Disabled woman, handicapped child rescued from burning Oakland apartment building

Apr. 21--OAKLAND -- A police officer and a resident rescued an elderly disabled woman from the upper floor of an apartment and a man carried his girlfriend's 12-year-old daughter who has cerebral palsy from another unit Tuesday morning after a fire broke out in a four-story complex in the Adams Point neighborhood, authorities said.

Eight residents were displaced but no injuries were reported.

The building in the 400 block of Lee Street went ablaze around 7:55 a.m. and forced approximately 50 people to evacuate either by themselves or with the assistance of police and other residents, authorities said.

Police officers were the first ones to the scene of the blaze, and they knocked on doors inside the building to make sure people got out.

An elderly, disabled woman in an upper-floor unit was carried to safety by a police officer and another resident, authorities said.

Another police officer with a fire extinguisher attempted to enter the third-floor unit where the fire started but was prevented because of the flames. It turned out the resident had already gotten out.

Standing outside the building watching firefighters battle the blaze was Tamanika Anderson, 32, who lives on the top floor above where the fire started.

It is her her 12-year-old daughter who has cerebral palsy who was carried outside by Anderson's boyfriend.

She said she first heard "a lot of commotion and when I got up I saw a lot of smoke inside my daughter's room. When I opened the door there was a lot of smoke in the hallway. It was real dark smoke, it was very scary."

She said she grabbed her dog and her boyfriend picked up her daughter and they made it outside. She was later able to retrieve her daughter's wheelchair.

"I am so glad we are safe," she said.

When police and firefighters first arrived on the scene flames and thick smoke were billowing out of a third-floor apartment. Fire officials said the blaze began there and spread to the apartment above.

Thirty-three firefighter contained the damage to those two apartments and had the fire under control at 8:25 a.m., Battalion Chief Heather Mozdean said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation and a damage figure was not available. The fire displaced five adults and three children and most residents were allowed to return to their apartments, officials said.

Check back for updates.

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