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6:30 AM: A four alarm fire on Hyde between Sutter and Bush has filled the area with smoke and closed the streets in the area.
According to a dispatcher, a call came in around 5:20 a.m. calling the SFFD to a burning four story apartment building. All the residents, the fire department says, have been evacuated safely, and no serious injuries have been reported.
Two buildings on either side of the building are also in danger, according to reports.
Chief Joanne Hayes-White said in a broadcast interview with KTVU that firefighters have been called out of the main burning building. “It is untenable for a firefighter to work in there safely” she said. She says that firefighters continue to work to defend the surrounding buildings from the blaze.
At least four engine companies and a truck company were on the scene as of 6 AM.
Commuters are advised to avoid the area — between the heavy smoke and closures at Hyde, Sutter, and Bush, it’s bound to be a mess.
Do you live or work in the area? If so, let us know how it is down there.
7:20 AM: According to AlertSF 50-100 people have been evacuated from the burning building, 35 of whom are resting at the lobby of St. Francis Hospital.
Muni is being rerouted, they say, at Sutter and Leavenworth, as streets in the immediate area remain closed.
SFFD, SFPD, PG&E, DPT, the Red Cross, and the Human Services Agency are all on the scene.
7:38 PM: Tenderblog has some photos of the fire, and says that the burning building was the one at 824 Hyde, a “four story, eight unit building built in 1915.”
7:50 AM: Bay City News is reporting that the fire is now “controlled,” but didn’t have any additional details.
According to broadcast reports from KTVU, firefighters intend to remain on the scene until 8 tonight to “monitor hot spots.” They say that 3 people have been treated for smoke inhalation, but that no one was seriously injured. The 8-unit building, they report, is completely destroyed.
The cause of the fire remains unknown, but they do believe it started on the first floor and spread.
Streets in the area remain closed, and Muni continues to be rerouted around the area.
8:06 AM: KCBS is reporting that most of the folks displaced by this fire, which they say spread to an adjacent building, were Academy of Art students.
8:40 AM: Bay City News is reporting that 75 people have been displaced by this fire, an American Red Cross spokesman said.
The residents of the burned building were initially directed to the lobby of the nearby St.
Francis Memorial Hospital, where a room’s been set up for residents to rest, eat, and drink, Red Cross spokesman Steve Sharp said.
Sharp said about 75 residents have registered for Red Cross assistance, and says that the agency is “working on setting up a shelter.”
10:29 AM: Bay City news is reporting that three people were treated and released after this morning’s 4 alarm fire, that SFFD say was controlled by 7:30 AM.
Streets in the area remain closed, and Muni lines 2 and 27 and express lines 1, 31 and 38 have been rerouted until further notice.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
1:05 PM: Bay City News has more details on how this morning’s fire progressed through the now-destroyed four-story, eight-unit apartment building at 824 Hyde.
“About 40 minutes into battling the blaze, firefighters discovered flames had spread to a stairwell between the second and third floors, and the decision was made to get all the firefighters out of the building,” they say they were told by SFFD spokesperson Lt. Mindy Talmadge.
“As soon as they realized they weren’t going to get up (to the upper floors), they pulled everyone out since it was clear the roof was going to cave in,” she said.
She said from that point, crews focused on keeping the fire contained to that building, although flames did damage one apartment in an adjacent building at 830 Hyde St.
As noted earlier, firefighters will remain at the scene into the evening “to make sure nothing flares up again,” Talmadge said.
The building at 824 Hyde St. is “a total loss” and will have to be torn down, Talmadge said.
She said only one apartment at 830 Hyde St. sustained fire damage, but all 10 units in that building had smoke, water or other damage. All utilities have been shut off, and residents will not be able to return today.
The cause of the blaze is under investigation, she said.
Homepage photo of the scene from twitter user mucho_comida, more here
