Nº 0018
Nº 0018 MASSIVE FIRE ENGULFS WAREHOUSE AT SAN FRANCISCO’S FISHERMAN’S WHARF BUT SPARES HISTORIC SHIP
MAY 23, 2020, A FOUR-ALARM FIRE ENGULFED A WAREHOUSE ON SAN FRANCISCO’S PIER 45 OVERNIGHT, CASTING AN EERIE GLOW ACROSS THE CITY’S SKYLINE.
NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED, SAN FRANCISCO FIRE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN LT. JONATHAN BAXTER
AT LEAST 130 FIREFIGHTERS AND FIRST RESPONDERS FROM THE COAST GUARD, THE POLICE MARINE UNITS AND THE PORT AUTHORITY WERE AT THE SCENE OF THE FIRE, FIGHTING IT FROM LAND, AIR AND WATER.
AUTHORITIES EVACUATED THE PIER AND WORKED TO CONTAIN THE FIRE’S SPREAD. A QUARTER OF THE BUILDINGS ON THE PIER WERE SCORCHED, OFFICIALS SAID.
LLOYD DIZON, A SALES PERSON FOR ALOHA SEAFOOD AT THE PIER, TOLD THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLETHE FIRE BEGAN SHORTLY AFTER 4 A.M. LOCAL TIME.
“IT STARTED LIKE A LITTLE THING, THEN THE WHOLE STRUCTURE STARTED,” DIZON TOLD THE CHRONICLE. “A FEW SECONDS LATER, THE BUILDING STARTED CAVING IN.”
FIREFIGHTERS WERE ABLE TO SAVE THE SS JEREMIAH O’BRIEN MUSEUM, A PREMIER TOURIST ATTRACTION AT THE CITY’S FISHERMAN’S WHARF, FROM THE FLAMES, BAXTER SAID. THE SHIP IS “ONE OF TWO REMAINING FULLY FUNCTIONAL LIBERTY SHIPS OF THE 2,710 BUILT AND LAUNCHED DURING WORLD WAR II,” ACCORDING TO THE MUSEUM’S WEBSITE. IT’S LISTED ON THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES AND IS A NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK.
THE CHRONICLE REPORTED THAT THE WAREHOUSE WHERE THE FIRE APPEARED TO BEGIN HOLDS FISH PROCESSING EQUIPMENT AND HUNDREDS OF CRAB POTS.
