Fire at abandoned building along Oakland estuary under control

OAKLAND, Calif. -- A fire at an abandoned building along the Oakland estuary was brought under control early Friday afternoon, fire officials said.

The two-alarm fire was under control at 12:30 p.m. at the city-owned structure at 1899 Dennison St., which is between Coast Guard Island and Union Point Park.

The blaze was first reported at 9:20 a.m. and flames roared above the estuary as the winds were strong, Lt. Charleton Lightfoot said.

The structure was tagged as unsafe for occupancy and due for demolition by city officials at the end of August, Lightfoot said.

Crews took a defensive approach to putting out the fire, keeping the flames to the structure itself and embers from spreading to Coast Guard Island property, he said.

The building is near the gate to Coast Guard Island and if embers were to spread, buildings on the island may catch fire. Those structures are the nearest buildings to the one that burned, he said.

As crews doused the blaze, material started spilling into the estuary, prompting a response from a hazardous materials team and the fire department's marine unit.

Firefighters stopped trying to put out the fire, and a boom was deployed to keep more materials from entering the water.

People in a nearby homeless encampment were evacuated to make sure they were safe.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, Lightfoot said. No one was injured or killed, he said.