A three-alarm fire ripped through downtown Oakland Monday morning, leaving Mistah F.A.B‘s Dope Era clothing store waterlogged and damaged.
The Oakland rapper’s business sits on the ground floor of the five-story residential building at 19th and Broadway. Fire calls started coming in around 7 A.M. Monday as smoke and flames shot from multiple floors of the building. Oakland Fire Department crews battled the blaze for hours before getting it under control by 8:40 A.M. Three residents were treated for smoke inhalation and went to the hospital. One firefighter also suffered minor injuries during the response. More than 50 firefighters showed up to fight the fire that gutted several floors.
The building houses 48 residential units total, with retail spaces like Dope Era on the bottom floor. Officials say the damage will take 12 to 18 months to repair completely. Mistah F.A.B got calls from neighboring businesses about the fire. He rushed down to see his store hit hard by water damage from firefighting efforts. But the Oakland native kept his focus on the people affected rather than his business losses. His store has operated since 2011 as part of his Dope Era lifestyle brand. Instead of anger or disappointment, the veteran rapper spent Monday morning checking on displaced residents and offering help. Dozens of people lost their homes in the fire that left multiple floors completely gutted.