A morning fire gutted an 11-unit apartment building on Solano Avenue in Albany March 12 and required a rescue of upper-floor occupants trapped inside.

Emergency crews responding to a fire Saturday morning at the three-story Evelyn Gardens apartments in Albany had to break holes in an outer wall to rescue people trapped inside.
While the cause of the fire at 1234 Solano Ave. was unknown Saturday afternoon, “It pretty much gutted this 11-unit apartment building,” said Capt. John Weitzel of the Albany Fire Department.
“When we first arrived fire was coming out of the west side of the building here,” he said. “When we got on the scene people needed to be rescued off the rear.”
Weitzel said one occupant was taken to the hospital.
Fire units from Berkeley, El Cerrito and Richmond responded to assist with the blaze, and police closed the Solano Avenue block to traffic.
Representatives of the American Red Cross were at the scene to assist displaced families. A PG&E worker turned off the 45-year-old building’s gas mains.

Broken windows and wall where firefighters rescued occupants. One person was hospitalized, an official said.

The cause of the blaze is unknown. PG&E shut off the gas and the American Red Cross was at the scene.