San Francisco Fire Destroys High Rise Under Construction Near AT&T Park [Photos]
A massive, six-alarm fire in San Francisco destroyed a high rise construction site located next to the Giants home, AT&T Park in the Mission Bay neighborhood of the city on Tuesday evening.
The plume of smoke shot at least 40-feet into the sky and could be seen from satellite imagery.
Fire in San Francisco evident on infrared satellite imagery: pic.twitter.com/yi5GhbYYGS
— NWSBayArea (@NWSBayArea) March 12, 2014
The first call into the San Francisco Fire Department came at 4:56 pm and was answered by about 150 firefighters who battled the flames throughout the night to stop them from spreading.
San Francisco police spokesman Sergeant Eric O’Neal said in a statement that all residents on the east side of Fourth Street had been evacuated and that the Red Cross was on the scene, according to NBCBayArea.com.
Officials say one firefighter suffered minor burns and was transported to a local hospital.
The photos posted on Twitter are jaw dropping as they show the fire engulfing the construction site completely:
Massive fire burns building near San Francisco’s AT&T Park baseball stadium. | http://t.co/Wx1MI1TR3n pic.twitter.com/PqlKNJPVW5
— news.com.au (@newscomauHQ) March 12, 2014
‘GREAT SAVE’: San Francisco Firefighters Contain Massive 6-Alarm Blaze http://t.co/UaadaGrMyB (Josh Edelson/Reuters) pic.twitter.com/z4wKluVcCH
— Business Insider (@businessinsider) March 12, 2014
Massive 5-alarm fire in San Francisco scorches high-rise building, threatens neighborhoods http://t.co/KnNCPfLtzd pic.twitter.com/YTaSRrrsz9
— 7NEWS Denver Channel (@DenverChannel) March 12, 2014
The San Francisco fire seen from the Berkeley Hills. @berkeleyside @nbcbayarea pic.twitter.com/ySPBQmz101
— Dadascope (@dadascope) March 12, 2014
San Francisco Fire Department officials have not determined the cause of the fire as of yet, but chief Joanne Hayes-White said they would let the building collapse under its own weight.
The fire completely destroyed what was to become a 172-unit apartment complex owned by BRE Properties, which stated that all employees and contractors were accounted for.
“We are currently assessing the situation, including the cause of the fire, and we will be consulting with the appropriate authorities. We carry comprehensive insurance coverage for events such as this including hard cost replacement, soft costs and loss of revenue.”
San Francisco Fire Department spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge said that because the building was under construction it made firefighters’ efforts more difficult, since the fire sprinklers had not been completely installed.
Residents that live in the building across the street were evacuated due to the exterior sprinklers going off and needing to be replaced, according to the San Francisco Fire Deputy Chief of Operations Mark Gonzales, who said Wednesday the fire protection system must be restored before residents are allowed back into their homes.
[Image via Twitter]
