Oakland Fire crews got the call at 5:24 a.m. Wednesday and say they were able to contain the fire in about 45 minutes. Fire officials said it is unclear, however, what time the fire started and it could have been burning several hours before the first 9-1-1 call came in.The fallout from the fire, however, is just beginning for the businesses and residents along the 5400 block of College Avenue in Oakland's Rockridge neighborhood.
Plus, she had to pay the cost of replacing the front door, where firefighters had to break through to check for flames.She worries about submitting an insurance claim, because she says the bar has already had five break-ins that resulted in huge rate hikes and in one case, a canceled policy."After my second break-in they canceled my insurance, my business insurance. I was paying $9,000 a year and they raised it to $27,000 a year," Stelzriede said.
The owner of Vero Salon down the street offered to let Herzberg move in there temporarily to keep business going.Herzberg's business was dark Wednesday, with large fans to dry out the water damaged the salon flooring."I could see there was water pouring in the bookstore and our windows were covered in steam and mist," Herzberg said. "I knew it was going to be bad...you can tell how bad it smells, so we'll see what happens.