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OAKLAND — People were hanging out windows and running barefoot for their lives early Monday morning as a fire raged through a three-story West Oakland residential building with a history of complaints, killing at least three people and sending another four to the hospital, authorities said.

Three were confirmed dead and one was still unaccounted for on Monday night, according to the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office.

Several people were hanging out windows as firefighters arrived shortly after the fire started around 5:40 a.m. at 2551 San Pablo Ave., home to 100 residents, said Oakland Fire Battalion Chief Erik Logan. Fifteen people were rescued by firefighters. Others fled to safety by fire escapes, Logan said. The structure was home to three nonprofit housing assistance agencies that housed clients in the space.

The coroner’s office confirmed that 64-year-old Edwarn Anderson died in the fire.

Cassandra Johnson, 50, was identified as deceased by her family members. The mother of two had recently moved to Oakland from New Orleans with her husband.

“I’m still in disbelief,” Cassandra’s widower, Leandre Johnson, said as he stood across the street, watching firefighters work Monday afternoon. “I’m looking for my wife to walk around one of these corners right now and tell me she’s OK.”

Johnson’s brother-in-law Tywan Lee said Cassandra had called his mother when the fire broke out.

“She had called my mom, screaming talking about the dog is dead and she’s trapped,” Lee said. “So I just rushed over here from San Leandro.” On Monday afternoon, Lee said fire officials confirmed the woman’s death. “We were just with her yesterday morning walking the dog,” he said.

Four people, including two children, were hospitalized with smoke inhalation, Logan said. But all were expected to be released by Monday night.

The fire broke out during the morning commute, and flames and dark smoke could be seen from adjacent Interstate 980.

Crews exited the building shortly after arriving because of safety concerns. Search-and-rescue dogs were brought in around 2:30 p.m.

Investigators still were determining the cause, Logan said. They believe the fire began on the second floor and were investigating reports that a candle may have been burning. They also have not determined whether there were alarms or an indoor sprinkler system. Some neighbors said they heard an alarm, but fire crews did not hear one upon arrival, he said.

“People were hanging out of the windows, and we rescued them from fire escapes,” Logan said. “There was a large amount of fire in the building, so we had difficulty getting access.”

The building, home to 80 to 100 tenants, was gutted.

Many tenants already were facing an eviction notice. The landlord, Keith Kim, first notified tenants they would have to move in December, roughly a week after the deadly Ghost Ship fire in Oakland’s Fruitvale neighborhood. Kim said he wanted another service provider to operate the re-entry, homeless and veteran transitional housing programs inside the three-story building.

Urojas Community Services houses 21 people on the first and second floors. They share the first floor with House of Change. Dignity Housing West is on the third floor, according to the Rev. Dr. Jasper Lowery, the founder and director of Urojas Community Services. Jabari Herbert, a West Oakland developer, is listed as the agent for both of the latter two organizations, according to the Secretary of State’s business registry. Last week, Herbert said he was no longer associated with either agency. Herbert and Keith have worked together on a development project near the West Oakland BART station.

Kim did not return a voicemail message. A call to him on Monday went straight to voicemail. Reached Monday, Herbert said he had no comment on the fire and that House of Change ceased operations several years ago.

Residents in the building fled through entrances or down fire escapes.

Kristin Evans, who lived on the first floor, left without her shoes.

“I heard shouting, and then I heard glass breaking, and I thought it was a fight. … Then I heard crashing and stuff breaking and stuff exploding, and I looked at my window and it was all orange and yellow.”

The building has a central staircase leading to the second and third floors. The first floor has an internal atrium that reaches the third floor, where a roof was constructed over what appears to have once been an exterior walkway.

Mimi Walton, 26, who lives on the first floor of the building, woke up around 5:50 a.m. to a commotion on the floors above her.

“All I heard was ‘Help!,’ ” she said. “That’s all we heard, was screaming.”

She and other residents ran outside to help but then had to run back inside for shoes and jackets, Walton said. When they went back out, they helped people trapped on the higher floors pull the fire escape ladders down and descend to safety.

Red Cross is assisting the displaced in finding temporary housing, and more than 50 people took shelter at First Presbyterian Church of Oakland.

Mark Doleman, 50, who lived on the second floor, said he woke up to the sound of pounding on his door.

“I woke up, grabbed my wife and went down the fire escape,” said Doleman, who had lived in the building four years. “I could see the flames coming toward me. Right now we have no clothes, no ID or driver’s license, nothing.”

He said that his wife, Sheila, suffers from a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and had a stationary oxygen machine and two portables in their apartment.

“I’m just thankful they didn’t explode,” he said.

Fire inspectors visited the building on more than one occasion in recent weeks to check on possible code violations, but the results of those inspections were not known immediately.

Over the past decade, the city has received 20 complaints about pest infestation, electrical issues, mold, trash, graffiti, floors caving in, roof leaks and other blight issues.

Eighteen of those complaints occurred within the past five years, including the master tenant Urojas Community Services requesting on March 2 for an inspection of the facility by code enforcement for “alleged deferred maintenance by landlord.” The city verified the violation, according to city records.

On Feb. 23, the city sent a notice of violation after a neighbor complained about the building, saying there was a “large amount of trash and debris, building materials, (and) furniture in back of property.” On Dec. 29, a few weeks after the deadly Ghost Ship fire, the city opened an investigation into a housing habitability complaint, which stated: “No working heat throughout the building, electrical issues, and a large pest infestation.”

Several families living in the buildings next door also were evacuated, and they sat huddled under blankets on Mead Avenue with their small children early Monday morning, near the scene of the blaze, waiting to hear whether they’d be able to return to their homes. All were able to return to their homes except one that sustained too much damage.

Staff writers Matthias Gafni, Erin Baldassari, Tammerlin Drummond, Marisa Kendall and staff photographer Laura Oda contributed to this report.