Firefighter Killed In SF Blaze
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS) — One firefighter died, another was critically injured and a third suffered less serious burns while battling a fire in San Francisco's Diamond Heights neighborhood Thursday.
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SFFD Chief Joanne Hayes-White confirmed that one of three injured firefighters taken to San Francisco General Hospital later died after going into cardiac arrest.
The chief identified the deceased as a male firefighter. She said a second male firefighter was in "very critical condition" – fighting for his life, and a third firefighter, a female, was in fair condition. No names were released.
A sudden surge of flames or "flashover" was to blame for leaving two of the three firefighters unconscious with severe burns inside a burning four-story home on a slope in the 100 block of Berkeley Way, SFFD Lt. Mindy Talmadge said.
The deadly blaze started on the first floor of the home about 10:45 a.m. and quickly spread to the second story, according to firefighters.
Talmadge indicated that firefighters saw a flash while inside the home. Around that time, a heat alarm on one of the firefighters' uniforms was activated, she said.
When commanders on the outside tried to reach the firefighters by radio, there was no response. Additional crew members were sent in, and they found the two male firefighters down and "pretty badly burned," Talmadge said.
The female injured firefighter was able to exit the home on her own, she said.
About 30 firefighters in all battled the blaze, which was finally extinguished shortly before noon. The cause was under investigation.
Hayes-White said Thursday's firefighter death in line of duty was the first in the city in a decade.
The last time a San Francisco firefighter died battling a house fire in Diamond Heights was March 9, 1995, according to CBS 5 archives.
The deceased in that case was one of several injured firefighters who were trapped inside a burning home on a hill at 75 Everson Street.
