Ex-SF Building Official's Home Under Construction Tumbles Down Twin Peaks
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A house under construction, owned by the former president of the San Francisco Building Inspection Commission, went tumbling down San Francisco's Twin Peaks neighborhood Monday night.
Officials told KPIX 5 that police and firefighters were called to the home at 125 Crown Terrace around 10:30 p.m. after residents said they heard what sounded like a dump truck dropping its load. They found the home several feet down the hillside.
The house had been lifted up on supports during foundation work, but those supports gave way. The structure was eventually stopped by a retaining wall, which is now all that stands between the structure and the homes below.
"The building is very wedged in to the hillside with the retaining wall standing a good three or four feet above the base of the building, which is kind of what we want to keep the structure from going down any further," said Raymond Barrios of the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection.
Inspectors say that the retaining wall is strong enough to support the weight, for now. No injuries or evacuations have been reported.
Home Under Construction Tumbles Down SF's Twin Peaks
Neighbors told KPIX 5 that the home belongs to former San Francisco Building Inspection Commission president Mel Murphy.
According to an article in SF Weekly from last year, Murphy had originally planned to demolish the home but was denied by the Planning Commission because it was structurally sound. He then elected to remodel the structure and expand. It appears now that the structure is likely a total loss.
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