2 arson suspects arrested after 8 fires started across Alameda

Video: Two suspects arrested in connection with suspicious Alameda fires

Four families are without homes, and a community is in shock, after arsonists tore through a seven-block radius of Alameda early Sunday, torching houses, businesses, cars and trash bins, authorities said.

Two men, ages 27 and 22, were arrested on suspicion of arson in connection with eight frightening blazes that firefighters rushed to extinguish between 1 and 5 a.m., said Alameda police Lt. Jill Ottaviano. The suspects were not immediately identified.

“There was a lot of running around last night,” Ottaviano said. “We’ve had arsons before, but in the 18 years I’ve been here, nothing like this.”

The most damaging of the fires started just after 4 a.m. on Alameda’s main commercial strip on the 1600 block of Park Street, said Capt. Jim Colburn of the Alameda Fire Department.

5 businesses

At least five businesses were affected from the three-alarm blaze, which firefighters said was lit in an alley behind the shopping area.

Alameda County fire fighters work on the roof of Brite Cleaners on Park Blvd. that was damaged in a string of apparent arson fires set in the early morning hours in Alameda, CA Sunday, September 28, 2014. Alameda County fire fighters work on the roof of Brite Cleaners on Park Blvd. that was damaged in a string of apparent arson fires set in the early morning hours in Alameda, CA Sunday, September 28, 2014. Photo: Michael Short / The Chronicle Photo: Michael Short / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 49 Caption Close 2 arson suspects arrested after 8 fires started across Alameda 1 / 49 Back to Gallery

Angela’s, a Mediterranean-style restaurant that was being renovated, suffered the brunt of the damage. By Sunday morning, all that remained of the business was a charred shell. The restaurant owners said they recently invested their life savings into the business, which was still waiting to open.

Getting insurance was still on their to-do list, they said.

“It looks like a total loss,” said Saboor Zafari, who owns Angela’s and came to the restaurant after a friend alerted him about the fire. “We don’t know what we are going to do now.”

Zafari’s wife and teenage daughter, for whom the restaurant is named, sat in tears across the street from the destroyed business Sunday.

Next door to Angela’s was Brite 1-Hour Cleaners, a dry-cleaning business with an apartment above.

Janet and Daniel Ng own several dry cleaners around the Bay Area, but the Alameda location was the central hub where they did most of their work. Their business, along with four of six delivery trucks, were destroyed by the fire.

“I’m so sorry for our customers,” Janet Ng said while surveying the damage. “But everyone is safe. That is the main thing.”

Two men living in the apartment above the cleaners heard crackling from the fire and both got out safely as the unit went up in flames, witnesses said.

Around the corner from the businesses is Jim’s Homestyle Diner. The Alameda institution of more than 50 years was not damaged in the fire, and security cameras at the restaurant caught one of the arsonists on video.

'Very methodical’

“It was very methodical,” said owner Tom Geanekos, who watched the video. “The sad thing is, he must have known that it was an apartment and someone was in there. It’s sad — really, really sad. Thank God no one was hurt.”

The brash string of intentionally set fires had firefighters from multiple East Bay agencies scrambling early Sunday. The first call came in at 12:56 a.m. after someone set a trash can on fire on the 1300 block of Regent Street. Crews contained the blaze but soon got a call at 1:11 a.m. about the smell of smoke on the 500 block of Willow Street. Authorities did not locate any fire, but, at 1:39 a.m., they were diverted to a blaze burning in the back of a two-story, single-family home on the 1100 block of Regent Street, Colburn said.

Firefighters extinguished the flames by 2:20 a.m., Colburn said. Most of the damage was limited to the rear of the residence and the attic, but the family living in the home was displaced.

At 2:22 a.m., on the 2200 block of San Antonio Avenue, a two-story Victorian home that was converted into a duplex was torched.

Francisco Rodriguez was working while his four kids, the oldest age 13, were sleeping in the rear unit of the duplex. Everyone got out safely, but the home was a total loss.

'I’m in shock’

“I’m in shock,” he said. “I don’t know what we’re going to do — start all over I guess.”

The flames also destroyed a vehicle and damaged a neighbor’s home, Colburn said

Ten minutes later, firefighters put out a burning car in the garage of a home on the 1000 block of Willow Street, and, at 3:29 a.m., crews squelched a fire in a garbage can next to an apartment on the 2200 block of Encinal Avenue, Colburn said.

Authorities credited firefighters for their quick response to ensure no one was seriously hurt in the rash of blazes.

“Their response went incredibly well,” Alameda Fire Chief Mike D’Orazi said at a morning press briefing. “We were able to contain the fires to their buildings of origin, which is significant. It’s a major accomplishment.”

Firefighters responded to several other small fires around the area during the early morning, and investigators were combing through debris and interviewing witnesses Sunday.

Carolyn Jones and Evan Sernoffsky are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. E-mail: carolynjones@sfchronicle.com, esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @carolynajones, @EvanSernoffsky