News

Oakland Mourns Victims, Seeks Answers in Apartment Fire That Killed 4

Published

8 years ago

March 30, 2017

Oaklanders are in mourning and seeking answers in the wake of a fire that destroyed a three-story transitional housing building at 2551 San Pablo Ave. in West Oakland, where four people died Monday, leaving 80 homeless, including many children.

Authorities as of mid-week had identified two victims, Edwarn Anderson, 64, and Cassandra Robertson, 50. Aid workers seeking help for the displaced residents. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Anderson, known as the deacon, was considered by many of the residents to be a very helpful man who went out of his way to aid people in the building, unplugging backed-up toilets, painting the walls or dealing with other problems.

Cassandra Robertson

According to reports, Robertson moved to the Bay Area from New Orleans at age 19, She returned to Louisiana about four years ago, but recently came back to the Bay Area.

Many of those displaced by the fire lost all their possessions and are staying in a shelter. In an outpouring of support, local residents are donating clothes and other items to aid survivors of the fire.

According to Pastor Debra Avery of the First Presbyterian Church of Oakland, as of Wednesday evening, donations are requested for new and barely used adult clothes. The need at the shelter now is especially for children’s school clothing (all sizes) and school supplies, she said.

Oakland is a generous and supportive community that I know will rally around these residents – many of whom are among the most vulnerable in our community. Now more than ever they need our assistance,” said Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf.

Donations should be delivered to two locations: from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Brothers Barbershop at 1498-7th St.: and from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Word Assembly Church, 767 Pine St.
Questions continue to be raised about what the city could have been done to prevent the fire.

In an interview with the Associated Press this week, Mayor Schaaf said the city has improved its enforcement efforts involving dangerous buildings following the Ghostship warehouse fire in which 36 people died in December 2016.

In the wake the warehouse fire, she had pledged to improve internal communications between city departments after learning that city officials and agencies were told of a safety problem at the warehouse but it was not inspected.

Schaaf said firefighters answering a call in February at San Pablo residence had reported possible problems, prompting an inspection last Friday that found deficient sprinklers, alarms and smoke detectors.

She said city officials lacked the authority to immediately shutter the apartments because they are required to give the owner time to fix the problems, according to AP.

On Feb. 23, the city sent a notice of violation to the owner of the building after someone complained about the building, saying there was a “large amount of trash and debris, building materials, (and) furniture in back of property.”

But the building was not inspected until last Friday, March 24.

According to the East Bay Times, the inspector found 11 severe fire hazards, including extension cords being used instead of wall outlets. His report said that fire extinguishers, emergency lighting and marked exits must be maintained and provided throughout the building, and smoke detectors in each unit.

The inspector also demanded immediate service and certification of the fire alarm system and fire sprinkler system, but he didn’t order the residential building, evacuated and closed.

He did not “order the building owner to place a person on ‘fire watch’ to patrol the structure until repairs were made, as state law allows, the East Bay Times said.

The fire took place three days later.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Related Topics:fire Oakland tragedy west oakland

Up Next

New Poll: Homelessness and Lack of Affordable Housing Are Oaklanders Top Concerns

Don't Miss

McClymonds High Cultural Exchange Leaves for South Africa

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of December 25 – 31, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of December 25 – 31, 2024

Published

2 days ago

December 26, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Bay Area

Glydways Breaking Ground on 14-Acre Demonstration Facility at Hilltop Mall

Glydways has been testing its technology at CCTA’s GoMentum Station in Concord for several years. The company plans to install an ambitious 28-mile Autonomous Transit Network in East Contra Costa County. The new Richmond facility will be strategically positioned near that project, according to Glydways.

Published

4 days ago

December 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Image of planned Richmond facility courtesy of Glydways.

The Richmond Standard

Glydways, developer of microtransit systems using autonomous, small-scale vehicles, is breaking ground on a 14-acre Development and Demonstration Facility at the former Hilltop Mall property in Richmond, the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) reported on social media.

Glydways, which released a statement announcing the project Monday, is using the site while the mall property undergoes a larger redevelopment.

“In the interim, Glydways will use a portion of the property to showcase its technology and conduct safety and reliability testing,” the company said.

