ATF National Response Team Arrives to Provide Expertise on Four-Alarm Fire Investigation in Oakland

OAKLAND – Currently 22 members of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ or ATF’s National Response Team arrived on scene today at 2302 Valdez Street in Oakland, California, to help investigate a four-alarm fire that occurred the morning of July 7.

“ATF’s NRT is in the beginning stages of this investigation,” said Special Agent in Charge Jill Snyder, San Francisco Field Division. “Our focus is to provide our expertise on fire scene analysis to the Oakland Fire Department for their investigation. ATF approaches these scenes without any preconceptions about what may have happened, and we allow the evidence to guide us to a conclusion.”

The NRT is also working closely with the Oakland Fire Department and Alameda County Fire Investigation Task Force. 

ATF is the only federal agency with the expertise and resources to investigate fire scenes. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is the federal expert in this field, and the NRT exists to support federal, state and local investigators with large-scale and complex fire and explosive incidents.

The NRT is composed of veteran special agents who include certified fire investigators, certified explosives specialists, fire protection engineers, chemists, forensic mappers and other highly specialized and experienced fire investigators. More information on NRT can be found at https://www.atf.gov/explosives/national-response-team.

Since its inception in 1978, the NRT has deployed 813 times.  The NRT has deployed 17 times in fiscal year 2017, which began Oct. 1, 2016. 

Anyone with any information about this fire should contact ATF at 1-888-ATF-FIRE [ 1-888-ATF-FIRE] or by visiting www.reportit.com (link is external) (link is external) or through the mobile “reportit” app, available both on Google Play and the Apple App Store. All calls will be kept confidential.