It what appears to be another reminder of our mortality, a fire broke out this morning at around 5:20AM at 824 Hyde Street between Sutter & Bush. If this seems like a repeat of news, it’s because there was a fire at 550 Leavenworth just three days ago. The difference being that this fire was massively larger and had enveloped the entire building by the time the fire department responded.
From all appearances, while the fire is contained, this four story, eight unit building built in 1915 is a complete and total loss. The fire apparently spread incredibly fast as people in the street had nearly nothing on, showing that they ran from their units as fast as they could. The fire was even endangering the structures next to 824 Hyde. This resulted in a complete closure of Hyde as well as Sutter within the vicinity of the fire which made it difficult to approach, even on foot.
From searches, it doesn’t appear that any official construction work had been done to the building recently and it was overheard from a police officer handling crowd control that the cause of the fire is immediately “suspicious” ie, some form of arson. We’ll have to see what the official reports state.
Our thoughts to our neighbors who are suddenly homeless and we hope that Red Cross is better able to coordinate their shelter efforts than with the last fire. Hopefully this will be the last one of these as we have seriously no interest in being TenderFire.
> Update 8:30am
You can see some footage of the fire above (via the SF Appeal). Also, KCBS reports that most of the folks displaced by this fire were Academy of Art students. They all seem to be overall fine.
The first six pictures were taken at 5:30am, the last five at 8am.
31 Comments until now
Wow. I hope that they land on their feet OK. Hopefully the hood will show all of the fire victims (today’s and this weekend’s) some TenderLove.
Ahh! Scary! No more fires please! Again, thanks for the report though. Ugh.
Agreed, no more fires please!!!
I spoke with an individual who lives in the building directly next to the fire, and we spoke about the fire.
Here’s what she told me:
She said she was already up at 5 am getting ready for the day-and the she heard the kids in the building next door shout “Oh Shit!,” from their kitchen, she looked through her window that faces theirs–and there was a flame in their kitchen suddenly becoming bigger followed by a large boom emanating through their entire floor.
She went on to say that by kids she meant Academy of Art Students, that party all the time, the building is known for it, and that when she went to sleep the night before they were up drinking and blasting music as usual. She said because of the large amounts of redwood paneling the fire spread very quickly.
I do not believe at all that this was arson at all-these were kids were playing around with fire, or smoking weed/crack with the stove gas on.
Anyone affected by this incident who is seeking shelter or client services from the Red Cross should go to the shelter at the South of Market Recreation Center, 270 6th Street.
Kris Ardent
Red Cross Client Casework
This is getting ridiculous. And we can fire-rate these old buildings. Just not with the CBC 1-hr blessing.
US Gypsum pays pricey lawyers to suppress the UL listings of materials that are acceptable alternates to itself. I found this out a couple of years ago when trying to fire-rate an existing building.
So there are materials that pass the UL tests – they just never get listed.
That said – spray this insulation in the walls & floors between units in the TL and maybe we could limit the fires to the units where they started (not to mention – insulate the old buildings) It’s 2-hour rated by itself, super green & mold resistant.
http://www.airkrete.com/
@MeShow, I think a lot of it has to with these buildings still having lath and plaster, which, while I find much more aesthetically pleasing, is definitely no end of flammable. That said, I know from personal experience as well as from my brother and uncle who are both firefighters here in California that sheetrock has no problem in getting its burn on.
There are no end of solutions to making our buildings less likely to go up like a torch, but of course, they cost money and we’ve got plenty of landlords who are more than happy to do work without permits just to get it done due to the process being so onerous.
that’s a fact.
as much as I appreciate the efforts of the Red Cross -
the last place I would ever go if my entire life was destroyed by tweaked out junkies -
is a shelter on 6th Street.
And I thought the O’Farrel displacement was in bad taste.
Talk about out of the frying pan & into the fire.
@ANON or rather the woman whom u spoke with. those academy of art kids she refers to are actually my friends… and they were all asleep when the blast began just so you know. and none of them smoke crack… like seriously. these people [who are amazing] have been through a lot and your unneccessary ignorant judgments are not welcome. that is all
@ ANON
in fact the flames have been said to have begun on the first floor. they dont even use the stove, maybe about one a week. so all your statements should honestly be kept to yourself. they are adults and dont “play with fire”
this is awful. i hope the fire was not caused by anyone intentionally or from negligence. and i hope that everyone is okay. my apartment got tore up in the leavenworth fire sunday, and that was a 2-alarm fire. this was 4-alarm. i can’t imagine how intense that must have been.
i’ll tell you first hand, the red cross will do what it can, but don’t expect them to take care of everything. nobody can go back to our building because they found asbestos.
I live across the street and saw this happening. I am also an Academy of Art student and feel bad for those who lost everything
When I read the lady´s comment above I actually couldn’t believe it but it kind of makes sense than arsen. I know a couple of people in that building who always mentioned those kids partying continuosly, although I can’t imagine how incredibly senseless and stupid they could have gotten if they were playing with fire.
