Silver Terrace home burnt on otherwise quiet Fourth
By: Tamara Barak Aparton
Examiner Staff Writer
July 6, 2009
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| Flames on the fourth: The Independence Day fire at 190 Boutwell St. started on the lower level of the three-story structure, leading officials to rule out fireworks as a likely cause. (Mike Koozmin/Special to The Examiner) |
SAN FRANCISCO — A three-alarm fire that engulfed a Silver Terrace residence on Fourth of July night was likely unrelated to fireworks.
The blaze at 190 Boutwell St. was the only major Independence Day incident for the fire department.
“Usually we have a busy Fourth. We almost always have grass fires, but this year it was really quiet,” San Francisco Fire Lt. Ken Smith said.
The Silver Terrace fire came a little more than seven hours after firefighters extinguished a small blaze on a Nob Hill roof.
The second blaze started on the lower level of the three-story structure, making fireworks an unlikely culprit, Smith said.
The fire was reported at 10:30 p.m., after everyone in the building had evacuated it on their own, Smith said.
Firefighters arrived to find both the front and rear of the structure on fire, and called a third alarm at 11 p.m. The blaze was controlled at 11:30 p.m., Smith said.
The home was loaded with belongings, making the flames intense and difficult to fight, he said.
“We don’t know exactly what it was, but getting through that stuff is always hard,” he said.
The cause of the fire is undetermined.
Investigations into both incidents are continuing and no one was injured in either fire.
tbarak@sfexaminer.com
