Fire in West Oakland duplex kills resident

One person died and more than a dozen were displaced in a fire at a duplex in West Oakland early Friday morning, authorities said.

The Oakland Fire Department said the fire was reported just after 3 a.m. at a two-story duplex in the 1300 block of 12th Street. A man was found unconscious in an attic where smoke had spread from the fire, department spokesman Michael Hunt said.

He was not burned but died of smoke inhalation injuries after being taken to Highland Hospital, said Hunt. The 39-year-old victim was not identified.

The fire displaced seven adults and 12 children who were attended to by the Red Cross.

More than two dozen firefighters responded to the fire. The cause appeared to be electrical, the department said.