An elderly man was killed in a North Beach fire Thursday night, the third fatal blaze in San Francisco this year.
According to the San Francisco Fire Department, crews were called to 1050 Columbus Avenue, which is between Francisco and Chestnut Streets, at 10:01 p.m. Thursday night on reports of a fire on the third floor of a 12-unit, four-story building.
Assistant Fire Chief Bob Postel tells KTVU that there was heavy smoke pouring from the building when they arrived, and that firefighters "made their lead into the building, up the center stairwell, (and) had smoke conditions in the hallway...(They) advanced into the apartment, extinguished the fire."
While in the apartment, firefighters found an elderly man. "He was rushed outside and given CPR, but could not be revived and was declared dead at the scene," KTVU reports.
A second person was treated for smoke inhalation at the scene, according to an SFFD spokesperson.
The fire was controlled by 10:29, Bay City News reports. Per the Chron, the fire was confined to one unit in the building.
Postel told KTVU that "the building was equipped with smoke alarms but did not have sprinklers." An SFFD spokesperson says that arson investigators were on the scene, and are working to determine the cause of the blaze.
This is the third fatal fire to strike San Francisco in 2015. On January 28, Mauricio Orellana was killed in a massive apartment building fire that injured six at 22nd and Mission Streets. A fire on March 11 that injured five at 24th and Treat Streets eventually claimed the life of a teenaged girl and her dad.
According to an SFFD spokesperson, investigators do not believe that the January fire was intentionally set, and says it was likely caused by a faulty electrical system. A final report on the March 11 fire has yet to be released.