Berkeley Animal Shelter, damaged in suspicious fire, to remain closed for at least three weeks – East Bay Times

BERKELEY — The Berkeley Animal Shelter will remain closed for at least three weeks and possibly longer after a Saturday night fire at the facility that officials deemed suspicious.

Police have opened an arson investigation into the fire, prompted by security footage that indicated that the fire may have been set intentionally, said Berkeley Police Department Office Byron White on Tuesday.

There were no injuries to civilians, animals or firefighters.

The city released a statement Tuesday that said after evaluating damage from the fire, “staff have determined that we have no choice but to temporarily close the facility. All animals have been relocated to supportive shelters and staff at our shelter did a tremendous job in quickly finding places for them. The closure is expected to last a minimum of three weeks to remediate smoke damage and repair the sprinkler system but could last months. We will try and reopen as quickly as possible.”

The release said that out of precaution for both staff and shelter animals, the shelter has paused the following services until the building is fully remediated: Adoption services, lost and found pet services, volunteer work, animal field services and all walk-in services.

The release said that following a building inspection on Monday, staff determined that there was no structural damage to the building. However, the after-effects of the fire — smoke damage in staff areas, and the sprinkler system needing to be reset — rendered the building temporarily unsafe for people or animals.

The release said pet owners or members of the public can direct questions to animalservices@berkeleyca.gov. Anyone looking to drop off or adopt an animal should contact other local shelters.

The fire was first reported about 10:08 p.m. Saturday at the facility, which is at 1 Bolivar Dr., near the Berkeley Marina. The initial call was for a water flow alarm but it was soon upgraded to a working structure fire when firefighters got on scene.

Officials said the building’s sprinkler system held the fire in check. It was determined the fire originated under a stairwell where donated items for the shelter were stored.

The fire was contained to the stairwell area. Officials did not release a public assessment of the damage.

The arson investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact BPD’s Property Crimes Unit at 510-981-5737.