Tourists Pull Wheelchair-Bound Man To Safety During Bernal Heights Fire

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A group of French tourists helped pull a wheelchair-bound man from his home during a two-alarm fire in San Francisco's Bernal Heights neighborhood Friday, a fire spokesman said.

The fire began around 11:50 a.m. in the 800 block of Ellsworth Street, according to San Francisco Fire Department spokesman Lt. Baxter.

The San Francisco Fire Department Twitter account posted about the fire just before 12 p.m.

The fire is in a building on the 800 block of Ellsworth in Bernal Heights. SF Fire initially reported one structure was involved and at least one person has been injured.

Video shot by Chopper 5 at about 12:20 p.m. appeared to show firefighters mopping up on a blackened hillside with no flames and only a bit of smoke visible.

The blaze covered about two acres, fire officials said.

Shortly after 12:30 p.m., San Francisco Fire tweeted that the fire was under control and that one adult had suffered minor injuries. A total of four homes and their fences were damaged with an additional four fences also sustaining some fire damage.

A group of French tourists staying in an adjacent home heard the cries for help of a wheelchair bound man and were able come to his aid and pull him to safety. Although the man was uninjured, his home was damaged in the blaze and he's being assisted by the American Red Cross and city services, according to Baxter.

"We're providing as much assistance as we can," he said.

San Francisco Fire thanked the tourists for their assistance with a post on Twitter.

Baxter said fire officials were in the process of locating the heroic French tourists, but they feared that they might have already left on a plane.

A cause for the grass fire is under investigation.

• San Francisco