Per @cbogart "Bomb squad detonated suspicious device a few doors down on 46th and judah” pic.twitter.com/8EN1T9uinj pic.twitter.com/t2gynUmu7H
— Emergency_In_SF (@Emergency_In_SF) January 15, 2014
An explosive device that was detonated by police after a family member found it at a home in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset neighborhood on Tuesday destroyed the home and damaged the surrounding area, police and fire officials said.
Police Chief Greg Suhr said the bomb squad responded around 6 p.m. to a home in the 1400 block of 46th Avenue after a family member found an explosive device with many wires coming out it.
He said the reporting party thought the object looked dangerous, and “obviously, it was hazardous.”
The Police Department’s bomb squad responded and sent a remote-controlled robot into the home to remove the object, but then decided that it would be safest to detonate it inside the home, Suhr said.
Homes in the immediate area were evacuated and other neighborhood residents were told to shelter in place, police spokesman Officer Gordon Shyy said.
Suhr said a safe perimeter was created and the fire department was called to the scene before the device was set off.
When the bomb squad detonated the device, the explosion could be heard for blocks.
A small one-alarm fire broke out at the home at about 8:45 p.m., and firefighters were able to control it just before 9 p.m., fire officials said.
Fire department spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge said the explosion destroyed the home, which is considered a total loss.
The damage to the building was estimated at $300,000, and about $100,000 worth of contents was destroyed, Talmadge said.
Western Sunset Market at 4099 Judah St. was also damaged in the blast, Shyy said. An employee at the market said the store is closed today but may reopen on Thursday.
An employee at Golden Gate Indian Cuisine and Pizza, located at 1388 46th Ave., said he heard the blast. He said the windows in the house were blown out and that there appeared to be a lot of damage to the liquor store.
Sasha Lekach/Dan McMenamin, Bay City News
