California IN BRIEF : OAKLAND : Board-and-Care Home Fire Kills 2

Two people died in a fire that ravaged a board-and-care home early Saturday, according to fire officials. A woman who suffered smoke inhalation died at a nearby hospital and a man was killed when the second-floor ceiling collapsed in the fire, Assistant Fire Chief Don Matthews said. The Alameda County coroner’s office did not immediately release the names of the victims pending notification of relatives. All of the other residents of Dillard’s House of Care in East Oakland were taken to a nearby hospital, three for treatment for smoke inhalation and 13 for treatment for exposure, Matthews said. Firefighters responded to the blaze about 3 a.m. It took 26 firefighters 30 minutes to control the fire, which caused an estimated $50,000 in damage. “The second floor was a mass of flames coming out the windows,” Matthews said. Board-and-care centers house alcoholics, drug addicts, mentally ill and elderly people.