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Oakland Firefighters Contain Two-Alarm Blaze at 5-Story Apartment Building

A missing standpipe forced crews to haul water through hoses, slowing the first attack.

Overview

  • Firefighters brought the blaze in a 66-unit complex under control in about 20 minutes after the first engine arrived.
  • Officials reported no injuries to residents or firefighters, though one tenant's cat died.
  • Four apartments were fire-damaged, and smoke and water damage has displaced residents from about a dozen units.
  • The building, which is split into two sections, has no standpipe, a fixed pipe that feeds water to upper floors, so crews had to pull hose lines up the stairwells.
  • Investigators are probing the cause after flames reached the attic and crews opened the roof to stop the spread.