SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Three people were killed and 11 others were injured in a three-alarm fire early Thursday morning that sent residents jumping to safety from a three-story apartment building in the Mission District, fire officials said.
Residents at the 12-unit wooden structure leaped onto nearby rooftops to flee the flames.
''First I heard people jumping off the balcony into our courtyard,'' said neighbor Dave Ciaccio. ''Then I looked out and I saw people running from one rooftop to the next rooftop to the next rooftop trying to escape.''
The bodies of three people were found inside the charred building at Capp and 19th streets.
Five civilians and six firefighters were hurt, said Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White.
''There were three stories of flames and a lot of heat,'' said firefighter Ken Smith. ''A lot of crews took a real big beating and sustained some injuries as a result of the fire.''
Four people who jumped out of windows were taken to hospitals, including one with multiple leg fractures who was in critical condition, fire officials said.
At least 20 of the building's residents were Mexican, said Alfonso de Maria y Campos, the General Consul of Mexico, who went to the scene Thursday morning.
The injured firefighters were all expected to recover after treatment for minor burns, Hayes-White said.
Fire officials were investigating the cause of the blaze that was brought under control soon after firefighters arrived.
