Wall Collapses on San Francisco Firefighter
SAN FRANCISCO --
A San Francisco firefighter suffered serious injuries early Thursday when a massive facade crashed down on him as he helped battle a three-alarm warehouse fire, authorities said.
Fire was first reported at around 4:45 a.m. in a single-story warehouse building near Industrial Street and Revere Ave. in the city's Bayview District, according to SF fire spokeswoman Lt. Mindy Talmadge.
"It's pretty incredible, especially warehouse fires," Talmadge said of the blaze. "They are large open structures on the inside so there can be a lot of fire before it appears. This was a very visual fire."
The blaze grew quickly from one alarm to three alarms as 135 firefighters fought the blaze.
It also turned into a very dangerous fire to fight.
During the height of the blaze a 20-foot high facade came crashing down on a firefighter, burying him in the rubble. A frantic rescue effort was undertaken and he was located and removed from the debris.
The unidentified firefighter was rushed to San Francisco General Hospital with a leg fracture and other injuries, according to authorities. He was in stable condition.
A team of investigators was on the scene and searching through the debris for a cause of the blaze. There was no estimate as to the damages.
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