UPDATE: Fire Burns In Oakland Residential Tower; Firefighters, Residents Injured
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- Five people, including three firefighters, were injured in a two-alarm fire that burned at a multiple-story West Oakland residential building Tuesday afternoon.
The fire erupted at an Oakland Housing Authority building in the city's Acorn neighborhood at Market and 7th Street, with crews attacking the fire on the 6th and 7th floor, according to the Oakland Fire Department.
Fire Chief Reginald Freeman said it was a chaotic scene when crews arrived to battle the blaze.
"We had residents on the balconies screaming for help," Freeman said, adding that two firefighters were injured while using ladders to reach the residents. "We also at the same time had other rescues and grabs that we had to make with civilians that were trapped inside the smoke-filled building."
Five people were taken to area hospitals, three of them were responding firefighters. Freeman said all of the injured were "doing fine," but no further details on their conditions were available.
The fire department said the firefighters who were injured were overcome by the smoke and hot air. Two of the firefighters were immediately taken to Highland Hospital with a female firefighter having the worst of the smoke inhalation. The third firefighter who was on the scene for about 20 minutes was taken to the hospital as a precaution.
The Red Cross was on the scene to support displaced occupants from 12 residential units, according to the count.
