Investigators Seek Cause of 5 Alarm Fire

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Investigators are just getting started on the task of determining the cause and origin of a five-alarm fire on Tuesday that gutted a 126-unit townhouse complex in West Oakland, authorities said Wednesday.

Investigators also will need time to determine if the blaze at the Ice House Development on West Grand Avenue between Myrtle and Filbert streets was suspicious and is connected to other suspicious fires at housing projects in Oakland and other nearby cities in the last two years, officials said.

Speaking to a large group of reporters at a briefing at the Oakland Emergency Operations Center, Oakland Fire Chief Darin White said, "The fire department and city leaders recognize the magnitude of yesterday's
incident and the dire consequences that can come from an incident like that, which can compromise public and first responder safety."

White said he was especially concerned that flames spread to power poles in the area, which he said "created an electrical hazard that was very hazardous."

He said electrical fires are "the unseen killer."

White said the fire department has called in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives national response team to help investigate the fire, which was reported just before 2 a.m. on Tuesday and
wasn't controlled until 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

White said, "They're just getting started and I ask for your patience."

ATF Special Agent In Charge Patrick Gorman said the fire investigation probably will be lengthy "because it was a very significant structure and it's a complicated scene."

Gorman said the fact that there have been a number of suspicious fires at housing projects in Oakland and nearby "is extremely concerning to us."

He also said the ATF probably will need the public's help in figuring out how the fire started and who was responsible.

White said he advises housing project developers "to raise the level of protection for every stage of construction and determine if they've adequately deterred the threat of fires."

White said many developers have been "proactive" and already have taken steps to try to prevent potential arson.

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— Bay City News; Image via Oakland Fire