I sure hope it was an accident, I didn’t see most of what was going on but I think it was a little suspicious that some people got out before the fire spread out, and even when the red cross came those same people were the first ones to leave.
I know the fire did not start on the second floor, even the pictures here prove that. I just hope those Students who think life is awesome and that by living on parent’s money they can party all the time, either come clean or get their shit together because if they did cause this fire, they caused so much damage pretty much everyone who lived there lost EVERYTHING.
I live(d) in 824 Hyde, and for what its worth, that whole building was made of wood. wood floors, wood paneling, ornate wood moldings, everything. Even with better insulation or other methods of fire prevention, it wouldn’t (and obviously didn’t) take much to set it off. From the time I woke up to just a bit of smoke until the time these pictures were taken was about a half hour.
As far as what started it, who knows. The AoA students in question definitely did party alot and smoke in the apartment, but I highly doubt they were smoking crack. For all you amateur arson investigators out there, the only unit that apparently didn’t have any fire damage was the studio on the first floor of the building.
And the red cross has been great. Yeah the shelter is on 6th street. But they’ve provided food and glasses and money for clothes as well as a host of other things. And look at is this way, a gym on 6th st. doesn’t look half bad when you’ve just escaped with nothing but the clothes on your back.
moral of the story, get renters insurance people. take it from someone who learned the hard way, it’s well worth it.
To “Anon”: The kids do NOT smoke crack, and are NOT stupid enough to set their own apartment on fire. They are devastated by this, and were asleep when it happened. Kids are allowed to party, in fact they should be expected to. 99% of the older people who judge did exactly the same thing. Plus some of them are way harder working than MOST people in SF, spending the time of a full time job or more on school and homework, and ALSO working to support themselves so they could pay for that very apartment that is now gone.
You are most likely upset about AAU ‘taking over your city’ like so many residents bitch about, or whatever petty little thing upset your otherwise perfect day, but these kids do NOT deserve to be chastised. Their LIVES were just turned upside down. Everything, every possession from sentimental to expensive, everything they worked for during their time in San Francisco – some their first time away from home – is now gone. Their safe house, their relief from the stress of school, was burned to the ground. They deserve your full support. Have a little fucking decency. I’m sure you wouldn’t like to be labeled a crack smoker if YOUR whole life suddenly disappeared in flames.
TC- First of all, kids should not be “expected” to party and second, if they’re going to party then go out to clubs and do it instead of disturbing their neighbors. When I was in my late teens/early 20′s, I didn’t party in apartments. I went out to clubs to have fun. It’s rude and disrespectful to keep your neighbors up all night.
That being said, I’m not blaming those kids for the fire since nobody knows how it actually started and I don’t think anyone else should be blaming them either. It’s really sad that they lost everything. There is stuff that they can never get back like pictures, portfolios, etc. I can’t even imagine going through something like that. I agree with Luke about getting renter’s insurance. It won’t bring back everything you lose but at least you can replace essentials.
Let’s not cast judgement on these folks… I live nearby and it’s absolutely heartbreaking to see the carnage. Lot’s of things in life are out of our control. I offer the victims love and kindness. This hocus pocus about wild partying is just plain needle in the haystack blaming.
RS: An average students likes to party, it’s that simple. But if you say they should just go to clubs, I could say people who don’t like the noise should just move to the suburbs – San Francisco is noisy already just because of all the sirens and crackheads – but obviously both are unrealistic suggestions. Telling them to just “go to clubs”…well, most clubs in San Francisco are terrible or inconveniently located, and they are often 21+ and have dress codes and male-female ratio requirements as well, not to mention a cover charge and expensive drinks. Not the right environment for a bunch of friends to party the way THEY want to. Rich foreign students go to clubs, most others have “house parties”, or usually apartment parties. Besides, drunk clubbers and bar rats make for very loud and obnoxious, late-night street roamers. At any rate, I’m sure you’ll agree partying in an apartment is better than partying in a park, which is the only other free option.
That said, I agree that keeping neighbors up all night is rude and disrespectful – but there was no indication that this happened, and if it did (and was a problem), said neighbors could’ve taken steps to ensure it didn’t happen, such as asking them to stop, or noise complaints. Any time a party has gotten too loud in my apartment, it has been stopped.
I think we should all get a little more informed before jumping to conclusions and passing judgments.
@TC The vast lot of us lived here, amidst the noise of San Francisco long before the AoA scooped up buildings and set up dorms amid a residential area. That’s what all of us have a problem with. And as far as we “said neighbors” taking steps, I know that myself and many other have tried. The AoA dorms change their numbers to call for the RA’s and the students literally tell you to “fuck off” when you ask them to take their drumming and other activities (smoking, drinking, playing amplified instruments) inside.
There is no outreach from the AoA and Elisa Stephens to bridge the gap with the neighborhood they have chosen to take over and despite all their dorm conversions being illegal, those we’ve talked to in the San Francisco Planning Department are apparently unable to stop them.
