By Marisa Lagos
The San Francisco Chronicle
Copyright 2007 San Francisco Chronicle
All Rights Reserved
SAN FRANCISCO — A 47-year-old man died Tuesday night in what officials are calling a suspicious explosion and fire at an Oakland home that knocked one-third of the building off its foundation.
The Oakland man, identified by the Alameda County Coroner’s office as Coong Cooc, was found just outside the back door of the home at 1547 14th Ave., fire and police officials said.
Firefighters responded to a report of fire at the single-family home around 11:49 p.m. and brought the blaze under control by 12:12 a.m., said fire Capt. Melinda Drayton.
An explosion that preceded the fire knocked part of the home off its foundation, Drayton said.
Oakland police Sgt. Dana Flynn said officers responding to the call found Cooc lying outside in the driveway, badly burned. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
“There was a large quantity of an accelerant in the basement of the home, which eventually ignited and caused the explosion,” he said.
Drayton said later that investigators discovered seven containers of flammable liquids in various parts of the house. The types of containers and their locations, she said, “were unusual for a private residence -- strange.”
Drayton said Cooc had been living in the basement, where the explosion began, but that the main floor of the building had been vacant for about a week.
“No one else was living there,” she said.
The home is “almost a total loss,” Drayton said, though firefighters have not yet determined a damage estimate for the building.