Feb. 10, 2023 San Francisco firefighters focused on preventing the fire from spreading beyond the adjoining houses.
By Nora Mishanec Source San Francisco Chronicle (TNS) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Feb. 9—An explosion rocked San Francisco’s Sunset District Thursday, damaging one home so badly that it became engulfed in flames, leaving one inhabitant dead and another severely burned.
Cadaver dogs and excavators roamed the rubble of the scorched house Thursday afternoon searching for the occupant who apparently died from injuries. Officials at San Francisco Fire Department later said that crews uncovered a body in the wreckage of the destroyed home.
“The house that exploded is completely destroyed and collapsed, it totally imploded,” said Supervisor Joel Engardio, who represents the Sunset.
Investigators continued to probe the cause of the explosion and the fire that followed, but answers were scant as firefighters doused the final smoldering ruins and assessed the damages to other homes on the colorful 1700 block of 22nd Avenue.
Engardio said the fire was caused by a “possible gas explosion” at the home. Pacific Gas and Electric Co. officials did not directly address questions about whether its equipment sparked the incident but said surveys conducted at the residence found no evidence of gas leaks.
The incident unfolded shortly after 9 a.m., when neighborhood residents were shaken by what they described as a thunderous explosion that shattered windows and jostled houses. Soon, a column of thick black smoke rose up from the home.
Marcel Moran was parking his bike nearby when he heard the deafening blast.
“The ground shook, and you could hear glass breaking,” Moran told The Chronicle. “I immediately started seeing smoke rise from a block away.”
The explosion and clouds of smoke prompted a flood of 911 calls, officials said, dispatching firefighters to the home within minutes.
Crews arriving on scene found the house ablaze and the resident outside with “serious injuries,” SFFD spokesperson Jonathan Baxter said. Paramedics transported the person to a local hospital, where they were receiving treatment for severe burns.
Eyewitnesses told the first arriving firefighters that another person likely remained inside the house. But soon after crews arrived, the front of the home collapsed shortly before 10 a.m., preventing a search-and-rescue mission.
Firefighters then moved to prevent the flames from spreading to beyond the two adjacent houses, which both suffered extensive damage. After assessing the rapidly spreading fire, commanders sent specially trained rescue squads into the adjoining homes to ensure no one was trapped within.
The aggressive efforts left one firefighter with minor injuries, Baxter said. The injured firefighter was hospitalized and later released to recuperate at home.
“They know they are taking a great risk going inside,” Baxter said.
Officials evacuated the residents of nearby homes and no other injuries were reported.
PG&E crews were among those who responded after being called to the scene. They quickly shut off gas to the home and later began conducting a leak survey, said spokesperson Jason King. The survey did not locate any leaks, he said.
According to King, the utility company conducted a leak survey at the home in October 2022 and found no indications of a gas leak.
As night fell on the neighborhood, dogs continued searching the rubble for the missing adult, who remained “unaccounted for,” Baxter said. Officials lifted evacuation orders and Red Cross volunteers arrived to offer temporary housing to an unknown number of displaced families.
In all, about 100 firefighters responded to the blaze, a response that Baxter said likely saved many more houses.
“This fire could have engulfed an entire city block if not for the quick response of the firefighters and their extremely aggressive and tactical approach,” he said.
Chronicle staff writer Jordan Parker contributed to this report.