The body of Oakland Police Officer John Grubensky was found, along with five civilian fatalities, at a narrow point on Charing Cross Road. It appeared that the cars were jammed at this point by a collision in the narrowest part of the road, and the occupants were unable to escape the advancing flames.

The fatalities included individuals who were unable to evacuate, because of age or disabilities, and several who were overrun by the flames as they tried to escape. Firefighters reported hearing shouts for help from one home and not being able to reach it before it became heavily involved in flames. As their positions were overwhelmed, firelighting crews were split up, and for hours some members did not know the fate of the other members of their companies.

As they pulled out, they tried to evacuate everyone in the path of the fire, and some ended up taking refuge where they could find it. The Lieutenant from Engine 19 reported that he was taking refuge with a group at the base of Gwin Tank, using a hoseline to protect themselves as the fire surrounded their position.

A Lieutenant and a Firefighter had to abandon their Patrol vehicle and took refuge in the swimming pool of a hillside home, along with the homeowner, and spent more than an hour under the pool cover, sticking their heads out just often enough to splash water on the cover to prevent its ignition. The house burned, leaving only the pool, and when the fire subsided they found that every house on the block had burned to the ground.

Oakland’s Division A, BC4, called the IC at 1144 hours with the message “fire at both ends - we’re going to have to wait it out.” The Battalion Chief had been with a Patrol unit that was forced to pull out of Buckingham Boulevard and made its way to Norfolk Road He left them near the intersection to retrieve his car, directing the Patrol on down Norfolk toward Strathmoor Drive to evacuate residents on the opposite side of the hill. The burned bodies of Battalion Chief James Riley and a civilian resident of the area were found hours later, near the location where he was last seen by the Patrol unit. It is believed that the Chief was trying to assist the woman, who had left her home by car, and both were electrocuted by a falling power line. The message from Division A at 1144 is the last recorded communication from Chief Riley.

Crews on the right flank were also in serious trouble. Engine 8 had been assigned to assist E24, protecting structures in the area of 7140 Buckingham, below the point of origin of the fire, but was blocked in the 7200 block by live power lines and abandoned cars. Engine 8’s Captain directed his crew and a ride-along volunteer to lay a supply line from a hydrant and set up to protect three large houses that were in the path of the fire. They met up with the crew from Engine 24, one crew member from Engine 16, two from Engine 19, and a volunteer who had been helping to fight the fire on the hillside. They were soon joined by five EBRPD firefighters who drove two of their vehicles out of the smoke and flames.

As they set up to protect the structures, the fire that had blocked their path to the west, sweeping down toward the Parkwood Apartments, came back from below their position and cut them off to the east. Seven civilians were trapped along with them. A power line burned through and dropped around the hydrant, burning a hole in the hose and dropping their water pressure. Engine 8 contacted the IC to obtain emergency assistance, but there was nothing available to send until the mutual aid strike teams arrived. The Captain had his crew members force entry into a large three story house and put all of the civilians inside the concrete block garage. The house was newly constructed and was equipped with an automatic sprinkler system, although he recognized that the sprinklers could never protect the structure from the approaching fire.

The firefighters operated master streams and hoselines on the exterior of the house to keep the wood siding from igniting, flowing an estimated 2,500 gpm, as the fire swept over and around them. Fog nozzles had to be used to protect the members operating the larger handlines that were directed to wet the structure. For an estimated five to eight minutes the fire storm raged around them, burning one of the adjacent houses to the ground, but the exposure protection tactic worked and 20 people survived.

When the storm had passed, they realized that there was still enough fuel left after the fire’s pass that it could come back if the wind shifted. They went behind the houses and set a backfire to clear enough area behind to protect them from a rear assault. By this time their hydrant had gone completely dry and they were left with only tank water to maintain their protection.

When conditions finally appeared to stabilize, they met up with the two firefighters and the woman who had survived the fire under the pool cover. Looking down the hill they could see the smoking ruins of the Parkwood Apartments below them; the entire complex had burned to the ground. Then, as they worked their way out of the area, they found the burned bodies of two civilians in the street, only a block from where they had taken refuge. They went on to fight fire for several more hours.