Several injured after fire rips through Oakland building; rapper Mistah F.A.B.'s store damaged
OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- A large three-alarm fire tore through a five-story residential building in Oakland Monday morning, sending several people to the hospital.
The calls came in around 7 a.m. for the fire at the building on 19th and Broadway. That's next to the BART station and not far from the Fox Theater.
Three people were treated for smoke inhalation and transported and a firefighter also had minor injuries.
"Heavy fire on every floor of the building. Upon arrival we had heavy smoke and flames," said Oakland Fire Chief Damon Covington.
Covington says more than 50 firefighters responded to the fire along Broadway near the city's downtown core.
While traffic was stopped and businesses shut down for several hours, Covington says things could have been worse if it wasn't for the holiday reducing the number of people out.
"We'd have a lot more traffic. Buses would be moving about. It would have been a lot harder to get our resources into place," said Covington.
Officials on scene say 48 units in total were impacted by this fire in addition to several retail spaces.
Getting all that fixed will take anywhere from 12 to 18 months. Those who live here now having to find a way to rebuild their lives. Sophia Akbar knows many of those people.
"The third person sent a message in our company chat saying hey I don't think I'm coming to work today. We realized, okay, something serious has happened," she said.
Akbar co-owns two restaurants nearby and employs more than a dozen people who lived in the complex.
She says she and her husband were shocked to discover what had happened.
To try and help, the pair set up a GoFundMe, trying to raise as much money as they can to help their employees in need.
"We just truly, wholeheartedly believe that if you treat your people right they will stay. And this is the very least we can do to show up for our team," said Akbar.
Mayor Barbara Lee says the city is working with the Red Cross and other organizations to assist those impacted by the fire.
The building houses dozens of residential units and on the bottom floor, businesses like Dope Era, owned by rapper Mistah F.A.B.
He told ABC7 News he got calls from neighboring businesses about the fire.
"It's tough to wake up like this, arduous morning, getting up, getting down here, and seeing this, and not knowing what to expect," Mistah F.A.B. said.
He said the store has been hit hard by water damage, but his thoughts weren't with the material things.
"The heart that I have and the person that I am, retail is not the detail," he said. "It's the least of my worries; my main thing is, are the people okay?"
Video of the aftermath shows multiple floors of units gutted by fire.
Mistah F.A.B. says he's focused on helping those residents.
"Is there anybody that has been affected by this that may not see tomorrow or may not see the rest of the day? We have an opportunity to see today, and I'm okay, I'm great, I'm thankful," he said.
The cause of the fires is under investigation.
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