ALAMEDA, Calif. -- An Alameda fire captain helped a disabled man reach safety from his burning residence on Pacific Avenue early Wednesday morning before crews extinguished the blaze, according to firefighters.
Investigators are investigating the cause of the fire, which began outside the 4-unit apartment building at 2002 Pacific Ave. and initially scorched an exterior wall before it spread to the second story and roof.
Fifteen people were displaced, Alameda fire Capt. Jim Colburn said. The American Red Cross is currently assisting the residents with temporary accommodations.
An estimate to repair the building and replace property damaged by the two-alarm fire, which was reported at 1:03 a.m., was not immediately
available.
"While firefighters were en route, a dispatcher came on the air about a possible person trapped inside the building," Colburn said.
Capt. Allyn Richterman entered the building and found a man struggling to get out, Colburn said. "There was a lot of smoke and he reached him at what could have been a very critical time."
One tenant was transported to a hospital and two firefighters were treated at the scene for minor injuries.
Four engines, two ladder trucks, three ambulances, and a duty chief responded to the fire, which was contained in about an hour.
The 3,457-square-foot building was built in 1895, according to Trulia, a real estate website. It has six bedrooms and four bathrooms and may have been
a converted single-family home.
As crews worked to extinguish the blaze, Oakland firefighters covered three Alameda fire stations in the event of another emergency as part of a mutual aid agreement between the two cities.
The Alameda firefighters initially dispatched were from Fire Station 3 on Grand Avenue.
The fire on Pacific Avenue comes just before a community meeting set to review a study on replacing the station, along with building a new emergency communications center.
Crews assigned to Fire Station 3 are currently based in what was a once a family residence next to the station since the station has been deemed seismically unsafe. The crews serve the central part of Alameda.
The meeting will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday at Mastick Senior Center, 1155 Santa Clara Ave. Additional meetings on the study will take place at the center on Sept. 20 and Oct. 1.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
