Thirty firefighters consisting of 100 firefighters were on hand to put out the blaze, CBS San Francisco reported. The SJFD took control of the fire around 11:45 p.m. local time, CBS San Francisco reported.
No injuries were reported to employees, customers or firefighters, according to CBS San Francisco. The roof of the Home Depot had collapsed mainly on Saturday.
SJFD leader Brad Clautier said on Saturday that the initial focus was to evacuate the building. Cloutier said extinguishing the fire proved to be a challenge for a variety of reasons, including wind conditions and materials inside the store.
“Paint, paint thinner, wood, all kinds of flammable materials, plastic lawn chairs, things that burn quite easily and a lot of them and a big store – both challenges and beyond,” he told CBS San Francisco. . “Also, the wind this afternoon was a bit significant, as you saw when you got here.”
Cloutier said firefighters were also dispatched south of the blaze if wind gusts ignited nearby homes.
A nearby animal hospital also needed to be evacuated, the SJFD said. Several passers-by helped to remove the animals.
“We actually went to the Oakridge Mall to buy tea, and my husband told me to go and see if we could help with the animals. So we went in and just started opening all the doors,” Evelyn Skoff told CBS San . Francis. “We took them all out in the back and there were a lot of people out there just helping us collect these animals, so it was very nice to see all the teamwork.”
“I also helped with her. We went and opened all the cages to make sure they came out on time,” Tatum Sullivan told CBS San Francisco.
The fire did not spread to the animal hospital, but the building was damaged by smoke and water, according to CBS San Francisco.
The fire was so intense that it appeared on the radar of the National Meteorological Service.
📡Fire structure that also displays KMUX weather radar #CAwx pic.twitter.com/8IevM8F3I8
– NWS Bay Area 🌉 (@NWSBayArea) April 10, 2022
The causes of the fire remain under investigation.
