Apparent Hoarder Killed In Parkmerced Fire Identified

A woman who died early Friday morning in a fire in a cluttered apartment at San Francisco’s Parkmerced complex has been identified by the medical examiner’s office as 61-year-old Ava Black.

Fire crews responded around 5:10 a.m. to a Parkmerced apartment building at first block of Chumasero Drive, off of Brotherhood Way.

Deputy Chief Mark Gonzales said there were several small fires at a unit where a hoarder appeared to live near the bottom of the building.

He said it took crews some time to find the flames before quickly extinguishing the blaze.

Crews found Black’s body in a unit that was filled with items, he said. She appears to have been the only resident in the unit.

No other injuries were reported.

A fire alarm had gone off in the entire building, he said, however the blaze did not spread to other units.

The fire remains under investigation, he said.

DanMcMenamin/Sasha Lekach, Bay City News

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