Page One

A fire this afternoon on a second-floor balcony of a Berkeley apartment building caused roughly $25,000 of damage, a Berkeley fire official said.  

The fire was first reported at 4:40 p.m. in the 1000 block of University Avenue about seven blocks from Interstate Highway 80.  

The fire burned some exterior siding and flames reached the parapet of the 12-unit building before firefighters extinguished it at about 5 p.m., Deputy Fire Chief Donna McCracken said.  

No one was injured but one person will be displaced. That person was not at home when the fire was extinguished, McCracken said. 

The cause is under investigation.