Oakland’s historic Camron-Stanford House on Lake Merritt damaged by fire

By Jose Fabian

The Oakland Fire Department said the city’s historic Camron-Stanford House was damaged by a fire Saturday morning.

Crews were called around 12:40 a.m. and alerted to a fire at the 19th-century Victorian mansion, located on Lake Merritt.

Oakland Fire said nearly 30 firefighters responded to the scene and were able to keep the flames to a “relatively condensed corner area … preventing significant damage to art, furniture and historic artifacts.” By 1:20 a.m., crews had the blaze under control.

“The ability and speed with which the 28 firefighters were able to open up walls and get water on the fire prevented the fire from spreading rapidly and potentially consuming the entire structure,” fire officials said.

What caused the fire is under investigation, but Oakland Fire said the building’s rear exterior was the point of origin.

Built in 1876, the Camron-Stanford House is the last of the 19th-century Victorian mansions that once lined Lake Merritt. It became Oakland’s first public museum in 1907 after being sold to the city by its last residents, the Wrights family.