The historic Camron-Stanford House in Oakland, the last of the Victorian houses that once surrounded Lake Merritt, suffered damage in a fire early Saturday morning.
The Oakland Fire Department responded to calls about a fire at 14th Street and Lakeside Drive shortly after 12:40 a.m., and were able to get the blaze fully under control by 1:30 a.m., Battalion Chief Nathan Leal told SFGATE by phone.
A total of 28 firefighters responded to the scene and the first fire engine arrived within two minutes of the initial call to the fire department, according to Leal.
“I’m really proud, our crew did an incredible job,” Leal said. “This is one of Oakland’s most historic buildings, and we were able to salvage a tremendous amount of art and precious items that are historic to the city.”
The fire was determined to have originated on the exterior of the building, on the east side facing nearby Lake Chalet Seafood Bar & Grill, before advancing inside and rising up to the third floor, according to Leal.
The quick response time and swift action on-site enabled fire crews to contain the fire to primarily the east side of the building, saving time and minimizing damage to artifacts inside the building, he said.
Leal also noted that a key design element to the Camron-Stanford House, as well as other Victorians from the era, allows distinct avenues for fire to travel from floor to ceiling, which played a critical role in extinguishing the fire quickly.
The cause of the fire is under investigation and remains unknown as of Saturday morning.
The Camron-Stanford House was built in 1876 by Samuel Merritt and became a museum in 1907, Oakland’s first, according to its website. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
Since the end of its last lease in August 2024, the House had received notice to discontinue operation and has been closed to the public, but efforts to reopen it are mentioned on the website. Despite Saturday’s fire, Leal is hopeful that the fire department’s actions on Saturday will keep those hopes alive.
“I’m unsure on the building’s future, but given the stop we made, the building should be able to get back into operation,” Leal said.
The timeline for the building’s potential reopening remains unknown.
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This article originally published at Fire damages historic Camron-Stanford House in Oakland.