Five residents and two pets were displaced after a house fire in the 1000 block of 67th street at the border of South Berkeley and North Oakland Monday afternoon, but no one was injured, the Berkeley Fire Department confirmed.
Berkeley firefighters received reports of the fire at 1:11 p.m. at the home and arrived at the scene along with Oakland firefighters at 1:18 p.m., Berkeley Assistant Fire Chief Keith May said. The address is technically in Oakland, but the Berkeley Fire Department was the lead agency in the case.
Heavy smoke and flames were coming out of three sides of the structure when firefighters arrived, May said. Readers shared photos with Berkeleyside showing flames and smoke billowing out of the home’s roof. May said all the residents were able to evacuate the building safely and the fire was soon extinguished.
The fire originally began in the basement of the home and burned through two floors and the attic, according to Oakland fire officials.
At one point, it seemed likely that the roof would collapse onto the second floor of the structure and fire crews were pulled out of the area to evaluate the situation, May said.
May couldn’t confirm whether the roof of the building ultimately collapsed, but said the building is not safe to live in and all the residents and pets who were displaced will receive support from the American Red Cross.
No firefighters or residents were injured during the response, and the cause of the fire is under investigation. Berkeley firefighters were still at the scene as of 2:30 p.m., according to fire dispatch radio traffic, but Oakland firefighters were released at about 2 p.m.
