San Francisco apartment fire: inferno had potential to ‘grind down that entire block’

SAN FRANCISCO — A three-alarm fire at an apartment building in San Francisco’s Western Addition neighborhood on Tuesday afternoon left 13 residents and two businesses displaced, fire officials said.

At 12:10 p.m., the fire department announced that crews were responding to the scene of a blaze at McAllister and Divisadero streets about a block from Alamo Square. The fire was contained shortly after 2 p.m. and prompted the response of more than 100 firefighters, according to the department.

Some apartment units on the second and third floors only sustained smoke and water damage, meaning inhabitants can still retrieve their belongings, while other apartments in the building were a complete loss, San Francisco Fire Department spokesman Lt. Jonathan Baxter said.

“It’s a major damage throughout the entire building,” Baxter said. “The first floor suffered water and smoke damage. The second and third floor, as well as the roof, suffered major fire, smoke and water damage as a result of the fire.”

The fire also left two firefighters and one resident injured, though all are expected to survive.

Fire officials said that one firefighter suffered a musculoskeletal injury and was transported to a hospital for observation. The other firefighter was said to have suffered exhaustion after working to ensure there were no people trapped in the building. Following monitoring and rehabilitation, the firefighter was put back into service and did not go to the hospital, Baxter said.

A west-blowing, high-speed wind tunnel was contributing to the exponential growth of the fire, according to Baxter. Without firefighters being able to arrive quickly via accessible roadways, the fire had the potential to “grind down that entire block,” he said.

The cause of the fire was still under investigation.

“We were able to keep that fire from spreading to any other structures and keeping it just within that one building,” Baxter said.

Supervisor Dean Preston said in a social media post that his office is working with the American Red Cross to provide immediate assistance to displaced community members. He also mentioned that Oasis Cafe and Kava Lounge are displaced as a result of the fire.

“Big thanks to all the firefighters for their heroic work today, and to the Red Cross for assisting residents. We will provide further updates when we receive more information,” Preston said on Twitter.