Oakland Fire Department photo
Oakland Fire fighters described as a “huge loss” Saturday the Vietnamese American Community Center after fire swept through the building.
The East Bay Times reports it broke out at 1 a.m.
35 firefighters contained the fire in half an hour, but not before significant damage to the building.
NBC Bay Area reports the Center serves thousands of meals each week to people in need.
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Investigators suspect the fire began at a nearby homeless encampment, but it’s not clear if any of the homeless residents were displaced.
The fire comes just days before Tet, the celebration of the New Year in the Vietnamese community.
A celebration of Tet is scheduled for today in Oakland.
“We were planning to come together at Clinton Park Sunday for Lunar New Year and will still come together for support, solidarity and safety for all our communities and in unity,” Oakland council President Pro Temp Sheng Thao said Saturday in a Twitter post.
