A 64-year-old woman died, and a firefighter suffered a non-life threatening injury after a fire broke out in San Francisco's Inner Sunset neighborhood Saturday night, according to the fire department.
The fire ignited near the intersection of 8th Avenue and Noriega Street, damaging three residences in one building along 8th Avenue before being contained just after midnight, according to the fire department.
The victim was identified by the city's medical examiner as Jessica Summerville. She had lived in the apartment for a number of years, they said.
Neighbor Sam Meyer, who lived upstairs from Summerville, said he tried to help her get out.
"I just smelled the smoke and went down there and saw the fire," Meyer said. "She was a little out of her mind, and she was saying, 'I don't know.' She was babbling. She could have followed me right up the stairs. We were all yelling at her to come up, and she just wouldn't."
Meyer said he did not hear any smoke alarms sounding off inside the building.
A first-alarm response was called at 9:48 p.m. Saturday, according to the fire department. The blaze quickly became a two-alarm fire at 9:50 p.m. and a three-alarm at 10:09 p.m. Roughly 100 firefighters were on scene battling the flames.
Local
A total of 12 people in the area of the fire have been displaced, according to the fire department. The Red Cross and San Francisco city services are helping those individuals.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
