A suspicious fire caused almost $450,000 in damages to a Santa Clara Avenue restaurant this morning.
Multiple callers reported smoke coming from the building of the American Oak restaurant on the 2300 block of Santa Clara Avenue starting at 6:16 a.m. according to Fire Capt. Jim Colburn.
Firefighters forced entry into the restaurant and were able to save the building. However, a lot of damage was done inside, according to Colburn. He said around $250,000 worth of damage was estimated for the structure and $200,000 worth of damages to the contents inside.
"It appears that the fire started in multiple areas so it's deemed suspicious," Colburn said.
No injuries were reported and the fire is further being investigated.
Santa Clara Avenue between Oak Street and Park Street will remain closed most of the morning Colburn said.
He added that this is the fourth fire APD has dealt with the last five days.
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"I ate there once last year and they overcooked my burger!!!" and "I hope they re-open the place as a raw organic salad bar!!!" Please remember that ~20 of your fellow Alamedans just lost their jobs two weeks before Xmas.
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Restaurants don't burn just like that period . If one ever try to get set it on fire during working hours it take a lot of good will and perseverance . when it is closed for 6 hours plus , it is impossible unless you have an elecrical short, you do not have electrical short at multiple location in the same time ..... Lot of time it is blamed on deep fryer , well they are are equiped for over 30- years in the US no to reach the flash point , far from it . In the ols days they used "sterno" jellyfied alcohol , the manufacturer added a trascer under US Fire marshall guidance , another one was to fill light bulb with alcohol or acetone . Show the accounting book and you will get an answer very fast one way or the other . Revenge from competitors has also been a motive in many cases . Restautasnts are harder to burn than any other business , because most of the equipment is steel . It remind me "le Beau Rivage"........
The good news is that arson investigators, with the help of sophisticated labs, can find out almost every detail of how and where a fire was set, which usually leads to finding out who set the fire(s).