Boy Throws Dog, Himself Out Of 2nd Story Window To Survive Mission District Fire
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A 13-year-old San Francisco boy says he was told to throw his dog from a burning San Francisco building during Wednesday's deadly inferno.
One man was killed an another five were injured in Wednesday night's 4-alarm fire in San Francisco's Mission District. Alessandro Gonzalez had no clear path out of the building, but so he ran to the fire escape to try and climb out.
"I couldn't get the window open, so it took me a few pushes and I accidentally shattered the window," said Gonzalez. "I went down to the second floor down the ladder. That's when I had to jump."
Gonzales says police arrived and brought a small ladder to try and reach up to him.
"They were like 'throw your dog,'" he told KPIX 5's Da Lin. "At those times you don't think you just do."
He says he was told to go next and an officer caught him during the fall.
"They caught me. I was hanging too," he recalled.
Gonzalez and his dog are doing well. Sadly, the other family pet, a rabbit, did not survive the fire.
Gonzales is one of an estimated 54 people left homeless by the 4-alarm fire. He and his family are currently sleeping at a hotel put up by the Red Cross. It's not clear where they are headed next.
Neighbors have begun raising funds online for those displaced by the fire.
Earlier Thursday, Fire officials said they are looking into reports that fire alarms didn't sound and escape ladders didn't function properly during the fire.
The cause of the blaze remains under investigation. However, police said arson does not appear to be a factor in the blaze.