Homes damaged by Oakland blaze targeted by burglars

Workers on Tuesday boarded up three units at the City Crossing townhomes in Oakland that were damaged two weeks ago by a six-alarm fire at a nearby building under construction. Residents were frustrated to learn some of their homes had been burglarized in the days after the fire. less Workers on Tuesday boarded up three units at the City Crossing townhomes in Oakland that were damaged two weeks ago by a six-alarm fire at a nearby building under construction. Residents were frustrated to ... more Photo: Evan Sernoffsky / / Photo: Evan Sernoffsky / / Image 1 of / 13 Caption Close Homes damaged by Oakland blaze targeted by burglars 1 / 13 Back to Gallery

Residents displaced by a massive East Bay fire were reeling Tuesday after learning burglars plundered their ravaged homes, two weeks after the six-alarm blaze spread from a nearby housing development and sent them fleeing for their lives.

The initial fear has turned to frustration for several tenants at City Crossing Rentals on the 1000 block of Apgar Street in Oakland near the Emeryville line after finding out crooks have been visiting the townhomes that they are prohibited from entering.

“Quite frankly, the whole situation has been a nightmare,” said 30-year-old Jason Kyle, whose home was rendered uninhabitable by fire, water and smoke damage. “It’s been terrible, and learning about the burglaries has made it worse.”

Kyle, an actor and comedian, said he put together an email list where residents displaced by the blaze have been supporting each other and spreading the word about the burglaries.

He said his home was boarded up before it could be ransacked, but several of his neighbors were not so lucky. They have been barred from going back to their homes while city inspectors survey the damage and investigators search for the fire’s origin and cause.

“The burglars took anything that was salvageable, documents, checkbooks, photos — our hearts dropped,” said one resident, who asked that his name not be printed out of concern that the prowlers might try to steal his identity.

After finding out about the burglaries on the email chain, he darted back to his damaged home to confirm he was ripped off. He’s since filed a report with Oakland police as he searches for a new place to live with his wife and ailing dog.

“We’re trying to piece things together,” he said. “We’re getting some sort of identity guard and locking our lives down. It’s a weird feeling. You just don’t know who has what, and what they are going to do with it. It makes you really scared.”

Workers hired by City Crossing were at the scene Tuesday morning boarding up the shattered windows of three burned units next to a lot at James Auto Repair, where the charred shells of dozens of cars burned in the fire remain.

The fire broke out in the early-morning hours of July 6 at the Intersection, a 105-unit apartment complex under construction that abuts the Oakland-Emeryville border at 3800 San Pablo Ave.

The flames quickly swelled into a massive inferno that kicked up debris that landed miles away.

As firefighters began to get a handle on the fire, flames spread to the nearby townhomes in Oakland, forcing dozens of residents to desert their homes and belongings.

Those who live in the unscathed homes on the east end of the complex were allowed to return after the property managers, Lapham Co., brought in a cleaning crew, said Jon Shahoian, a manager with the company.

Shahoian said Lapham hired a security company after the fire, but he wasn’t clear when they patrolled the area where the damaged homes are or for how long.

Kyle and other residents, however, said they haven’t seen any guards on the occasions they’ve gone back to their damaged houses.

Residents who were forced out said they wished more was done to protect their things in the days after the fire.

“There’s been little to no support,” Kyle said. “The way we learned about the burglaries was through email. The burglars had hours, maybe days to spend there.”

Shahoian said it’s been challenging for the company to stay on top of the situation as investigators from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigate the cause of the fire.

“We are doing all that we can, and all that we are allowed to do, when we are allowed to do it,” Shahoian said. “It’s an uncomfortable position because we don’t have the clear authority at the scene.”

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. The ATF is offering up to a $10,000 reward for information that helps investigators determine how the fire ignited.

Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky