Smoke shop gutted, apartments damaged in East Oakland fire

A smoke shop was gutted and two apartments damaged in an Oakland fire Friday morning.

OAKLAND — An East Oakland smoke shop was gutted and apartments on the floor above were damaged in a fire early Friday that displaced nine people, authorities said.

No injuries were reported.

Officials said the fire erupted about 2:20 a.m. Friday inside the smoke shop in the 2400 block of Foothill Boulevard at the corner of 24th Avenue. No one was in the ground-floor business at the time.

The fire quickly spread to two apartments on the second floor of the two-story building, Battalion Fire Chief Chris Landry said.

Officials said the apartments’ listed address is the 1600 block of 24th Avenue. The nine people living in the apartments — six adults and three children — were able to evacuate on their own before firefighters got on scene, Landry said.

It took 18 firefighters less than 30 minutes to bring the fire under control. Crews had to return to the scene about 5:27 a.m. for an apparent minor flare-up that was quickly extinguished, officials said.

The displaced residents were being assisted by the Red Cross.

Landry said the cause of the fire is under investigation. He estimated overall damage to be at least $500,000 and said the smoke shop was gutted. The apartment residents should be able to return after repairs are completed, he said.