A little more than a small outside fire

(San Francisco Firefighters Local 798, Twitter @SFFFLocal798)
Tuesday’s five-alarm fire in San Francisco was impressive at first reporting and more so when we learned that the initial dispatch was one engine, one truck, and one chief for a “small outside fire.”
According to San Francisco Local 798 the first chief pulled a full box and the assignments grew from there.
Master stream set up. #5thalarm this morning. Original dispatch came in as a “small outside fire” with 1 engine, 1 truck and a Chief. As crews got on scene they quickly realized they were dealing with a large #fire with access issues and a heavy fire load. pic.twitter.com/A8Gtbu1ATL
— San Francisco Firefighters 798 (@SFFFLocal798) July 28, 2020
Lieutenant Jonathan Baxter, spokesperson for the fire department, told CBS Bay Area that firefighters had extinguished a mattress fire in a homeless camp the night before, but he was quick to say that any connection between the two was just speculation.
A fire investigation task force is looking at the two incidents.
FirefighterNation: Five-Alarm Fire Destroyed At Least Six Buildings in San Francisco
Bill Carey is the Online News Manager with Clarion Fire & Rescue Group, specifically FirefighterNation.com and FireRescue Magazine. Bill served as a firefighter, sergeant, and lieutenant at Hyattsville in Prince George’s County, Maryland. His writing has been in FirefighterNation, FireRescue Magazine, Fire Engineering, and other publications and websites. His work on firefighter behavioral health was nominated for a 2014 Neal Award for Best Subject-Related Series. He has been a presenter at Andy Fredericks Training Days.