San Francisco multi-vehicle fire (video)

[Guest]

SAN FRANCISCO -- A fiery crash in San Francisco's Castro District on Thursday night killed one person, injured another and sent flames racing along a line of parked cars, leaving at least eight vehicles gutted.

Witnesses said a Buick heading south on Castro Street ran a red light at Market Street, swerved into the northbound lane and slammed into a BMW that was turning right to go into a parking lot for the Castro Theater at 6:38 p.m.

Both cars burst into flames, and the BMW was knocked into a parked car, while the Buick careened into at least three more cars, said Thomas Willows, a Lower Haight resident. The fire spread quickly down the line of unoccupied vehicles and several motorcycles.

Michael Gamble, who was inside the nearby Bar On Castro, rushed outside and saw a homeless man, identified only as Dane, jump into the BMW and try to pull the driver out. A half dozen people emerged from the bar and other businesses and tried to help.

"We came out with fire extinguishers to keep the fire away,'' Gamble said. "We didn't realize the gas was flowing down the street. ...Dane got him halfway out, and then we had to come back with more fire extinguishers. We pulled him all the way out and got him into an alleyway.

"You're watching somebody die. Who wants to see somebody die?''

By then, the first fire crews were arriving. An off-duty firefighter tried to revive the man, but the victim died at the scene, said Fire Department spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge.

The driver of the Buick was taken to a hospital. Neither man was identified.

"I can't recall ever seeing anything like this,'' said San Francisco police Sgt. Neville Gittens. "We've had some wild and bizarre things in San Francisco, but I've never heard of anything like this.''

The normally crowded street was largely free of pedestrians, in part because of a charity event, Dining Out for Life. Supervisor Bevan Dufty, who represents the area and arrived on the scene later, said it was a fortunate coincidence.

"It's such a tragedy in terms of the loss of life, but it could have been so much worse,'' he said.

Two hours after the crash, the street was littered with charred and mangled cars, with several motorcycles lodged underneath them. The BMW was halfway on the sidewalk with the driver's side smashed and a motorcycle caught under its back wheels. Most of Castro Street between Market and 18th streets was cordoned off and lined with onlookers.

Video

[JohnnyOV 2]

holy crap

[subband 0]

well put wow!!! i still dont get if u are going the wear the pack then use the pack...

[hudson144 150]

where was that? BAGHDAD?

[Guest]

Wow that was intence.

Edited May 4, 2006 by NRFDTL11Buff

[Guest]

Some job. I love how the windshield wipers withstood the crash and fire. I must agree with SUBBAND if you have the pack and you wear the pack why the hell don't you use the pack - there might have been 2 guys there with their mask on. Car fires, especially, emit horrible and toxic fumes that can overcome someone very quickly. I'm sure that police cruiser smellled like s#@% for a month. Seems like a job well done by SFFD considering the exposure threats.

[Guest]

credit: Paul Pratt/Special to The Chronicle

Edited May 4, 2006 by hoss

[Guest]

Incredible footage

[JM15 386]

I have to agree that is a sweet video

[doug_e 0]

Does the SFFD know something we don't about using SCBA's? With almost everyone walking around with their waist strap unbuckled and their regulators off it looks like that's thier SOG for car fires.

I also like the use of the smooth bore handline. I'd like to say well done. But I'd be lying!

[ENG47INE 17]

holy crap

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You can say that again.

[Monty 35]

well put wow!!! i still dont get if u are going the wear the pack then use the pack...

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I guess someone at least turned on their air. About 8.5 minutes in to the clip you hear a pass alarm going off.

[Guest]

WOW

[348 4]

while we question why the ffs on scene are not wearing their masks remember we are discussing a department that until recently did not wear full turnouts.

[dadbo46 50]

I hate to see FF's running when at the scene. BTW - I did not catch one FF wearing gloves.

[x152 179]

I am fairly sure one of the SCBA tanks had 3800 psi and one fire fighter did not shave adequately before his shift that morning (!!! ????)

How much more can you quarterback the incident?????

Perhaps a better way to look at it...........properly staffed (and abundant) fire apparatus arrived within seconds and handled the situation. The fire(s) went out without extension to the densely developed and populated neighborhood. A good example of why resources need to arrive and be deployed on scene as quickly as possible.

Would it have worked better if one FF arrived (with his airpack straps nice and tight) with one fire truck, followed by numerous tone-outs for additional personnel, followed by requests for mutual aid from several other departments, followed by more tone-outs, etc.....?

I do not condone or promote unsafe operations/tunnel vision/etc., but can certainly understand if a few SFFD members left their straps loose and grabbed the hose instead of donning their mask.

There are plenty of SFFD bosses who have probably also watched the tape and will make decisions on whether their personnel need to be reminded of the value of SCBA at every fire incident. I am also sure they are glad that their personnel acted quickly and kept a traffic accident from becoming a major fire incident.

[ny10570 745]

Why is it such a sin to point out mistakes made by others. Thats how we learn. If you can make a mistake and not get burned by it...thats what makes a great job. I don't know any FF's (that I respect for their experiance and knowledge) who have ever had a job be perfect. They all preach learning from the mistakes made by us and by others. We should point out in a photo of guys not wearing proper PPE.

I do not condone or promote unsafe operations/tunnel vision/etc., but can certainly understand if a few SFFD members left their straps loose and grabbed the hose instead of donning their mask.

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Great, so when the sh!t really hits the fan and the propane tank in some guys trunk, or the pocket of gasoline vapor that formed in sewers, or whatever other freaky thing that can happen at this type of incident happens what are you gonna do with these guys and their hose line. Those without gloves now have had their hands scorched and can't hold onto anything; and the guy whose pack was hanging loose...well his pack was knocked off and he took a nice deep breth of super heated air. Yeah, this may never happen, who the hell wants to be stuck dealing with it. Lets respectfully discuss our mistakes and successes and learn from it. Then maybe we can send one less guy to the hospital next time.

[x152 179]

Like clockwork......thanks for the insight.........