A five-alarm fire was reported at 29th and Mission streets in San Francisco on Saturday afternoon, displacing residents in the area and causing a shelter-in-place that spanned five blocks around the blaze.
The fire burned for hours and was finally contained just before 7 p.m.
The blaze, which sent billowing clouds of smoke into the air and had spread to eight other addresses as of 6 p.m., appeared to be coming out of a two-story building. It was reported just after 2 p.m. and was originally reported as being a three-alarm fire.
One of the buildings that caught fire is a hardware store, prompting worries about possible paint and other highly flammable products catching fire.
Mayor Edwin Lee stopped by and was briefed about the fire, talking with fire officials and offering his support to those who were affected by the flames. As of 6:15 p.m., 46 people had been displaced.
Fire officials warned residents in the vicinity to shutter windows and doors and to avoid breathing the smokey air outside. Kathleen Maclay, a Red Cross spokesperson, said residents who couldn't stay in their homes were being sent to the Safeway at Mission Street. The organization was also working with the Salvation Army to establish a shelter.
big fire at 29th & Mission pic.twitter.com/58prF5ha1r — Burrito Justice (@burritojustice) June 18, 2016
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Firefighters were on scene trying to extinguish the blaze and stop it from spreading to more buildings. They were trying knock the flames down so that the firefighters could swoop into the building and put out hot spots, according to a fire official.
Firefighters said they didn't know which building the fire started in and are still investigating the cause. Evacuations were ordered from the 3300 block to 3366 Mission St. There were about 140 firefighters at one point fighting to bring the flames down, according to a public information officer with the San Francisco Fire Department.
Two people were taken to a hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation and a 1-year-old was treated outside the fire for breathing issues. The child was not taken to a hospital, Baxter said.
The information officer said that he did not believe the fire would continue to spread.
"We have a handle on it," he said.
