Solano Apartment Fire Sends Elderly Woman to Hospital

[Editor's Note: This story ]

An elderly woman seriously injured in a fire that tore through an apartment building at 1234 Solano Ave. on Saturday morning is in stable condition, Battalion Chief Brian Crudo said.

The woman was transferred from Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley to St. Francis Burn Center in San Francisco Saturday evening.

The woman, whose name was not released, might have been restricted to a wheelchair, said Ed Silva, chair of disaster services for the American Red Cross of Alameda County. She lived on the third floor, directly above where the fire broke out in a second floor apartment where no one was home.

The fire caught several neighbors off guard. 

"I heard the alarm when I was in the shower. I got out and opened my door and saw smoke pouring out of the next door," said Christina Koh, who lives by unit 202, the one that caught fire.

Third floor resident Mike Mariani said, "I was asleep when I heard the building alarm go off. I said, 'What the heck?' and rolled over. But the alarm kept going and I heard the sound of feet running by, so I pulled back my curtain and saw smoke and the fire truck outside."

Crudo said the cause of the fire is still under investigation, but firefighters and residents on Solano this morning said it could have been related to some cardboard boxes stacked too close to a heater. 

Residents who live in the unit, described by neighbors as a couple with a baby, were not home during the incident.

Many of the third floor residents stood outside the building Saturday, shaken by the morning's events. 

of Albany wrote on the Albany Patch Facebook page that, as of "1:10 pm many of the fire trucks left. Officers and fire crew as well as building manager still on scene assessing damage. On two adjoining sides of the building, there is noticeable damage. Some windows are knocked out and parts of the building around the 2nd and 3rd floors."

owner Stephanie Sala said the shop's building was evacuated because of the fire, but that the actual incident took place in the building next door. Her store was open during Saturday's  investigation.

Firefighters from several cities responded and helped fight the blaze and smoke. Albany Fire Department was assisted by the Berkeley, El Cerrito and Richmond fire departments.

Additional reporting contributed by Emilie Raguso and Laila Kearney.

Everybody makes mistakes ... ! If there's something in this article you think should be corrected, or if something else is amiss, give editor Emilie Raguso a call at 510-459-8325 or shoot her an e-mail at emilier@patch.com.

Correction: The woman injured in this fire died as a result of smoke inhalation, according to the Alameda County Coroner's Office. There was no indication in the death report that burns contributed to her death; beyond that, the coroner's office is unable to release additional details.

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