Firefighter Injured Battling 2-Alarm Bernal Heights Blaze

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A San Francisco fighter was rushed to a trauma center Friday after being injured battling a smoky two-alarm fire that erupted in a three-story Victorian in a Bernal Heights neighborhood, authorities said.

San Francisco Fire PIO Jonathan Baxter said the firefighter was on an upper floor when the building caved in on top of him.

"We have a firefighter who sustained moderate injuries when a portion of the building fell on him," he said.

Baxter said the injured firefighter was wearing safety gear at the time of the collapse that saved him from serious injury.

He was taken to a San Francisco general hospital for treatment, but was expected to be released later on Friday, according to Baxter.

Baxter said his agency got numerous calls reporting the fire in 100 block of Prospect St. in Bernal Heights around 8:37 a.m.

Arriving firefighters saw heavy smoke pouring out of the roof and upper floor and began aggressively attacking the blaze. The fire raced up in the inside of the walls and spread through the attic space making it difficult to fight.

While the fire was knocked down in about 45 minutes, firefighters remained at the scene extinguishing hot spots.

One resident was at home at the time of the fire and was able to escape uninjured. The Red Cross was called to the scene to assist the eight residents displaced by the blaze.

Investigators were trying to determine a cause and source of the fire. Baxter said it did not appear suspicious.

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