Squatters Escape After Fire Breaks Out At North Oakland Warehouse
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- A fire that injured one person Friday at a North Oakland warehouse that had recently been red-tagged could have been much worse without the efforts of Oakland Fire Department, said the City Council member who represents the district.
"I, my office staff and OPD officials met with residents of the neighborhood regarding this very building and corner less than two weeks ago," District 1 Councilman Dan Kalb said in a statement. "My staff and I are and have been working to make this neighborhood safer and ensure that residents' and neighbors' concerns are heard AND addressed by OPD and the appropriate offices within the City of Oakland."
The blaze was reported about 2:30 a.m. at 3855 West St., in the city's Longfellow neighborhood, according to the Oakland Fire Department.
A woman was injured and treated at the scene, according to fire department spokesman Michael Hunt.
On Nov. 28, city officials red-tagged the building and evacuated people living there illegally, Hunt said. But it appears the warehouse was occupied again when the fire broke out Friday morning, and four to five people were displaced Hunt said.
"This building was red-tagged as uninhabitable in November along with an eviction notice for the owner and temporary occupants in the building," Kalb said. While most of the occupants have not returned, some of them did come back into the building illegally. The exact origins of this fire remain under investigation."
Kalb visited the fire scene Friday and talked with fire officials and neighbors in the area.
"First and foremost, I want to thank the excellent work by the men and women of the Oakland Fire Department for their swift and effective work this morning to put out the fire and rescue two people who had been occupants in the building," he said. "We are thankful that no lives were lost. Without their efforts this catastrophe would have been much worse."
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