A fire station at 1700 50th Avenue in East Oakland was hit by gunfire during a nearby fatal shooting on May 7, 2013. (CBS) A fire station at 1700 50th Avenue in East Oakland was hit by gunfire during a nearby fatal shooting on May 7, 2013. (CBS)

OAKLAND (CBS SF) — A fatal shooting near an East Oakland fire station on Tuesday night had several firefighters ducking for cover, a battalion chief said.

Police said the shooting happened around 8:55 p.m. in the 5000 block of Melrose Avenue. One person was killed in the shooting.

At least one of the roughly 20 to 30 shots fired hit the fire department’s Station 18, located nearby at 1700 50th Avenue, Oakland fire Battalion Chief Emon Usher said.

A lieutenant and cadet were standing near one of the fire trucks in an apparatus room when a bullet came through a large panel of glass at one end of room and exited through another window at the opposite end, Usher said.

The lieutenant and cadet raced to a nearby office and ducked under a desk while the shots continued to ring out. Another seven crewmembers at the fire station also took cover, Usher said.

Usher said the steady gunfire continued and became louder. He said it definitely came from a high-caliber weapon.

“At that point, your fight-or-flight instincts come in, and you’re hoping you don’t get hit,” Usher said.

None of the crewmembers was hit, Usher said. The only damage to the fire station was to the windows, he said.

Usher said all the crewmembers finished their shifts and are not taking any time off.

“If we’re safe, then we can help the people that need us,” Usher said.

The person killed, whose name has not yet been released, died at a hospital after the shooting, police said.

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