The Berkeley animal shelter on Tuesday morning. Credit: Zac Farber/Berkeleyside
Police believe someone intentionally set the Saturday night fire that forced an evacuation of the Berkeley Animal Care Services shelter, they announced Tuesday.
There were no injuries reported to humans or animals, but the facility will remain closed for at least three weeks and potentially months, the city said Tuesday.
Berkeley Police Department spokesperson Officer Byron White said that surveillance footage from the area led detectives to “believe that the fire was intentionally lit.” The department has opened an arson investigation and asked that anyone with information on the fire to contact the Property Crimes Unit at 510-981-5737.
“Information provided by community members may be critical to advancing the investigation,” White said in an email.
The fire burned through a pile of pet supplies under a stairway in the building’s lobby. All animals that had been sheltered at the facility have been relocated, according to city spokesperson Seung Lee.
Berkeley Fire spokesperson Dafina Dailey said the fire was reported around 10 p.m. Saturday, and that a broken window was among the findings that led an investigator “to believe the fire was suspicious in nature,” even before BPD announced what they had found on surveillance footage.
One of the six kittens at the shelter at the time of the fire. Credit: Jeffrey Zerwekh
A building inspection on Monday found no structural damage, but smoke damage was found in staff areas and the downed sprinkler system posed a risk to animals, Lee said.
Staff at the city-run shelter near Aquatic Park initially thought the animals were safe from smoke and could remain on site. But by the afternoon, the shelter’s six kittens were being evacuated from the building and by Monday, the shelter had decided to get all of the animals out, according to Jeffrey Zerwekh, executive director of Berkeley Humane, a nonprofit animal shelter.
Berkeley Humane took in the kittens Sunday at its facility on Ninth Street, and more than a dozen other cats from the shelter on Monday. All seemed to be healthy and have been placed into foster homes, Zerwekh said.
When he visited Sunday afternoon, he could smell smoke in the cat rooms at the top of the stairs, and the facility was under auxiliary power.
“It made sense to get the kittens out of there because they’re fragile,” he said.
In addition to helping find foster homes for cats, Berkeley Humane has been doing laundry for the shelter.
“We’re really good at laundry. The community has been donating towels, and in a little bit, we’re going to drop off a whole bunch of fresh towels for them,” Zerwekh said.
During the closure, the Berkeley animal shelter is suspending adoption services, lost-and-found pet services, volunteer work, animal field services and all walk-in services, Lee said. People looking to drop off or adopt an animal are urged to contact other local shelters. “We will try and reopen as quickly as possible,” Lee said, though remediating smoke damage and repairing the sprinkler system will be time-consuming.
Dog beds, blankets, food bags, leashes and other donated pet supplies were destroyed or left unusable from smoke damage. Credit: Zac Farber/Berkeleyside
The Berkeley animal shelter told volunteers Monday it was accepting clean unused towels and soft blankets, which can be left outside the front door. Monetary donations are also welcomed. The shelter requested no other donations be dropped off at this time.
Zerwekh said Berkeley Humane also appreciates donations to offset the cost of supplying felines’ foster families with litter boxes, food, formula, medicine, toys, crates and other supplies.
Editors’ note: This article was updated after publication with additional information.
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