Oakland saw a fivefold escalation of fires over the July Fourth holiday due to illegal fireworks, which kept firefighters racing across the city — but saw no human fatalities, a fire department spokesperson said Saturday.
Two dogs died and one person was taken to a hospital with smoke inhalation when illegal fireworks sparked a dramatic house fire around 10:30 p.m. Friday, the Oakland Fire Department reported.
More than 30 firefighters attacked that blaze, as flames leaped from a two-story residential duplex in the 1600 block of 78th Avenue. The first responders had the blaze under control by 11:14 p.m., the fire department posted on social media sites…