On the morning of Saturday, a massive warehouse fire engulfed one-fourth of the San Francisco Pier 45. The fire that burned down the Fisherman’s Wharf started at around 4:15 am and luckily during this time, no one was inside the warehouse.
The fire was initially reported at the Taylor and Jones Street. It started as a one-alarm blaze but rapidly developed into in four-alarm. From the 150 firefighters of around 100 fire units that battled the huge blaze, one had a severe cut on his arm, said a spokesperson for the Fire Department, named Jonathan Baxter. While this firefighter is hospitalized and in the process of recovering, no other injuries were reported from the fire. Also, out of the 45 fire engines that arrived to control the scene, only one was damaged.
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A thick layer of smoke covered the waterfront before threatening to spread the fire to a historical World War II-era ship named Jeremiah O’Brien before it was controlled by the firefighters. As stated by Jonathan Baxter, they have used two fireboats named Fireboat St. Francis and San Francisco Fireboat 3 as shields in order to protect the Jeremiah O’Brien vessel.
Good morning San Francisco. #SFFD units have been on scene at Pier 45 since 4am this morning working on a 4th alarm #fire. They will be here for a while. Please avoid the area #yoursffd pic.twitter.com/VsslRhCV0Q
— San Francisco Firefighters 798 (@SFFFLocal798) May 23, 2020
The SS Jeremiah O’Brien is a liberty ship that stormed Normandy in 1944. This historical vessel docks by Pier 45 and serves as a popular tourist attraction on the wharf. Not only that, but it’s also used as a fishing boat and a maritime hub for cruises around the San Francisco bay.
Due to the efforts of the firefighting crews, the fire did not spread into neighborhood buildings and was limited to the end of the pier. It is said that the area destroyed was where fishermen kept their equipment.
Crews are still on scene of a fire at fisherman’s wharf pic.twitter.com/nx0dnsEXlM
— Reyna Harvey (@ReynaHarveyB) May 23, 2020
In a situation where the seafood industry is already facing trouble due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this destruction only made matters worse. While the fire department continues to investigate the cause of the fire, the SF Port stated that it is committed to helping any tenants that are displaced from the relocation of the pier.
Watch the video below to learn more.
Reading, creative writing, poetry writing, and language learning have been my passions since I was young. I have won many Japanese and Chinese language competitions, and many national-level creative writing, art & oratory competitions too. I am still schooling, and passed my O/Levels with distinction passes for English Literature, Japanese, and English. I have also completed my Certificate of Human Resource Management.
