Firefighters battle blaze on floors 12 to 16
SAN FRANCISCO (San Francisco Chronicle) – San Francisco firefighters quickly jumped on a “very fierce” fire in a Financial District residential high-rise Monday afternoon, which displaced residents from 30 apartments.
The fire broke out at 5:15 p.m. in a 25-story building at 405 Davis Court near Washington Street, a part of the Gateway complex of apartments and town houses. It began on the 12th floor and quickly spread to the 16th floor in the rear corner of the building.
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The blaze burned for 45 minutes, sending clouds of black smoke billowing into the sky, as firefighters put the blaze out floor by floor. Several residents were rescued, including a couple who were each over 100 years old and had to be carried from the building, officials said. Seven people were treated on the scene for smoke inhalation and anxiety.
As the fire burned, officials evacuated the lower floors of the building but allowed residents of higher floors to remain. Many residents evacuated on their own, following the building’s fire safety plan, fire officials said.
