Firefighters are investigating a three-alarm blaze at a warehouse in West Berkeley Saturday night, fire officials said.
The fire is located in the 1800 block of Second Street, near Hearst Avenue and the Eastshore Highway, according to fire officials.
The fire broke out just before 8 p.m. at the Wooden Duck furniture store located at 1823 Eastshore Hwy. Someone in a neighboring business saw the flames and called 911. The furniture store was closed at the time of the fire.
The property owner said four businesses were destroyed in the fire: Wooden Duck, Import Tiles, Joshua Tree, and Thriving Lifestyles. The property owner owns the tile store, and he rents the space out to the other three tenants.
At least $1 million in inventory was lost in the fire, according to the property owner.
"Oh my God. This so crazy because it’s going to take--I can’t imagine what it’s going to take to put all these businesses back together," property owner Bill Decarion said. "We’re going to lose about $1 million worth of inventory tonight. But our main showroom and offices are intact."
The property owner said he required all the businesses involved in this fire to upgrade their insurance about a year ago. So, he is hoping insurance will help cover the losses.
It took fire crews about an hour to get a handle on this fire and they are continuing to douse the buildings with water to make sure there are not any flare ups.
Smoke and flames could be seen rising high into the sky above the warehouse as of 8:45 p.m.
Local
Traffic was backed up on Interstate Highway 80, located just west of the blaze, as a result of the fire, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The blaze is under control and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
No injuries were reported.
