Saturday afternoon, San Francisco firefighters responded to a structure fire at 1000 Howard Street that left fifteen residents of the building in need of rescue, as well as at least seven dogs and cats.

The San Francisco Fire Department Media's Twitter account updated followers on the unfolding situation at 1000 Howard Street yeterday when a report that a fire erupted on the third and fourth floors around 2 p.m. Saturday. According to the fire department, the blaze quickly escalated to a one-alarm fire — which required forty-five firefighters to battle and eventually contain.

It was reported that over a dozen residents of the building needed rescue from the fifteen units damaged; seven pets were also saved by on-site first responders, as well. Initially, it was reported that four people were injured as a result of the fire; that number was later increased to eight people, with four of them being taken to a nearby hospital.

SF Fire officials noted later yesterday that both the residents and pets affected by the SoMa fire will be "okay." However, it's unclear how many of the tenants at the residential building might be displaced due to the fire.

"Thank you [Red Cross NorCal], [SFMTA], [San Francisco Animal Care and Control], and [SFPD] for all your help providing temporary shelter, intake, and recovery services, and keeping the community safe and comforted during a 1-Alarm fire at 1000 Howard," reads a capping tweet from San Francisco Fire Department Media.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Related: One Dead In Fillmore District Apartment Fire

Photo: Courtesy of Twitter via @SFFDPIO