Today in San Francisco’s Cathedral Hill neighborhood, a patient reportedly set bedding on fire inside the emergency room at California Pacific Medical Center’s Van Ness campus, prompting a quick response from firefighters. Crews arrived just after 6:30 AM to find the blaze already out and limited to a single room’s bedding. Officials said it was not immediately clear how the fire started or whether anyone was injured, and the incident did not disrupt hospital operations or affect the surrounding area.
What officials said
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Francisco Fire Department responded to the CPMC Van Ness campus on Franklin Street and reported that crews found an extinguished fire contained to bedding in one room. Investigators were working to determine the cause of the incident and whether there were any injuries.
Scene and response
The fire department said on social media that there is no impact to the hospital or the surrounding area at this time, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. Firefighters checked the affected room while hospital staff secured the scene, and the campus stayed open for patient care during the brief response.
Where it happened
CPMC’s Van Ness campus is part of the Sutter Health system and lists its main location on Van Ness Avenue, with emergency services offered at the facility. According to Sutter Health, the Van Ness campus houses the hospital’s emergency department as well as inpatient services.
Context
Emergency departments around the region have grappled with long waits and ambulance off-load delays in recent years, and state data show CPMC Van Ness has been among the hospitals with higher off-load figures in periodic reports. A June 2025 report from the California Emergency Medical Services Authority lists CPMC Van Ness with 90th-percentile off-load times near or above 40 minutes in several months, according to California EMSA.
Officials had not released any additional information by late Thursday morning, and the cause of the fire remained under investigation.
