Duboce Park blaze injures SF firefighter

A San Francisco firefighter suffered minor injuries Tuesday afternoon, battling a three-alarm fire near Duboce Park that scorched one home and damaged two others.

Photos by Gabriella Gamboa/SFBay

The blaze erupted in the back of a house on Walter Street at around 1:30 p.m and subsequently spread throughout the rest of the three-story complex, eventually making its way on the roofs of two neighboring homes before being put out.

Firefighters kept the flames mostly contained to the first building according to KTVU, though the houses on either side suffered smoke and fire damage, fire officials said.

The cause of the fire, which displaced at least 10 people from their homes, is yet to be determined.

According to KGO, the fire spread within minutes due to swirling winds that pushed the blaze toward the roof before firefighters arrived at the scene.

San Francisco Fire Department Deputy Chief Mark Gonzales told KGO:

“There was a lot of wind earlier and it was pushing it from the back. So, what is was it fed the fire. So, by the time they got here, usually what we try to do is confine it to one building. There was no doing that; it was already in the other two buildings.”

The injured firefighter was taken to the hospital after melting tar fell through the roof and burned him.

No residents were injured and the American Red Cross was on scene to assist those displaced from their buildings with accommodations.

All three buildings will be uninhabitable temporarily, according to fire officials.