Around 9:50 a.m. this morning a two-alarm fire broke out at an architecturally significant apartment building near St. Mary's Cathedral on Geary Boulevard in the Western Addition. The fire was under control by 10:20 a.m. this morning, but not before it claimed the life of at least one victim.
Two other people were reportedly treated for smoke inhalation this morning.
The building at 66 Cleary Court was designed by Quincy Jones and built by renowned developer Joseph Eichler in 1963 as a testbed for cast-in-place reinforced concrete construction. Each of the building's 150 units has 8-inch load bearing walls designed to dampen sound, which may have helped prevent the fire from spreading throughout the 15-story, 150-unit complex this morning.
More details on the fire, as we get them.
Update: YouTuber Mattavilasa was apparently in the area and managed to capture some footage of the smokey blaze. It looks like the fire actually broke out in one of the smaller buildings next to the larger tower, which are also part of the mid-century development. ABC7 also has more photos here.
