Bad news for Haight Ashbury residents (a certain HuffPost SF editor included).
A two-alarm fire engulfed two of the neighborhood's most popular businesses early this morning, causing tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage and destroying inventory, CBS News reports.
The blaze allegedly began around 5 a.m. in True Clothing Store (1415 Haight Street between Masonic and Ashbury) and spread to the adjacent People's Cafe (1419 Haight). Sixty-eight firefighters responded to the scene, where they discovered flames "strong enough to punch a five foot by five foot hole in the ceiling like a blow torch," according to CBS. To alleviate the smoke, the firefighters cut holes in the roof and broke windows.
Fire spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge told the Examiner that no one was injured during the ordeal. “The crews got in there pretty quickly,” she said. “It was very visible when they arrived at the scene.”
Deputy Fire Chief Tom Siragusa said that local firefighters knew how to extinguish the flames, which collected in People's Cafe and True Clothing's shared attic space, because the nature of the blaze was common for the city. ”It’s typical San Francisco construction where we’re always chasing fires into the attic space,” he told CBS. “Buildings are built very close together here, but it’s what we do best."
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, and the businesses remain closed until further notice.