I have no idea what’s going on and whom has bribed to make this possible, but we’ve been held hostage in our own neighborhood by an entity that doesn’t give a damn about us who live and make our lives here. That’s why you’re seeing little sympathy from people if it was art students that started this. We hate that our neighborhood has become an open air student ghetto.
Except this was not an Academy of Art building, these were your neighbors – some were students of AAU, some were students of other schools, and some weren’t even students at all. For a city known for its tolerance, there is certainly a lot of unnecessary hatred being thrown around here.
The students of AAU are not at fault for the bad policies of the university. In fact, many students come to hate the school after a semester or two, because it treats them as poorly as it treats the community. That’s why I transferred to City College after wasting two years at AAU. No matter how good the education may be (which it often is not), the school’s corruption is monstrous, and most students would be more than willing to work with the local community to change that, if there was communication instead of misplaced enmity.
I was a resident of 824 Hyde for the past 21 years and lived in the studio.I have lost my precious cat, Phoebe. My boyfriend and I do not know if she made it out alive or not. We are asking all the neighbors in the area to keep your eyes out for a beautiful fluffy gray and white adult cat with a little black beauty mark on her nose. I lost all my photos but will try to find a way to post a picture.She does have a chip and if you think you have her or have seen her I beg you to contact Animal Control or Nob Hill Cat Clinic.
We were scheduled to pack the moving truck on Saturday,October 23 and drive cross country to Florida beginning on Monday.We are devastated that she is not with us.
My heartfelt thanks to all the staff at SFPD, the handsome fireman who helped me out of my window, the SF Fire Department, St. Francis Hospital. Candy,our favorite ER nurse, Ben at Human Services and the City of San Francisco for giving us shelter for the past two nights and the wonderful volunteers of the American Red Cross.I will be urging my family to make contributions this year instead of exchanging gifts at Christmas. It’s going to be a very long time for me to heal from this. Perhaps writing this message is the first step.My thoughts and prayers are with my former neighbors. Norma Jean hang in there lady!
Stephanie
Stephanie-
I’ve passed along your flyer to everyone I know in the area (a friend took a photo of it and posted it to facebook) – I wish you, and everyone else from 824 the best. I have a few friends who lived there and lost everything. I hope you get reunited with your kitty.
Hi Stephanie,
I have cats too, and when I moved to New Zealand one of them escaped before his scheduled flight and he lived by his wits for 9 weeks before my friends found him and Shanghai’d him to the far side of the world. I know how stressful it is to not know where your cats are, and rely on people far away to find them and get them to you.
Please email me a flyer at ardentkris AT usa DOT redcross DOT org and I will put it up in the office. A lot of tenants from Hyde Street are coming through here every day, and hopefully one of them has seen your cat and can help find her.
Regards,
Kris Ardent
Red Cross Client Casework
Stephanie, if you haven’t found Phoebe yet we’d like to post a picture of her here to help in finding her.
TC- I’m sorry I was misunderstood. I wasn’t saying that these kids were partying. I meant kids in general. They aren’t my neighbors so I have no knowledge of their behavior. I was not passing judgment on them as I said in the next paragraph of my comment. It’s very sad what happened and I feel for everyone who lost everything they had in that fire.
Has anyone heard how it started? And I mean how it really started, not how people think it might ave started. I haven’t heard anything on the news since the day it happened.
Stephanie- I really hope someone finds your cat. That really breaks my heart to hear she’s missing. I live in the area and I’ll keep a look out for her.
[...] you’ve seen this cat, her owners are desperately looking for her since the October 20th fire on 824 Hyde where they lived. Her name is Phoebe, she is about 10 lbs and will turn 7 on November 3. If [...]
I was so sad to see this on the news. I lived there for over 5 years, until November of 2009. I will say I am not surprised that it burned and burned so fast. The building was beautiful, but had many plumbing and electrical issues. To run the microwave you had to unplug the frig or turn off the tv. Flames once shot out of an outlet when I plugged in a fan. Cramming in 4 people into these units to make more rent money is also a tragedy.
I am glad all made it out safely. Stephanie, I am so so sorry that this happened as you, esp as you were about to start a new life in FL.
Jim,
Thanks for the comments. I would love to get in touch with you. My cell is posted on the flyer for Phoebe. Call me or email me at stephsf89@att.net. Hope you are well. Thanks.
Stephanie
P.S. No news on Phoebe
A quick hello to all our former neighbors (Aaron, Taylor, Mike, Luke, Adam, Ben, Eric, the girls in # 4 & # 8 and Ms. Norma Jean) We think of you daily and you are in our prayers. We are taking it one hour, one day at a time. We are lost without our cat, Phoebe and we miss sitting on the front steps talking to all our neighbors passing by. We will find new front steps and will raise a glass of wine to all of you!
Steph & Ayoub
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[...] really have all that much to add. Obviously, that changed a great deal once we got back.Bye bye, 824 Hyde That fire, which gutted the building in October, was a real blow. It was even worse than the one a [...]
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