A structural fire tore through a Mission Street building Jan. 28, killing one person and injuring at least four others, according to fire officials.
The San Francisco Fire Department received notification of a two-alarm fire burning at 6:50 p.m. on the corner of the 22nd and Mission streets, which rose to four alarms within 40 minutes, according to San Francisco Fire Commissioner Michael Hardeman.
“This shows the serious nature of the fire,” Hardeman said. “It hit four alarms that fast.”
An adult male died and at least four people were transported to the hospital for smoke and burn related injuries, according to Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White.
Firefighters rescued 12 people from the burning building, Hayes-White said.
The fire chief withdrew the team from the building, which included commercial and residential units, when the fourth alarm sounded. The team continued to fight the flames from outside the structure, Hardeman said.
“We heard air horns go off, that’s the signal to evacuate,” Hayes-White said. “With the fire burning for as long as it had been, that becomes dangerous for our firefighters.”
Combustibles such as bedding, furniture and the open attic space may have contributed to the rapid spread of the fire, Hayes-White said.
Ricardo Cedeno, a 12 year resident, said he was arriving home when people started rushing out of the building.
“I was coming through the front door, then I saw my mom coming down,” Cedeno said. “I saw a lot of people coming down.”
Cedeno said the most important thing his family lost was his wife’s wedding dress.
“Everything happened just in a blink of the eye,” Cedeno said.
An arson team was on scene to determine the cause and origin of the fire.
CrowdAlbum • Jan 29, 2015 at 8:56 am
See stunning photos from witnesses at the scene http://www.crowdalbum.com/album/54c9b679d1e49e2d77000036/Fire-Rages-in-the-Mission_20150128