs from a 2024 fire, and fire crews declared the building a total loss. The owner spoke with reporters off camera after the blaze. [3]

🏚️ Partial Roof Collapse Compounds the Loss at Foss Avenue

San Jose firefighters responding to the three-alarm blaze at Chua Duyen Giac also reported a partial roof collapse during firefighting operations. Traffic along Foss Avenue was shut down and the public was urged to stay away while crews worked the scene. The same temple had been struck by a three-alarm fire on May 13, 2024, which had displaced people and left the building badly damaged, with one person transported to hospital for smoke inhalation at that time. The recurrence of a major fire at the same site underscores the magnitude of the loss for the congregation. [4]

🚒 KTVU Reports on the Scale of the Three-Alarm Response

KTVU FOX 2 covered the three-alarm fire at the Buddhist temple on Foss Avenue in San Jose, confirming that the blaze required a significant emergency response from the San Jose Fire Department. The incident drew wide regional media attention given that the same temple had previously suffered serious fire damage. The repeated nature of the disaster at this address made it a notable story across Bay Area news outlets tracking the South Bay. [5]

⛩️ KQED Documents the Full Destruction of a Community Sanctuary

KQED's coverage emphasized that the temple, Chua Duyen Giac, was effectively destroyed after this second major fire in two years. The report highlighted the particular tragedy of a sacred space being lost twice in such a short span, with the building still in the process of being rebuilt from its prior damage. The loss resonates broadly across San Jose's Asian communities, for whom Buddhist temples serve not only as places of worship but as cultural and social gathering spaces. [8]

Sources: [3] NBC Bay Area · [4] ABC7 Bay Area · [5] KTVU · [8] KQED