Oakland firefighters snuffed out a three-alarm fire in an East Oakland warehouse that officials and witnesses say started in a debris pile outside the structure.
Oakland fire units responded at 8:28 a.m. to the American Emperor electric warehouse at 19th Avenue between East 12th Street and International Boulevard. The blaze was contained by 10 a.m., and some units were withdrawn from the scene by 10:30.
Melinda Drayton, an Oakland Fire Department battalion chief, said workers and customers were in the two-story electrical and construction supply warehouse when the blaze broke out. Everyone inside escaped without injury, she said, adding that the building is likely a total loss.
Drayton said the fire is believed to have started in a debris pile in an alley outside the building and spread into the structure through an open window. She added that while it's not known how the fire started, investigators will inspect video from surveillance cameras installed along the alley, called Solano Way.
One witness, Anatol Dragstedt, said he was unsuccessful in an effort to stop the fire before it spread into the warehouse. Dragstedt said he was driving past the scene when he saw smoke and pulled up to a tent on fire on Solano Way.
"I discharged probably seven or eight fire extinguishers, and then we saw (the fire) running across the ceiling," Dragstedt said. "There was one guy there pushing a car away, a white pick-up truck. There was a tent and some debris and it was right next to a window. We noticed the glass was breaking and we were just like, 'Forget about it' because you could see it going in the ceiling. The power lines started falling, so we just left."
Oakland Fire Chief Darin White said structural engineers are now evaluating the building for risk of collapse.
"In the event we determine that there is a significant concern regarding collapse, we're going to establish a perimeter on this at least, to ensure that there's no pedestrian, bicycle or traffic walking or in the areas that we have concern about," White said.
PG&E crews were called to the scene to deal with down and sparking power lines. After the blaze was all but extinguished, firefighters sought help from hazardous materials crews to help clean up paint flowing from the burned building and debris pile into nearby storm drains.
KQED's Ted Goldberg and Sara Hossaini contributed to this report.