A large three-alarm fire tore through a five-story residential building in Oakland Monday morning, sending several people to the hospital.
The calls came in around 7 a.m. for the fire at the building on 19th and Broadway. That’s next to the BART station and not far from the Fox Theater.
Three people were treated for smoke inhalation and transported and a firefighter also had minor injuries.
The building houses dozens of residential units and on the bottom floor, businesses like Dope Era, owned by rapper Mistah F.A.B.
He told ABC7 News he got calls from neighboring businesses about the fire.
“It’s tough to wake up like this, arduous morning, getting up, getting down here, and seeing this, and not knowing what to expect,” Mistah F.A.B. said.
He said the store has been hit hard by water damage, but his thoughts weren’t with the material things.
“The heart that I have and the person that I am, retail is not the detail,” he said. “It’s the least of my worries; my main thing is, are the people okay?”
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Oakland Fire Chief Damon Covington says there was heavy fire on every floor of the building when crews arrived.
Video of the aftermath shows multiple floors of units gutted by fire.
Crews spent the morning going unit by unit to determine the stability of the structure and how many have been displaced.
Mistah F.A.B. says he’s focused on helping those residents.
“Is there anybody that has been affected by this that may not see tomorrow or may not see the rest of the day? We have an opportunity to see today, and I’m okay, I’m great, I’m thankful,” he said.
The cause of the fires is under investigation.
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