San Francisco, California: Two-Alarm Fire Collapses Abandoned Warehouse at Hunters Point Shipyard

SAN FRANCISCO, California (Orbit Post) An abandoned warehouse at the Hunters Point Shipyard collapsed early Wednesday after a two-alarm fire tore through the building on Manseau Street, the San Francisco Fire Department said.

Firefighters were called at about 2:55 a.m. on Wednesday, November 11, to the warehouse, which was once part of the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. Crews arrived to find heavy fire in the structure, according to the fire department account carried by CBS News Bay Area.

Search first, then a defensive fight

Crews entered the building for a quick primary search and went as far inside as they could. They did not find anyone inside. Commanders then called a second alarm and moved firefighters to defensive operations, fighting the fire from outside the building.

The warehouse eventually collapsed in on itself. The fire department said the fire was contained as of about 6:30 a.m., and crews planned to remain on the scene until the fire was fully extinguished.

No injuries were reported. Firefighters did not say what caused the fire, and the cause remains under investigation.

Water pressure and a radiation check

The fire department told CBS News Bay Area that the hydrant system and the spacing in the shipyard area differ from the rest of the city, and that presented a water pressure problem crews had to work around during the fight.

Because of the history of the site, the department also called in a radiation crew. The San Francisco Focal reported that the hazardous materials team monitored firefighters for possible radiological contamination. The shipyard housed the Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory during the World War II era, and the site carries residual contamination from that work.

The Focal also reported that a cleanup effort at the shipyard over the past two decades was later found to be incomplete, and that in August former Navy contractor Tetra Tech agreed to pay a 97 million dollar settlement over allegations that its radiation cleanup work was botched and that workers faked testing data. Wednesday's fire burned in a building in the middle of the shipyard area, in a part of the site that was previously contaminated or may still be contaminated, the Focal reported.

For neighbors in Hunters Point and the Bayview, the immediate questions are practical ones: what the smoke carried, how long crews will stay on Manseau Street, and what investigators find once the building is safe to examine. The fire department had not announced a cause or any air quality warning tied to the fire by Wednesday evening.