The man inside the home that burned was asleep and made it out because his smoke detector woke him up. Firefighters are still at the scene on Egret Court.
The massive flames could easily by seen from I-880.
Firefighters said debris inside the home was fueling the fire. At one point the firefighters were pulled out of the house because they were concerned the roof was going to collapse.
The homeowner did not want to be identified, but he seemed to take it all in stride.
"It's kind of sad, but you know you can't change it -- it happened."
Firefighters also saved his dog.
An elderly wheelchair-bound couple who live next door saw black smoke and got out of their house.
"I heard the fire start exploding," said Hayward resident Steve Zielinsky.
They both wheeled themselves out of the house and down the street to safety.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. Nobody was injured.
