One dead, six injured in San Francisco fire

[January 29, 2015]  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - One person died and six people were injured after a fire scorched a San Francisco building on Wednesday night, officials said.

Firefighters responded to the flames ripping through the Mission District building around 6:45 p.m. local time and immediately evacuated residents, San Francisco Police spokeswoman Grace Gatpandan said in a statement.

One man was pulled out by rescue workers who provided medical attention, but he did not survive, Gatpandan said. Six others were taken to local hospitals and treated for smoke inhalation.

Gatpandan said firefighters had contained the blaze, though it was still burning late on Wednesday night.

Roughly 50 people moved to an evacuation center set up by the American Red Cross at a building on the nearby City College of San Francisco campus, Red Cross spokesman Woody Baker-Cohn said.

Images broadcast by local media showed flames shooting out of the top of the building as onlookers lined the streets.

"It's devastating," 12-year resident Ricardo Cedeno told the San Francisco Chronicle. "We pretty much lost everything. We're just here trying to see the building one last time."

Authorities do not suspect any foul play, but a full investigation will be launched after the fire has been put out, Gatpandan said.

(Reporting by Curtis Skinner and Emmett Berg in San Francisco; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

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