San Francisco's firefighters battled their second blaze under the Central Freeway in less than a day as flames emerged from an abandoned encampment late Wednesday morning. The San Francisco Fire Department swiftly responded to the scene on Division Street between Potrero Avenue and Bryant Street around 11:30 a.m., according to The Standard. Thick smoke and flames were found licking up the base of a freeway support pillar, but the fire crew managed to quickly extinguish the fire without any reported injuries or traffic complications.
In a video released by the San Francisco Fire Department, the team from Engine 6 is seen to efficiently douse the flames at a previous fire near 13th St. and Bryant. The department cautioned that "Lighting fires, heating elements, smoking, and candles close to combustibles can lead a larger fire very quickly," according to a Facebook Reel published by the department. The repeated incidents have underscored the potential danger of makeshift heating arrangements in crowded urban encampments.
The Tuesday fire that preceded this latest incident also sparked at the base of freeway support and drew a strong response from firefighters and police. At least one person was taken into custody following the Tuesday fire, which highlighted the ongoing struggle to manage hazards around the city's freeway structures. These fires have become a focal point for public safety concerns, particularly after a significant blaze in Los Angeles last month led to statewide assessments of freeway properties by Caltrans.
Caltrans, bearing the burden of much of the property around and beneath state highways, actively engages in hazard assessments following the Los Angeles incident. They have assembled a right-of-way team since Thanksgiving to deal with such issues, working to prevent future incidents that could threaten the infrastructure and local communities. According to The Standard, a San Francisco Fire spokesperson detailed that their crew was originally dispatched to 13th and Bryant streets before attending to the subsequent fire underneath the Central Freeway.
