A two-alarm fire in San Francisco’s Richmond District early Sunday morning injured two firefighters and caused more than $1 million in damage to three residential buildings, a fire department spokeswoman said today.
The fire was reported at 2:23 a.m. Sunday at a building in the 600 block of 42nd Avenue and spread to two adjacent buildings, fire spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge said.
Firefighters had a tough time accessing the top floor of the three-story building where the fire started because a metal door in the stairwell was welded shut, so they had to breach the wall of an adjacent building to get to the flames, Talmadge said.
The fire was finally extinguished shortly before 5 a.m., she said.
Two firefighters were injured, one of whom suffered first- to third-degree burns, Talmadge said. Both firefighters are expected to survive, she said.
Three adults and a child were displaced, according to Talmadge.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation but it is believed to be accidental and may have been sparked by an electrical problem, she said.
The building where the fire started, which contains 691 and 693 42nd Ave., sustained $500,000 in damage to its structure and $50,000 to its contents.
An adjacent building that contains 695 and 697 42nd Ave. sustained $250,000 in damage to its structure and $50,000 to its contents. The blaze also caused $150,000 in damage to a third building at 687 and 689 42nd Ave., where $15,000 in contents was destroyed.
Dan McMenamin, Bay City News
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