‘I could not see’: Residents describe terrifying escape from San Francisco condo hearth that displaced 60

June 20, 2021

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‘I could not see’: Residents describe terrifying escape from San Francisco condo hearth that displaced 60

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) – 60 people will be displaced tonight after a fire broke out in a six-story building in the Sierra Madre Apartments at 421 Leavenworth Street in San Francisco around 6 a.m.

ABC7 news reporter Luz Pena spoke to victims who fled through their windows onto a fire escape and took action to help others.

In the Sierra Madre Apartments in San Francisco’s tenderloin, the flames moved rapidly from the 4th to the 6th floor, threatening at least 60 residents who were just waking up.

“I couldn’t see anything because the smoke rose in my face and the smoke was very strong. So what did you do? I immediately closed the door and tried to escape,” said Yohana Romero from San Francisco.

On the 6th floor, two floors above what is considered the epicenter of the fire, resident Yohana Romero ran back to her apartment and grabbed what was closest to her.

“My cell phone and my charger, that’s it. This is my work stuff and my glasses,” said Romero, adding, “I’ve lost everything.”

Romero escaped through her living room window onto a fire escape. On the way down, she saw her elderly neighbors calling for help.

“They are super old and I don’t know how when I saw his window they had heavy smoke outside and I said ‘Oh my god’,” said Romero.

On the side of the building, firefighters rescue at least 20 residents and several pets. The San Francisco Fire confirmed that 15 residents were slightly injured and 60 were displaced. SFFD thanks San Francisco police officers who came first and saved lives when the flames broke out. One officer sustained life-threatening injuries.

“This is a building that offers supportive living space. Mostly seniors. There are also a few families in the building. It was a terrible scene this morning, but luckily everyone got out safely, ”said Matt Haney, San Francisco supervisor.

As the investigation begins to find the cause, Supervisor Matt Haney is working with the Red Cross to find shelter for the displaced.

“The fire displaced people from 44 units. We have about 60 people and this was a TNDC housing project, so they are working on finding empty units so people can be moved to other accommodation, ”said Donna Logan, American Red Cross Disaster Action Team Leader.

Yohana Romero is glad that she trusted the fire alarm this time and escaped in time.

Luz Pena: “You thought this was a false alarm because you heard the fire alarm before?”

Yohana Romero: “Before, many times. Usually I open the door and nothing happened, but this time it was terrible.”