A major fire broke out in a four-story apartment building Tuesday evening in Oakland, forcing the evacuation of all 66 units and the rescue of several tenants from balconies yelling for help.
The cause of the two-alarm fire, which displaced 23 residents at at 200 Fairmount Ave., was under investigation Wednesday, officials said.
Everyone escaped safely from the building, except for a cat who perished in the apartment where the fire started, said Oakland Fire Battalion Chief Anthony Sanders.
“We had flames coming from an apartment on the third floor, extending up to units on the fourth floor,” Sanders said. “We had many residents that we evacuated from balconies and through hallways.”
Firefighters with ladders helped retrieve at least one group of adults from a balcony, he said. Four of the units were destroyed, he added. People living in 10 or 12 of the units affected by fire or smoke were displaced and working with the Red Cross for accommodations. Those apartments will likely need extensive renovation.
Rory Bannatyne and his wife Terri Coleman hold their dog Bunty and cat Tubbs as Oakland firefighters respond to a two-alarm fire in a large apartment building at 200 Fairmount Avenue in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. They live in an apartment above the fire and could not find their two other cats to get them out. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
One couple, Rory Bannatyne and Terri Coleman, fled to safety with their poodle, Bunty, and one of their three cats, Tubbs.
“We live above the fire and started smelling smoke and we got out as fast as we could but couldn’t find the other two cats,” Coleman said. Bannatyne was holding the poodle, who appeared to be gray in color. “He used to be white,” Bannatyne said.
An Oakland firefighter retrieved water from a nearby hydrant and, cupping his hand, gave Tubbs a drink.
The cat who died was retrieved by firefighters and brought to its owners, the battalion chief said. He suspected the cause of death was smoke inhalation.
Oakland firefighters respond to a two-alarm fire in a large apartment building at 200 Fairmount Avenue in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
After receiving a call at 7:50 p.m., the first firefighters arrived within two minutes to the older apartment building, near 29th Street and Broadway, Sanders said. A full contingent, including 10 fire trucks and ladder companies, two battalion chiefs and two standby ambulances, were in place by 7:53 p.m, he said. Flames were shooting out of a third-floor apartment and spread to the fourth floor and attic before the two-alarm blaze was controlled within about 20 minutes, Sanders said.
“One of the units that was due on this was Station 10, which is one of our firehouses that got reopened as part of the city and the voters voting to keep our firehouses fully staffed and operational,” he said. “That makes a huge difference in something like this, having all those resources on scene very quickly is the only thing that kept us from getting bigger and not having any human casualties.”
East Bay Times photojournalist Jane Tyska and staff writer Harry Harris contributed to this report.
Oakland firefighters respond to a two-alarm fire in a large apartment building at 200 Fairmount Avenue in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Oakland firefighters respond to a two-alarm fire in a large apartment building at 200 Fairmount Avenue in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
An Oakland firefighter cups his hand to give Terri Coleman’s cat Tubbs a drink of water as firefighters respond to a two-alarm fire in a large apartment building at 200 Fairmount Avenue in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. Coleman and her husband Rory Bannatyne live in an apartment above the fire and could not find their two other cats to get them out. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Oakland firefighters respond to a two-alarm fire in a large apartment building at 200 Fairmount Avenue in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Rory Bannatyne and his wife Terri Coleman hold their dog Bunty and cat Tubbs as an Oakland firefighter prepares to give the animals water from his cupped hand during a two-alarm fire in a large apartment building at 200 Fairmount Avenue in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. They live in an apartment above the fire and could not find their two other cats to get them out. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Oakland firefighters respond to a two-alarm fire in a large apartment building at 200 Fairmount Avenue in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Rory Bannatyne, right, talks with Oakland firefighters to ask them to look for his other two cats as they respond to a two-alarm fire in a large apartment building at 200 Fairmount Avenue in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Oakland firefighters respond to a two-alarm fire in a large apartment building at 200 Fairmount Avenue in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
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Oakland firefighters respond to a two-alarm fire in a large apartment building at 200 Fairmount Avenue in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)