OAKLAND -- Mail will still be delivered despite a three-alarm fire Wednesday morning at the U.S. Post Office distribution center in West Oakland, officials said.
The flames from one of the window areas of the five-story concrete building reached as high as 10 feet, officials said. At 5:33 a.m. the Oakland Fire Department responded to the blaze at the building at 1675 7th St., near the West Oakland BART station, authorities said.
"There was an aggressive attack by the fire department," said Captain Melinda Drayton of the Oakland Fire Department. No one was injured in the blaze and no mail was destroyed, officials said.
The fire was brought under control by 6:16 a.m., fire officials said.
U.S. Postal inspectors and the fire department are still investigating the cause of the fire. U.S. Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents also will help investigate the blaze. More than 70 fire personnel and 13 fire engines responded to the fire, Drayton said.
The fire broke out on the administrative side of the post office building, where the front office is located and personnel files are stored, postal officials said. The area is a separate operation from the mail processing center.
Officials said the fire won't affect Wednesday's mail delivery operations.
About 600 workers in the mail processing plant were evacuated.
Drayton said a worker on the other side of the building, near the heating and cooling system smelled smoke. Another worker then went to the fourth floor to check for smoke but realized the fire was burning below on the third floor.
Mainly janitors with special codes and badges have access to the administrative area after hours, according to some mail workers at the scene.
Tony Nickson, a postal truck driver whose shift began at 2 a.m., said he heard the fire alarm go off. He has worked at the post office for 28 years.
"I cut off my truck because I smelled smoke," he said. "But I stayed calm because I was accustomed to doing fire drills."
The 945,569-square-foot center opened in February 1970. The majority of the mail moving through the East Bay and portions of the North Bay are routed through the center, which processes tens of thousands of pieces of mail daily.
Staff writer Harry Harris contributed to this report.
