A fire broke out in the storage area of The Emeryville Home Depot on Saturday evening about 7 p.m.. Black plumes of smoke could be seen billowing from the area for miles.
The segment of West MacArthur Boulevard behind the store was closed to traffic while Firefighters from Alameda County and Oakland Fire Departments worked to contain the blaze. The store is bisected by the Oakland/Emeryville border.
Amateur video of the blaze was captured by several witnesses including @Vastidy.
“The fire was in the back storage area of Home Depot where home improvement supplies are stored on pallets,” according to the the Alameda County Fire Department Twitter handle. “The fire was contained to the area of origin and is under investigation. No reports of injuries.”
The area of origin was determined to be ground level near the fence line of the exterior storage area according to the ACFD fire investigator.
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KPIX 5 is reporting that the fire caused an estimated $160,000 in damages. Fifty-five pallets of merchandise were seriously damaged or destroyed according to Oakland Battalion Chief Sean Laffan.
KPIX is also reporting that the source of ignition was a nearby homeless encampment although this was not confirmed by the ACFD. “The area of origin cannot be verified by our agency,” the ACFD confirmed. “The cause of the fire at Home Depot yesterday evening is undetermined.”
We will update this story if any new information becomes available.
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“OAKLAND COUNCILMEMBER WARNS OAKLAND AND EMERYVILLE THAT THEY MAY LOSE HOME DEPOT STORES OVER BLIGHT”
Great video!
Uncertain as to whether this could have been from the homeless encampment or not, considering that this video shows the base of the fire nowhere near any of the tents. While I agree that something needs to be done (I had to dodge four needles in plain sight on the road during my ride home Thursday), I think that it’s too early to jump the gun and just immediately blame the homeless for this.
You’re mistaken. There was a tent exactly where the fire is shown on Hollis on the Oakland side of the Oakland/Emeryville border. I drive on that section of MacArthur behind the Emeryville Home Depot, turning right on Hollis two to three times each day.
This really isn’t that hard to figure out. There’s been multiple fires at this encampment, and at other encampments throughout the area. One could even say that encampments are a major fire risk. Home Depots, on the other hand, tend not to spontaneously burst into flames.
We have to purge the homeless camps
“Purge”
I hope this was not from the homeless encampment near the Home Depot store!!