OAKLAND — A 17-year employee was killed and a woman injured early Friday when a roof collapsed at the East Oakland coffee distribution warehouse where they were working, authorities said.
Both of them worked for Peet’s Coffee and Tea.
Authorities said a portion of the roof at the warehouse in the 600 block of 85th Avenue collapsed about 3:20 a.m. Friday.
Fire officials said the 30-by-30-foot portion that collapsed represented only about 5 percent of the total roof area.
A roof collapsed at 650-680 85th Avenue in East Oakland, Calif., on Friday, March 10, 2023. A man was killed, and a woman was injured in the incident which occurred after heavy rains early Friday morning. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
An inspector from Cal-OSHA, right, and others, check out a collapsed roof at 650-680 85th Avenue in East Oakland, Calif., on Friday, March 10, 2023. A man was killed, and a woman was injured in the incident which occurred at the Peet’s Coffee and Tea distribution warehouse after heavy rains early Friday morning. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Inspectors check out a collapsed roof at 650-680 85th Avenue in East Oakland, Calif., on Friday, March 10, 2023. A man was killed, and a woman was injured in the incident which occurred at the Peet’s Coffee and Tea distribution warehouse after heavy rains early Friday morning. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
A drone view of a collapsed roof at 650-680 85th Avenue in East Oakland, Calif., on Friday, March 10, 2023. A man was killed, and a woman was injured in the incident which occurred at the Peet’s Coffee and Tea distribution warehouse after heavy rains early Friday morning. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
A drone view of a collapsed roof at 650-680 85th Avenue in East Oakland, Calif., on Friday, March 10, 2023. A man was killed, and a woman was injured in the incident which occurred at the Peet’s Coffee and Tea distribution warehouse after heavy rains early Friday morning. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
A broken coffee mug lies on the ground after a roof collapsed at 650-680 85th Avenue in East Oakland, Calif., on Friday, March 10, 2023. A man was killed, and a woman was injured in the incident which occurred at the Peet’s Coffee and Tea distribution warehouse after heavy rains early Friday morning. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Inspectors check out a collapsed roof at 650-680 85th Avenue in East Oakland, Calif., on Friday, March 10, 2023. A man was killed, and a woman was injured in the incident which occurred at the Peet’s Coffee and Tea distribution warehouse after heavy rains early Friday morning. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
A drone view of a collapsed roof at 650-680 85th Avenue in East Oakland, Calif., on Friday, March 10, 2023. A man was killed, and a woman was injured in the incident which occurred at the Peet’s Coffee and Tea distribution warehouse after heavy rains early Friday morning. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
A drone view of a collapsed roof at 650-680 85th Avenue in East Oakland, Calif., on Friday, March 10, 2023. A man was killed, and a woman was injured in the incident which occurred at the Peet’s Coffee and Tea distribution warehouse after heavy rains early Friday morning. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
A Peet’s Coffee binder lies on the ground after a roof collapsed at 650-680 85th Avenue in East Oakland, Calif., on Friday, March 10, 2023. A man was killed, and a woman was injured in the incident which occurred at the Peet’s Coffee and Tea distribution warehouse after heavy rains early Friday morning. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
A man walks past a the scene of a collapsed roof at 650-680 85th Avenue in East Oakland, Calif., on Friday, March 10, 2023. A man was killed, and a woman was injured in the incident which occurred at the Peet’s Coffee and Tea distribution warehouse after heavy rains early Friday morning. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
A drone view of a collapsed roof at 650-680 85th Avenue in East Oakland, Calif., on Friday, March 10, 2023. A man was killed, and a woman was injured in the incident which occurred at the Peet’s Coffee and Tea distribution warehouse after heavy rains early Friday morning. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
A building is red tagged as unsafe after a roof collapsed at 650-680 85th Avenue in East Oakland, Calif., on Friday, March 10, 2023. A man was killed, and a woman was injured in the incident which occurred at the Peet’s Coffee and Tea distribution warehouse after heavy rains early Friday morning. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
A drone view of a collapsed roof at 650-680 85th Avenue in East Oakland, Calif., on Friday, March 10, 2023. A man was killed, and a woman was injured in the incident which occurred at the Peet’s Coffee and Tea distribution warehouse after heavy rains early Friday morning. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
The man killed was brought outside before first responders arrived, fire officials said. He was pronounced dead there.
A woman who was injured was taken to a hospital. No other injuries were reported.
Authorities said the building is a large distribution center and one of its main occupants is Peet’s Coffee and Tea.
Peet’s spokesperson Mary O’Connell said Friday the man killed was a well-liked and highly respected employee who had worked 17 years for Peet’s. He was sitting in an office when the roof above it collapsed.
O’Connell identified the man as Martin González, 57, of Oakland, a “distribution lead” who managed the flow of product and trucks.
She was trying to confirm the woman’s job at the facility.
O’Connell said colleagues were “absolutely shaken” by the man’s death. “He was always upbeat and had a great sense of humor,” O’Connell said. “He had a joke for everyone and everyone warmed to him.”
She said work shifts were cancelled at the facility Friday and that Peet’s is looking for a temporary facility.
In the meantime, Peet’s is doing its best to cope with what happened, including the company president communicating with employees. “We’re devastated, we’re reeling,” O’Connell said.
Oakland Fire Battalion Chief Chris Foley on Friday morning said the cause of the collapse is under investigation and it was too early to say if it was weather related.
The cause of death will have to be determined by the coroner before it is officially counted as a storm-related death, according to Brian Ferguson, a spokesperson for the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.
The building has been red tagged, meaning it cannot be occupied at least for the time being. City structural engineers and representatives from Cal/OSHA also responded to the scene. A Cal/OSHA official said the agency has opened an investigation into the workplace collapse.
Staff writer Harriet Rowan contributed to this report.
