'Hiding in plain sight;' Neighbors take stock of damage from San Francisco drug lab explosion
SAN FRANCISCO -- The deadly explosion and fire at a home in San Francisco's Sunset District has left neighbors in shock as they take stock of the damage to their own homes.
Michael Mason showed us his childhood home, which is still owned by his grandparents. Their tenant lives right next door to the home that exploded Thursday.
UPDATE: New video shows moment Sunset District house exploded
The tenant wasn't home at the time. But like many neighbors, they're dealing with catastrophic damages and repairs, as questions lingered about what went on in the home on 22nd Avenue.
"I saw the canisters last night on the news, pictures of it posted from one of the residents in the area and obviously there was something going on there that wasn't something that I'd recommend doing in a residential neighborhood," said Mason. "We saw FBI, DEA, everyone out here yesterday kind of researching it so it was something, it's just horrible."
PG&E said its crews have not found any gas leaks. The SF Fire Department said federal partners are assisting in this investigation.
On Friday, San Francisco police said the evidence recovered indicated a drug manufacturing lab was in the house. Earlier Friday, several tanks of unknown substances were seen being loaded onto a box truck, which later that morning had to pull over in Daly City after the driver smelled some sort of gas. The gas escape led to a hazardous materials response by firefighters along Junipero Serra Blvd. and interrupted BART service on the Peninsula for several hours.
"Everybody saw the tanks coming out of the house. It is definitely something that's unusual to see come out of an actual residential structure fire or any fire in any location," said San Francisco Fire Department spokesman Lt. Jonathan Baxter.
Mason said his tenant did not notice any red flags about the residents next door.
"No, he never said anything to us and to my knowledge it wasn't suspicious. what do they say, hiding in plain sight, right?" said Mason.
The next-door neighbor on the other side of the destroyed home said she was home at the time and firefighters helped her escape after the explosion rocked her house.
"The firefighters were able to take me to the back of the house downstairs to grab the coats," said Karen Lei.
The explosion was so strong it knocked out parts of the ceiling. Their bathtub and bathroom sink were filled to the brim with wood and debris and the blast ripped a hole in the drywall of their bedroom. No part of the Lei family house was untouched.
"I guess you need to see it, but it is red-tagged," said Lei. "So for sure, the house is in bad shape and not livable anymore."
Another homeowner who only wanted to share her first name "Chris" said her son, who lives at the property two doors down, didn't know much about his neighbors.
"It's San Francisco, it's a city, and you don't really get to know the people around you, it's not like you live in the big apartment building where you might get to know your neighbors," she said.
The power of the blast was evident up and down the block. it blew the door right off its hinges at a home across the street. and it shattered multiple windows.
"The house that I grew up in, just in shreds, just soot and debris everywhere ... so it's hard," said Mason.