Overnight Fire Destroys Apartment Complex

An overnight fire caused by a cigarette destroyed an apartment complex on President Drive.

No one was injured in the 3 a.m. fire, which left the residences uninhabitable.

The smell of smoke still lingered in the air just after 8:30 a.m.

Craig Loy, 52, was asleep in his single-family home across the street from the four-unit apartment complex when sirens and flashing red lights wakened him, he said.

"I thought maybe my house was on fire," said Loy, who has lived on President Drive for four years.

He said he spoke to his neighbor after the complex had been evacuated.

"She said she was smoking and thought she had put her cigarette out," he said. He said he could not remember his neighbor's name.

Loy said the Fire Department turned off the gas and electricity in the complex.

An inspector from the department was on the scene at about 8:30 a.m. He said he could not answer questions about the fire because he did not know enough about it.

Castro Valley Patch is waiting for more information from the Fire Department's Public Information Officer, Aisha Knowles. Knowles said she was not at the scene when the fire happened.