SAN FRANCISCO—On Tuesday, July 28, a 5-alarm fire in San Francisco transpired on Erie Street, which is north of 14th Street at S. Van Ness. The fire began around 6:30 a.m. and it ended up burning six commercial buildings. Fire Chief, Jeanine Nicholson said during a press conference at 10:30 a.m. one firefighter was injured who is being treated at San Francisco General Hospital.
The fire created a huge plume of smoke and it took 160 firefighters and 75-100 law enforcement partners to tame it. Members of the American Cross helped take care of those who temporarily displaced as stated by Public Information Officer, Lt. Jonathan Baxter during the press conference. There were no reports of any injuries to members in the community.
The SFFD met its capacity for their water system and was able to utilize their water supply system from their Twin Peaks location which brought millions of gallons of water down to high pressure hydrants to put the fire out.
One of the buildings damaged was the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office which has the field operations headquarters, planning projects division, and a huge portion of the administrative functions, according to Sheriff Paul M. Miyamoto. Currently, each department has been relocated to identified locations to continue operations.
Another building damaged was an auto body shop, and Lt. Baxter expressed concerns fire departments have when it comes to auto body shops. They are filled with propane and fire departments have oil and gasoline which could cause an explosion.