The new Richmond development hub will include “over a mile of dedicated test track, enabling Glydways to refine its solutions in a controlled environment while simulating real-world conditions,” the company said.

Visitors to the facility will be able to experience on-demand travel, explore the control center and visit a showroom featuring virtual reality demonstrations of Glydways projects worldwide.

The hub will also house a 13,000-square-foot maintenance and storage facility to service the growing fleet of Glydcars.

“With this new facility [at the former Hilltop Mall property], we’re giving the public a glimpse of the future, where people can experience ultra-quiet, on-demand transit—just like hailing a rideshare, but with the reliability and affordability of public transit,” said Tim Haile, executive director of CCTA.

Janet Galvez, vice president and investment officer at Prologis, owner of the Hilltop Mall property, said her company is “thrilled” to provide space for Glydways and is continuing to work with the city on future redevelopment plans for the broader mall property.

Richmond City Manager Shasa Curl added that Glydways’ presence “will not only help test new transit solutions but also activate the former Mall site while preparation and finalization of the Hilltop Horizon Specific Plan is underway.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Alameda County

Last City Council Meeting of the Year Ends on Sour Note with Big Budget Cuts

In a five to one vote, with Councilmembers Carroll Fife and Janani Ramachandran excused, the council passed a plan aimed at balancing the $130 million deficit the city is facing. Noel Gallo voted against the plan, previously citing concerns over public safety cuts, while Nikki Fortunato-Bas, Treva Reid, Rebecca Kaplan, Kevin Jenkins, and Dan Kalb voted in agreement with the plan.

Published

4 days ago

December 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Oakland City Council voted on a plan to balance the $130 million deficit at their last regular meeting of 2024. The plan reduces police spending by $25 million, temporarily closes two fire stations, and guts the cultural arts programs. iStock photo.

By Magaly Muñoz

In the last lengthy Tuesday meeting of the Oakland City Council for 2024, residents expressed strong opposition to the much needed budget cuts before a change in leadership was finalized with the certification of election results.

Oakland police and fire departments, the ambassador program, and city arts and culture will all see significant cuts over the course of two phases.

Phase 1 will eliminate two police academies, brown out two fire stations, eliminate the ambassador program, and reduce police overtime by nearly $25 million. These, with several other cuts across departments, aim to save the city $60 million. In addition, the council simultaneously approved to transfer restricted funds into its general purpose fund, amounting to over $40 million.

Phase 2 includes additional fire station brownouts and the elimination of 91 jobs, aiming to recover almost $16 million in order to balance the rest of the budget.

Several organizations and residents spoke out at the meeting in hopes of swaying the council to not make cuts to their programs.

East Oakland Senior Center volunteers and members, and homeless advocates, filled the plaza just outside of City Hall with rallies to show their disapproval of the new budget plan. Senior residents told the council to “remember that you’ll get old too” and that disturbing their resources will only bring problems for an already struggling community.

While city staff announced that there would not be complete cuts to senior center facilities, there would be significant reductions to staff and possibly inter-program services down the line.

Exiting council member and interim mayor Bas told the public that she is still hopeful that the one-time $125 million Coliseum sale deal will proceed in the near future so that the city would not have to continue with drastic cuts. The deal was intended to save the city for fiscal year 2024-25, but a hold up at the county level has paused any progress and therefore millions of dollars in funds Oakland desperately needs.

The Coliseum sale has been a contentious one. Residents and city leaders were originally against using the deal as a way to balance the budget, citing doubts about the sellers, the African American Sports and Entertainment Group’s (AASEG), ability to complete the deal. Council members Reid, Ramachandran, and Gallo have called several emergency meetings to understand where the first installments of the sale are, with little to no answers.

Bas added that as the new Alameda County Supervisor for D5, a position she starts in a few weeks, she will do everything in her power to push the Coliseum sale along.

The city is also considering a sales tax measure to put on the special election ballot on April 15, 2025, which will also serve as an election to fill the now vacant D2 and mayor positions. The tax increase would raise approximately $29 million annually for Oakland, allowing the city to gain much-needed revenue for the next two-year budget.

The council will discuss the possible sales tax measure on January 9.