1:40 AM: A big response is arriving at a house fire reported in the 9000 block of 16th SW [map]. The first crew on scene reports flames, according to a report radioed to dispatchers. More to come.
1:46 AM: Firefighters are working “defensively” on this – fighting it from the outside.
1:54 AM: They’re calling for two more engines. We’re waiting for our crew to verify the address on the SFD log, which also had a fire call in May 2015; there’s a redevelopment proposal for the site.
2:03 AM: We’ve verified the address. And our files also have a 2012 fire call at the same house, which is shown on Google Maps, in a photo dated a few months ago, as mostly boarded up. There’s also a history of complaints about the property’s condition.
2:22 AM: SFD’s investigator is on the way to start the work of determining how the fire started. Our crew says firefighters still aren’t sure if anyone was inside the house, which is officially listed in property records as a triplex (with a foreclosure last year), when this started.
2:50 AM: Firefighters confirm they used what’s known as their “derelict building” procedures with this. Also, residents were evacuated on both sides of the house, because of the risk the fire might spread, but that risk is now past and some are being allowed back in.
3:17 AM: We’ve added more photos, and video. Some of the SFD units have been dismissed but others will be on scene for some time.
11:20 AM: No information yet on how the fire started; SFD spokesperson Alice Kim did confirm that the building was “unoccupied at the time of our arrival.” We did go over for a daylight look at what remains of the house and have added the photo above.
ADDED MONDAY: SFD says today that its investigators were unable to figure out what started the fire, because the structure was unsafe to enter.
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