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120 firefighters douse S.F. warehouse blaze

No serious injuries; cause unknown in fire that darkened Bay Area skies

Plumes of smoke could be seen from the East Bay and Marin County.

The cause of the fire in the massive storage area behind City Lights, a lighting showroom and light bulb store, will not be determined for at least a few days, said Lt. Edward Campbell of the San Francisco Fire Department.

A firefighter received minor injuries to his hand, Campbell said.

The fire at the one-story warehouse at the intersection of Folsom and 12th streets behind the main showroom was reported at 5:30 p.m., Campbell said, adding that it took 120 firefighters an hour and a half to extinguish the blaze.

"We started smelling smoke and realized it was a fire near us," said Clarita Munar who lives in an apartment building on Folsom. "My husband started shouting and told us to get out. I began to pray so that my house would be spared."

Not everyone was so lucky. Adjacent to the warehouse are flats that house about five people who also self-evacuated. They were not allowed back in on Saturday, Campbell said. It was unclear whether their residences were damaged, and if so, how much.

The Red Cross was on hand to help find shelter for those who were displaced. It appeared only two residents from the building at 1618 Norfolk St. were going to need shelter, food and clothing, said Jolinda Sim, a volunteer for the Red Cross.

City Lights employee Will Cho arrived at the scene shortly after 6 p.m. and was shocked to see the warehouse in flames.

"It happened right after I left work," said Cho, who works in the firm's sales department. "I can't believe it. I don't know what we're going to do. We have a lot of orders that we need to get out."

City Lights has been in business for more than two decades and provides lighting fixtures to many businesses in The City, Cho said.

Some City Lights employees cried and wiped away tears as they looked on from the street.

"It's a great place to work — was a great place," Cho said. "It's a big business."

Stephanie Burch, who works next door for a general contractor, said she wasn't sure what condition her office would be in when she shows up for work on Monday because firefighters significantly watered her office while fighting the fire.

"It looks like the computers, the files and everything else is soaked," Burch said. "I hope this doesn't mean we have to do more spring cleaning."

As smoke rolled like fog along some streets, police blocked traffic in each direction on 12th and Folsom streets in order for firefighters to control the blaze, said Lt. Al Pardini.

"There was a significant amount of traffic," Pardini said. "It was mainly due to good weather. A lot of people were out. They saw the smoke, and it drew them in."

By about 9 p.m. some of the streets were partially reopened with the exception of Folsom between 11th and 12th streets and 12th between Folsom and Harrison, which were expected to open by 2 a.m., Pardini said.

The street closures forced some restaurants and bars to close for the night or open late.

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