UPDATE: 1 Dead, 3 Injured In San Francisco Freeway Homeless Encampment Fire

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF/BCN) -- A fire early roared through a homeless encampment nestled in a void under a San Francisco freeway early Wednesday, killing one person and injuring three others.

The San Francisco Fire Department responded to smoke and flames below the Bosworth Street on-ramp to southbound I-280 in the city's Glenn Park neighborhood at 12:26 p.m.

Arriving crews forced their way into an enclosed void under the freeway where a group of homeless had set up a makeshift living space.

Three adults were pulled out and rushed to St. Francisco Memorial Hospital in critical condition. A fourth adult was pulled from the space, but died at the scene.

"This fire involved many aspects, including a wildland fire, a structure fire, and confined space rescue," Fire Lt. Jonathan Baxter said.

According to Fire Battalion Chief Patrick D'Arcy, the victims were located inside a small space inside the overpass.

"During the wildland fire, we heard calls for help and discovered there four persons up inside of the overpass and we initiated a rescue operation," D'Arcy said. "The fire was out in about the first fifteen minutes and the final rescue took about an hour."

While the cause remained under investigation, temperatures plunged into the 30s overnight in San Francisco. It was not immediately known if the residents had built a fire to keep warm and it got out of control.

Since the deaths happened on state property, the California Highway Patrol will lead the investigation.

San Francisco Firefighters 798 tweeted about the hazards of homeless encampments near freeways.

"As it gets cold people will find places to keep warm. This is a hazard for the homeless and the firefighters that need to rescue them. These fires underneath the overpasses are not new. Let's find a way to seal them and find safer spaces to sleep."

In:
• Homelessness
• Fire
• San Francisco