Oakland firefighters save beloved Mexican restaurant from arson fire

By Carlos E. Castañeda

An early-morning arson fire that severely damaged a business in Oakland was put out before it spread to a beloved Mexican restaurant in the city’s Fruitvale District, authorities said. 

The Oakland Fire Department said crews responded at about 2:47 a.m. to the fire at a building at the corner of E. 10th Street and Fruitvale Avenue. The fire was coming from an insurance agency housed in a two-story building that also houses Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant, which owns the building.

Images provided by the Fire Department showed the insurance agency was severely damaged, but firefighters were able to prevent the fire from causing any damage to the restaurant, a decades-long fixture of the Fruitvale neighborhood. 

The fire was controlled by about 3 a.m., and fire crews left by 4:30 a.m. The department said the investigation almost immediately revealed an incendiary cause, and an arson investigation was underway. 

No injuries were reported. A damage assessment was not immediately available.