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Residents are UCB students 

OAKLAND – The Oakland Fire Department reports today that one man died and four others were hospitalized after a house full of students caught fire. 

Spokeswoman Vicky Evans-Robinson said the fire was reported at 7:12 a.m. at 5247 Desmond St. by a neighbor. The neighbor was able to rouse some of the occupants, who were said to be seven University of California at Berkeley students, before the fire department was called. 

Evans-Robinson said firefighters arrived at the scene and found the two-story house heavily involved in flames. The fire was put under control at 7:56 a.m. 

A total of five people were able to make it out on their own, she said, including one man who had to jump from a second-story window. But firefighters found one man dead inside the house and they were forced to use a ladder to rescue a woman from a second-story window.  

The cause of the victim's death is uncertain at this time, Evans-Robinson said. Four people, including the man who jumped out of the window, were taken to local area hospital for injuries suffered in the fire. 

Damage was estimated at $500,000 and the cause of the fire is under investigation.