Firefighters in Oakland are putting out a five-alarm fire in a busy section of the city’s Chinatown neighborhood.
The fire first broke out at around 8:15 a.m. Wednesday and grew to five alarms in about one hour. About 100 firefighters were called to the scene as the fire grew rapidly, but crews were able to get the fire largely under control by 10:15 a.m.
“This building behind us is approximately two-thirds of the block, significant old building in Chinatown," said Drayton. "We’ve got restaurants on the bottom. As far as we know we don’t have any legal residences above. All occupants were out of the building.”
Crews had to climb onto the roof of the building and cut through in order to get access to the second floor and get the fire under control.
The building is old, which caused the fire to ignite quickly and while crews were able to save the building, Drayton says there is significant smoke and water damage inside.
There are no reports of any injuries at this time.
Many of the firefighters who responded had just returned to Oakland after spending weeks on wildfire lines.