West Oakland fire probe intensifies with arrival of 20 federal agents

ATF agent Brian Parker, center, walks with local construction workers as he assess the scene where a massive blaze destroyed six apartment buildings in different phases of construction near West Grand Avenue and Filbert Street in Oakland on Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2018. less ATF agent Brian Parker, center, walks with local construction workers as he assess the scene where a massive blaze destroyed six apartment buildings in different phases of construction near West Grand Avenue ... more Photo: Jessica Christian / The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Jessica Christian / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 25 Caption Close West Oakland fire probe intensifies with arrival of 20 federal agents 1 / 25 Back to Gallery

An arsonist started an earlier fire at the unfinished West Oakland residential complex that burned down this week, officials revealed Wednesday as a team of federal agents arrived at the site to investigate.

The massive fire broke out early Tuesday at a project called Ice House, a group of all-electric, solar townhomes. Six of nine buildings were destroyed in the 126-unit complex that residents were to begin moving into in December.

The construction site was targeted by an arsonist on April 29 in a smaller fire intentionally set in a stairwell, a city Fire Department official told The Chronicle on Wednesday.

“Somebody came in there and set it,” the official said, adding that how it was started is still unknown.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives unit that arrived Wednesday was made up of 20 agents as part of a national response that local officials requested.

“We hope that we can obtain some additional evidence through our investigation that we can share with the public, because we probably will need the public’s help to ultimately solve this,” Patrick Gorman, ATF assistant special agent in charge, said about a recent string of suspicious fires at East Bay housing developments. “It is very, very concerning for us.”

Federal resources deployed to such incidents typically include fire investigators, an accelerant-detection canine team, forensic chemists, electrical engineers, fire protection engineers and other agents versed in probing large-loss fires and interviewing witnesses, said Gregg Hine, a retired ATF agent who operates a private fire investigation firm on the East Coast.

The federal team members will work with local authorities to find the fire’s cause and origin, including whether it was accidental, incendiary or undetermined. A criminal investigation could arise from the probe if the blaze is determined to be arson.

“Two people can’t do all that needs to be done for this,” said Javan Smith, one of two investigators with the Oakland Fire Department. “ATF has the resources and manpower on standby.”

City Councilwoman Lynette Gibson McElhaney, who represents the West Oakland district, said she was pleased that the developer committed to rebuilding. Before the project began, the city block contained a row of closed and partially demolished commercial warehouses — a source for tagging and illegal dumping, she said.

“If this is an act of arson, it is not victimless,” McElhaney said. “People could have lost their lives but for the swift action of the Fire Department. Burning a building does not stop people from building. It doesn’t stop gentrification. It’s just a threat to lives and property.”

Oakland Fire Chief Darin White said the blaze endangered first responders and residents in the area.

“We had fire spread to power poles, and a few transformers were ignited,” White said. “I saw it en route: There was a white, blue light flash in the sky with a violent explosion. That, to me, indicated that we have now electrical hazards. For me, that’s a very precarious situation for firefighters and anybody from the public to be in, because you have the unseen killer, which is electricity.”

After a series of arsons at housing projects throughout the East Bay, investigators and city officials have created reward funds and encouraged developers to increase their spending on security, including surveillance video, in an attempt to end the trend. Despite the effort, one expert said arson investigations rarely lead to prosecution.

“Arson investigations are amongst the most challenging of all criminal investigations,” said Steve Carman, also a retired ATF agent and fire investigator. “The percentage of successful arson investigations and prosecutions are rather low.”

What usually makes arson investigations challenging is the lack of witnesses, Carman said.

“Most investigations rely on some level of physical evidence,” he said. “When that is mostly destroyed in a fire, as you might imagine, the challenges increase.”

Hine said the motives range from environmental concerns to aggrieved feelings of community members opposed to the project.

“Was it a serial arson, random vandalism, target of opportunity? Finding a motive can help you get on track, so to speak, and narrow your investigation,” Hine said.

On Wednesday, several ATF investigators and Oakland firefighters walked around the wreckage of the 126-unit condo. Crime-scene tape surrounded the charred and warped vestiges of the project.

As part of their probe, investigators will analyze smoke and fire patterns to understand the path the blaze carved as it burned through the construction site.

The fire was reported at 1:59 a.m. Tuesday and destroyed six buildings of the nine-building project at West Grand Avenue and Filbert Street.

Kimberly Veklerov and Sarah Ravani are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com, sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @KVeklerov, @SarRavani