Five Displaced by Early Morning Fire

-By Bay City News Service

A three-alarm fire at a Berkeley home this morning displaced a family of five, a deputy fire chief said.

Firefighters responded to the single-family home in the 2900 block of Benvenue Avenue, near Ashby Avenue, after the fire was reported at 12:18 a.m., Berkeley Deputy Fire Chief Gil Dong said.

The blaze was under control by 3 a.m., Dong said.

No one was injured in the fire, but five people were displaced, including a woman confined to a wheelchair who was rescued by two Berkeley police officers before firefighters arrived, Dong said.

As of 9:30 a.m., a crew was still at the scene and investigators were looking for the cause, Dong said.

Dong said the fire caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to the house. Most of the damage was to the rear of the home, he said.

The American Red Cross helped set up the family with temporary housing, he said.