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OAKLAND — A two-alarm fire fire erupted Wednesday morning at a paint company storage warehouse in East Oakland, a few blocks from the BART Coliseum station, according to authorities.
The fire was first reported at 6:31 a.m. at the building in the 900 block of 72nd Avenue at Hawley Street and was officially declared under control at noon, even though it had been mostly contained a few hours earlier, according to authorities.
There were no reported injuries, and the cause is under investigation.
Officials said the roof of the 11,000-square-foot-plus single-story metal sided building collapsed during the fire and that the structure is considered a total loss with damage in excess of $700,000.
The warehouse was a storage area for an Oakland painting company that kept various paints and painting supplies there, officials said. There was not supposed to be anyone inside when the fire started, officials said.
Officials said the property is the proposed site for an affordable housing complex to be called Coliseum Place that is to be built by the Berkeley-based Resources for Community Development. That organization was assisting in the removal of debris, officials said.
Battalion Fire Chief Tracey Chin said more than 40 firefighters were on scene at the height of the fire, which officials believe originated in a part of the building at 905 72nd Ave., near Hawley Street.
Firefighters were hampered in their efforts by downed power lines, and about 500 customers in the area lost power, according to PG&E. Power was restored by Wednesday afternoon.
Chin said firefighters stayed at the scene into the late afternoon to make sure there were no flare-ups and also to assist investigators and personnel hired to remove the debris.
There are homes in the area but residents did not have to evacuate, officials said.
Flames and billows of dark smoke first filled the air with the smoke being seen for miles.
Streets in the area were blocked off while firefighters were on the scene.
#BREAKING: A fire is burning at a warehouse in Oakland near the Coliseum. Officials say they've received reports of multiple downed powerlines. https://t.co/LAfljtkylv pic.twitter.com/EtLSHIYxxy
— NBC Bay Area (@nbcbayarea) October 10, 2018
