A fire broke out on the top floor of a residential-over-commercial building in Potrero Hill on Wednesday afternoon, though it was quickly extinguished and no injuries were reported.
The two-alarm fire struck 2212 19th St. near Vermont Street at around 2:45 p.m., according to Jonathan Baxter, the Fire Department spokesperson.
“Fire was visible and active from the top floor and roof,” he said, adding that the department received multiple phone calls about the fire because it was visible from both the 101 and 280 freeways and sent up plumes of smoke that could be seen city-wide.
By 3:20 p.m. firefighters had controlled the blaze.
Two residents of the single unit upstairs — a married couple with two dogs — were displaced by the fire. Their unit, which occupies the entire top floor, suffered extensive smoke, water, and fire damage, particularly to the rear corner, Baxter said.
The residents’ two poodles, meanwhile, were safe in a neighbor’s back yard – “Looks like we’ll be taking care of those two poodles for a little while,” the neighbor said.
Staff at a dental office downstairs were also displaced from their workplace due to extensive water damage there. Some seven employees there and a few patients evacuated when someone knocked on their office door and told them the roof was on fire.
“All we know is someone ran up to our door and told us that there was a fire,” said Kendra Wood, a dental assistant who works in the building.
View of Potrero Hill Fire from 8th and Townsend #PotreroHill #sf #fire @abc7newsbayarea pic.twitter.com/EBGVNi3giY
— $t€ph@ni€ (@BettyBooze) September 21, 2016