At about 4pm today SFFD arrived at a residence with billowing smoke emerging from a top window facing Divisadero. A resident of the apartment, which is located above El Rancho Grande at 857 Divisadero, had called 911 after smelling smoke.
Firemen from Stations 5 and 21 arrived on the scene and entered the building. The fire was located in a planter box hanging from the window. Firefighters worked quickly to extinguish the item, but it had already spread to the wooden windowsill. We watched as this was hacked away with an axe. Fortunately, no one was injured.
According to SFFD Chief Brook Baker, “There was no other damage except for the sill, but we did have to cut into the sheetrock in the ceiling as a precaution that the fire didn’t spread into the attic.” Apparently, if a small fire like this spreads into the top area of the house, the entire building can be lost.
The entire ordeal was over in under an hour. We’ll keep you posted with any updates.
