One of the renters, Saron Hanson, recalled waking up Monday morning smelling smoke. No alarms were going off, he said, and even when they did in the past, he didn\u2019t always rouse himself because of frequent false alerts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the smoke prompted him to \u201cjump up\u201d and run outside without grabbing anything.<\/p>\n
Hanson said he lost \u201ceverything,\u201d from his wallet and personal records to his DJ equipment, clothing, and $2 bill collection. He also believes someone entered his apartment during or after the fire and looted it, because his TV and other high-priced items were gone when he was let back in.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very traumatic,\u201d said Hanson, who\u2019s the cousin of rapper Mistah F.A.B., whose Dope Era<\/a> store was also located at 1770 Broadway. At first Hanson felt too prideful to stay at the city\u2019s shelter, but when he came back from his night shift working as a security guard Tuesday morning, he realized he had nowhere else to go.<\/p>\n Today, tenants like Hanson will meet with city staff to get connected with housing and legal assistance, said Oakland spokesperson Jean Walsh. The displaced renters qualify for priority placement in affordable housing.<\/p>\n The cause of the blaze is still under investigation, but the owner, property manager, and residents all believe it had something to do with a scooter \u201cchop shop\u201d they say has been run out of the building for over two years.<\/p>\n In 2024, another fire was started by someone running the chop shop, where they \u201cstole electric scooters and fudged the wiring,\u201d according to landlord Ted Dang. He told The Oaklandside that he tried unsuccessfully to evict the person who lived in that unit after the fire, and court records filed by that tenant corroborate this. He said he eventually secured a court order a month ago, but the sheriff hasn\u2019t shown up.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dang\u2019s on-site property manager, Jason Stewart, said the chop shop leader \u2014 someone associated with the tenant \u2014 took it upon themselves to move out of that fourth-floor unit and relocate their operations to someone else\u2019s apartment on the second floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n That new unit \u2014 where many believe Monday\u2019s fire started \u2014 then \u201cgot taken over by transients,\u201d according to Stewart. He said the tenant there began sleeping in the hallway, having been pushed out.<\/p>\n \u201cI would get police out here often to deal with that unit,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cEvery time they came out, I\u2019d let them know this tenant doesn\u2019t want these people here. Police would refuse to do anything. We got zero backup.\u201d<\/p>\n Stewart said the police would tell him the issues were civil matters, not criminal.\u00a0<\/p>\n We asked the Oakland Police Department questions about this case, and about OPD\u2019s general purview in cases like this. The department did not respond for our questions, saying our inquiry would require filing a public records request.<\/p>\n Some tenants told us they didn\u2019t feel assured by the owner and manager\u2019s approach to the safety issues at the property, which reportedly included multiple tenants having untreated mental health crises, deferred maintenance in the building, and a lack of communication during emergencies.<\/p>\n Dang, a prominent Oakland landlord and co-founder of affordable housing developer EBALDC<\/a>, said he began accepting more formerly homeless tenants when the building had vacancies early in the pandemic. Some of the tenants had serious mental health challenges.<\/p>\n Dang said he\u2019s owed thousands of dollars by some tenants who haven\u2019t been paying rent, but has allowed many to stay despite the debt.<\/p>\n As for the safety issues, he said tenants have \u201cfelt like prisoners in this building\u201d and \u201cwe\u2019ve tried our best\u201d to abate the problems, but many of the issues were out of his control.<\/p>\n What\u2019s next for renters? Dang received scrutiny this week for issuing tenants notices<\/a> shortly after the fire, declaring that their leases were \u201chereby terminated\u201d and telling them to collect their remaining belongings in order to receive their security deposits back.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not legal, according to Oakland\u2019s city attorney, who sent Dang\u2019s company, Commonwealth Management, a letter<\/a> Tuesday demanding the notices be withdrawn.<\/p>\n There are formal requirements a property owner must meet if they want residents to permanently \u201cvacate\u201d a building, the letter said.<\/p>\n On Friday, the city said tenants may be eligible for relocation payments from the property owner under city law, but that\u2019s still being determined.\u00a0<\/p>\n Speaking with The Oaklandside, Dang doubled down on his decision to tell tenants their leases were up. \u201cAccording to the leases, when the building is destroyed, the leases are terminated,\u201d he said. But tenant attorneys told us a fire does not justify immediate evictions.<\/p>\n Dang also criticized the use of Oakland\u2019s relocation ordinance, arguing the city sometimes overreaches when it determines landlords are liable for paying out tenants.<\/p>\n Hanson, the renter, praised the initial response to the fire by the city and the Red Cross.<\/p>\n
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Sixty firefighters responded to the blaze Monday morning. Credit: Oakland Fire Department<\/a><\/p>\n