West Oakland fire destroys three houses

A large fire that tore through a neighborhood in West Oakland on Monday morning destroyed three homes.

The fire started before 5:30 a.m. on Ninth Street between Peralta and Chester streets, according to the Oakland Fire Department. The area is a few blocks north of the West Oakland BART Station.

The fire sparked in one of the homes and quickly spread to the two residences on both sides of it, according to Michael Hunt, a spokesperson for the Oakland Fire Department.

“Within moments of each other, both properties on each side were up in flames,” he said.

So far, at least eight people have been displaced by the fire. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire wasn’t known Monday morning, but the investigation was ongoing.

Fifty firefighters battled the blaze throughout the morning. By 9 a.m. the incident was under control, the agency said.

Kwame Grant, one of the residents displaced by the fire, said he had time to grab only his robe, a couple of jackets and his cell phone — the 29yearold and his family lost all of their valuables in the blaze.

He, his mother and his brother had lived in the home that has been in the family for more than two decades. Grant said that he is a studio musician — and that the fire took everything.

“Not only did I lose my family house and my memories, but I’m losing my career on top of that,” he said.

The house that originally caught fire had been vacant for about two years, Grant said, adding that multiple people had squatted there over the years.

Grant said the latest squatter was living there for at least a month and a half, and that he had called the Police Department several times to remove him, the latest instance being several days ago. Nothing happened, he said. According to Officer Johnna Watson, public information officer for the Oakland Police Department, the agency received a call on July 13 about trespassing. Watson said police responded but were unable to locate anyone so officers reported the home secure with no signs of entry.

Watson also said that at least two other calls had been made about trespassing in that residence over the last year and a half.

Oakland Fire Department Oakland firefighters battled an early morning fire in West Oakland that consumed three homes. At least eight people were displaced by the blaze. The cause is still unknown.