An Oakland Fire chief confirms that one person has died in a fire Monday at a three-story residential building.
Battalion Chief Erik Logan did not provide the gender of the deceased.
He says 15 people were rescued and four transported to hospitals with non-critical injuries.
Officials say 50 or 60 residents lived in building that was still smoldering as firefighters continued to pour water to douse the flames.
Residents are being cared for by the Red Cross. Among those residents is Ruben Deon Mitchell Jr. He said he was awakened shortly after 4 a.m. Monday to screams of a fire in the Oakland building where he lived on the first floor. He says he opened the door to smoke in the hallway and heard children hollering from the second floor. He told them to use the fire escape, which he said they did.
There was also a 9-year-old boy who escaped in his underwear and socks. Red Cross volunteers found him a pair of sweatpants.
Oakland firefighters at "Ghost Ship" warehouse fire, December 2016. Getty Images.
Oakland became the site of the deadliest structure fire in the U.S. in more than a decade when three dozen party-goers died last December in a fire at a warehouse known as the "Ghost Ship." The owner of that warehouse announced last week that he is evicting tenants in the wake of the deadly there. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf says the city is trying to work with the landlord to reach a solution that would prevent people from being forced to leave the artist community.