Reports of an explosion under manhole covers in San Francisco may have been overblown, perhaps by witnesses made more sensitive by Thursday’s actual explosion in San Bruno, but a PG&E representative did confirm that there was smoke escaping a manhole cover.
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The deadly fire in San Bruno is fully contained, though the search for victims in continuing Friday afternoon.
Firefighters on the scene were continuing to fight hot spots on Friday, according to fire officials. The fire was fully contained earlier in the day.
About 75 percent of the damaged area had been searched for victims as of noon Friday, but the rest of the area was still too hot to be combed through, according to fire officials.
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Pacific Gas and Electric has committed to paying for housing and food for the victims of the fatal San Bruno conflagration on Thursday night, according to state officials.
Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado, who is acting governor, said Friday afternoon that the company will be paying for the services for those displaced by the fire.
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Three burn victims from the San Bruno inferno that are being treated at St. Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco are in life-threatening condition.
The hospital is treating four victims who arrived at the center after a natural gas line exploded on Thursday evening, burning a city block and killing several people.
Three of the people had burns on 50 percent of their bodies, according to Francisco surgeon Dr Michael Kulick. Those burns, which are from the waist up, are considered life-threatening.
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Friday it has authorized federal funds to help local and state firefighters battle the San Bruno fire.
The authorization allows FEMA to reimburse 75 percent of eligible firefighting costs, including for equipment and supplies, evacuations and sheltering, police barricades and traffic control, FEMA said in a statement.
The remaining 25 percent would be paid by individual jurisdictions and the state.
The authorization was approved late Thursday night, according to FEMA spokesman John Hamill.
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PG&E Corp said it has about $992 million in insurance coverage for damages caused by a pipeline explosion Thursday in San Bruno.
The company’s financial condition could be “materially adversely affected” if, based on the outcome of an investigation, insurance recoveries are unavailable or insufficient to cover losses, according to a public filing Friday by the San Francisco utility owner. PG&E said it has a $10 million deductible, according to Bloomberg News.
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Two vehicles from the San Francisco Fire Department were still assisting the ongoing firefight this morning at the scene of the San Bruno explosion and fire, according to a fire department spokeswoman.
The fire department still has one California Emergency Management Agency vehicle and one fuel truck at the scene of an explosion that destroyed dozens of homes and killed at least four people in San Bruno Thursday night, San Francisco fire Lt. Mindy Talmadge said.
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The American Red Cross set up two shelters to accommodate residents displaced by Thursday night’s fire, including one at Veterans Memorial Recreation Center, a Red Cross spokesman said.
All evacuated residents requiring overnight shelter were directed to the recreation center located at 251 City Park Way at Crystal Springs Road in San Bruno.
For those people who are still trying to locate family members or make other accommodations, a second shelter was set up at the Church of the Highlands to act as a receiving center, Red Cross spokesman Steve Sharp said.
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All primary schools in San Bruno are closed Friday but a high school in the city remains open following the devastating explosion and fire that rocked the community Thursday night, according to the school district.
The eight schools in the San Bruno Park School District that are temporarily closed include Allen, Belle Air, Crestmoor, El Crystal, John Muir, Portola and Rollingwood elementary schools and Parkside Intermediate School.
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There are now four confirmed deaths due to the explosion and six-alarm fire caused by a ruptured gas transmission line in San Bruno Thursday evening, a San Mateo County coroner’s deputy said Friday morning.
The number currently stands at four, “but I’m sure it could change throughout the day,” said Kristine Gamble, a senior deputy coroner.
Gamble said investigators with the coroner’s office will be accompanying search and recovery teams who will be going through the site of the explosion and fire Friday.
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