A four-alarm fire that ripped through the Mission District on Wednesday night, killing one person and injuring six others, was deliberately set.
The fire began about 6:45 p.m. in a mixed-use building at 22nd and Mission streets. Police evacuated a neighboring building and sent residents fleeing.
Police said the fire appeared to be accidental. One man pulled from the building died at the scene as a result of his injuries. Firefighters worked through the night to put down the stubborn blaze. It wasn’t extinguished until after midnight and part of the building’s roof had collapsed.
Officer Grace Gatpandan, spokeswoman for the San Francisco Police Department said, “It does not appear foul play or arson was a factor.” She added that, six people were taken to hospitals to be treated for smoke inhalation.
Two men and one women were being treated at St. Francis Memorial Hospital, according to an official of the hospital.
According to Francis Zamora, spokesman of Department of Emergency Management, the Red Cross set up a temporary shelter for victims of the fire at City College of San Francisco. He added that about 40 people had been displaced, and about 25 of them were at the shelter.
One of the tenant in that building, Lydia Chavez, editor of the Mission Local news outlet, whose offices are on the second floor of the building, said one of her staff members had locked up the office just 10 minutes before the fire broke out.
Chavez told the reporters that, after seeing photos of flames engulfing the building, she feared the nonprofit’s office and equipment would be a “total loss.,” and “I doubt anything is salvageable.” She further said that, “we may have lost an office and our equipment, but some people lost their homes.”
References:
- Hamilton, Matt and Mai-Duc, Christine. (2015, Jan 29). Intense fire in San Francisco likely an accident, police say. Retrieved from http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-san-francisco-fire-20150128-story.html
- Blevins, Gene. (2014, Dec 8). PHOTOS: MASSIVE FIRE RIPS THROUGH LOS ANGELES BUILDING/Reuters. Retrieved from http://www.newsweek.com/photos-massive-fire-rips-through-los-angeles-building-290451