Keith May

Utilizing funding from Measure FF – a 2020 Berkeley ordinance increasing funding for emergency response, fire mitigation and wildfire prevention – Berkeley Fire Department, or BFD, has “bolstered” its workforce and expanded personnel to address changes in the annual fire season, according to BFD Assistant Fire Chief Keith May.

The Berkeley Fire Department responded to an RV on fire next to a structure on the 1100 block of Second Street on Monday afternoon. 

As California’s wildfire season approaches, the Berkeley Fire Department and the city of Berkeley have prepared a variety of resources in anticipation of the hot and dry months ahead.

The Berkeley Fire Department responded to a large fire at an apartment on the 3000 block of Sacramento Street on Tuesday morning.

The Office of Emergency Services, or OES, in Alameda County launched a Zonehaven “Know Your Zone” campaign Tuesday to prepare residents for future emergencies in their neighborhoods.

A house fire on the 1000 block of 67th Street on Monday afternoon left five uninjured residents and two pets without a home to return to that evening, except that which the American Red Cross can provide them with.

With COVID-19 shifting the traditional workplace to remote work and posing a wide variety of challenges, both the city of Berkeley and UC Berkeley have developed useful virtual work strategies that may carry forward into the future. 

The University Avenue fire that occurred Nov. 21 displaced about 20 Berkeley residents, in addition to blocking off car access to several businesses.

An apartment building in the 2600 block of Etna Street in Berkeley’s Elmwood neighborhood caught fire at 1:50 a.m. Nov. 16, one of several recent fires in the city.

The Berkeley Fire Department is continuing to respond to a fire on the 2000 block of University Avenue that was reported at 5:39 p.m. Saturday, and as of Monday afternoon, the fire is not out.