It could take weeks to identify the two elderly men who died in a fire at a debris-filled home in San Francisco’s Excelsior District last Friday, according to the medical examiner’s office.
The fire was reported at 3:34 a.m. Friday at a two-story home at 171 Vienna St.
The men died in separate bedrooms on the second floor of the house. Authorities have not been able to reach family members to help identify the men and may have to rely on DNA testing, medical examiner’s officials said today.
Neighbors said the victims were both elderly and had lived there for at least 20 years.
Public property records show that a man named Joseph Rodriguez owns the home, which was built in 1900.
Fire officials said it was a struggle to get the bodies out of the home because of the large amount of clutter inside. Much of the debris, including charred furniture, pots and pans and other items, were piled up in front of the driveway as emergency crews worked at the scene that morning.
Fire department spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge said the blaze caused an estimated $70,000 in structural damage to the home and $10,000 to its contents.
Fire Capt. Jeanne Seyler said the official cause of the fire will not be determined until the department receives a final report from the medical examiner’s office. She said the blaze does not appear to be suspicious.
Dan McMenamin, Bay City News
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