Oakland blaze leaves residents displaced, cat perishes

A devastating fire ripped through an Oakland apartment complex on Tuesday evening, forcing residents from their homes and claiming the life of a beloved feline companion.

Firefighters battle blazes in dense building with no standpipe system

Just before 8 p.m., Battalion Chief Anthony Sanders said, crews rushed to the 200 block of Fairmount Avenue for reports of smoke and flames engulfing the upper floor of a 66-unit apartment building, split into two sections. The absence of a standpipe system proved a significant challenge for firefighters, who had to stretch hose lines into the upper stories and lower them down the stairwell to reach the inferno.