With crane gone, fire investigators search for clues
Hundreds of people remained displaced Saturday as crews toppled a giant, firedamaged construction crane — the last obstacle before investigators could determine what caused a huge blaze one day earlier in Oakland.
On Sunday, Oakland Fire Department officials expect to enter the burnt-out husk of what was supposed to be the Alta Waverly apartment complex— 196 market-rate units with ground floor retail.
They will be joined Monday by federal investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which is dispatching personnel from around the country to help.
On Saturday morning, fire crews continued to shoot water at hot spots in the charred wreckage of the building, which caught fire around 4:30 a.m. Friday, sending flames and smoke above downtown Oakland before being contained a few hours later. No one was injured.
Workers knocked down much of the scaffolding surrounding the building as people watched from nearby streets.
The teetering crane, which was damaged in the fire and in danger of collapsing, caused fire officials to order the evacuation of residents in the surrounding areas. Officials worked Saturday morning on plans to remove the crane.
The developers of the burned building, along with their contractor, rotated the crane and pulled it down into
an empty parking lot on Valdez Street on Saturday evening, according to Oakland Fire Department officials. Though the plan had been designed to avoid hitting any buildings, police officers went through the evacuated buildings to make sure all civilians were out of the buildings Saturday afternoon, officials said.
The crane was toppled safely shortly after 7:30 p.m.
City inspectors had not been able to enter nearby buildings to evaluate whether they remained structurally sound Saturday, said Sean Maher, a spokesman for the city of Oakland. Once the crane was removed, the plan was to fast-track those inspections, probably beginning Sunday morning.
“Our goal is to return residents to their homes as swiftly as possible, but only once we've conducted these inspections to confirm it is safe for them to do so,” he said.
Some neighboring buildings were damaged by the high heat, smoke and water, according to fire officials.
Residents such as Hernan Carrillo, a 50-year-old AT&T technician who lives in an apartment building next door to the charred construction site on Waverly Street with his wife and young son, are staying with friends as work at the fire site continues.
Carrillo was able to return to his apartment for a few minutes Friday night to gather belongings and assess the damage.
“The roof has a bunch of holes, there’s water damage in the bedrooms — our bed is ruined,” he said.
“I was lucky to have a friend who had a space,” he said. “Otherwise I’d be really worried about the housing situation. I wouldn’t be able to afford anything at this time.”
Carrillo has lived in his rent-controlled apartment for 12 years.
The seven-story Alta Waverly development was set to open next spring at 23rd and Valdez streets, according to a project website.
The Oakland architectural firm Pyatok designed the building for the Wood Partners development firm, and the construction was being done by Andersen Construction.
A group of displaced residents met with Angela Robinson Piñon, a spokeswoman with the Oakland Fire Department, at the St. Vincent de Paul center Saturday afternoon to discuss future assistance and when they could potentially return to their homes. The center opened as a shelter for those who had been evacuated.
Samantha Pham, 55, was part of the group watching Piñon on Saturday afternoon. Pham lives in an apartment building next door to the construction site with her husband and 14-year-old son. They had stayed at a motel Friday night, but their future housing plans were unclear.
“I don’t know what’s coming next or where I’m going to go,” she said. “Where do I stay? I have no answer.”