A 38-year-old man died Wednesday night during an apartment fire that may have started with a Christmas tree in the Oakland home, according to a fire department official.
The blaze ignited at about 6:30 p.m. on the second floor of a two-story building in the 6500 block of Shattuck Avenue, fire officials said.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known, but one fire official said the origin of the flames was determined to be from a Christmas tree.
"In the preliminary investigation, the fire investigator determined it was potentially a Christmas tree fire, but the cause is still under investigation," Battalion Chief Zoreida Diaz said.
When firefighters arrived at the scene, they did not see any flames but there was a lot of smoke, Diaz said.
The victim, who was not identified, died from smoke inhalation, fire officials said.
No other injuries were reported.
