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SAN FRANCISCO -- A San Francisco firefighter who died Thursday morning after being injured battling a blaze in the city's Diamond Heights neighborhood has been identified as Lt. Vincent Perez.
Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White said Perez, 48, had been with the department for 21 years.
Perez was also a former Marine and once served in the Alameda County Sheriff's Department.
Three firefighters were hurt in the fire. The tragedy began as a routine call. Four San Francisco engine companies responded at 10:45 a.m. to a fire at a four-story Diamond Heights home on the 100 block of Berkeley Way, fire department spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge said.
All three were taken to San Francisco General Hospital, where Perez died around 11:50 a.m.
The second person injured, identified as firefighter/paramedic Anthony Valerio, 53, remained in critical condition, Hayes-White said.
The third firefighter, a woman, was treated at the hospital and released.
On Thursday night, Valerio's family gathered San Francisco General Hospital and hoped for some improvement, but his condition has been touch and go.
“His injuries are pretty severe,” said Valerio's brother Mark. “They found him, he was unconscious. They don't know how long he's been unconscious. He's actually not breathing on his own at all.”
Valerio, a San Francisco native, is the oldest of seven children and an avid surfer. He was very dedicated to his family.
“He's always the one to help us,” said Valerio’s nephew Austin Samsel. “Always taking care of us when we needed him, now he's the one needing us.”
This is the first time in eight years San Francisco has lost a firefighter in the line of duty. In January 2003, 40-year-old firefighter Melinda Ohler died after falling from a fire engine as it was responding to a call.
"We've been pretty lucky over the years," Talmadge said. "These instances happen few and far between."
A steady stream of family members and city officials showed up at the hospital today, including Mayor Ed Lee, Hayes-White, Police Chief Greg Suhr, and supervisors David Chiu and Ross Mirkarimi.
Lee was supposed to attend a 2 p.m. news conference in the Mission with former mayor and now-Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom to discuss the expansion of the city's technology industry, but the news conference was canceled after Lee headed to the hospital.
The Diamond Heights blaze started on the first floor of the home and spread to at least the second story, Talmadge said.
The four residents of the home escaped without harm, but fifteen minutes into routine firefighting operations something went terribly wrong.
Talmadge said firefighters saw a flash inside the home.
"You hear it referred to as a flashover. It's just a point where everything ignites," explained Talmadge.
Two firefighters went down. The sensor on one firefighter's oxygen tank harness alerted dispatchers, who sent in teams to pull them out.
Dispatch got the alert and notified the incident commander, who tried to reach the firefighter by radio but was unable to, Talmadge said.
Additional crew members were sent in, and they found two firefighters down and "pretty badly burned," Talmadge said.
"Two firemen were at the garage door but they were unconscious," said Talmadge.
The third injured firefighter was able to exit the home without help, she said.
San Francisco Fire Department investigators were working into the evening to learn exactly what happened during the Thursday morning house fire that killed one of their own. American Red Cross personnel were speaking with the home's occupants and police were at the scene.
Crews inside the charred house Thursday afternoon tried to determine what caused the flashover and whether the layout of the house disoriented firefighters.
"When you come up to the front of it, it appears to be a simple, two-story building," said Talmadge. "But from the back, there's an additional two stories and it's built down the hill."
Patty Stanton, who lives two doors down from the home that burned, said she came out to walk her dog this morning and saw white smoke in her neighbor's garage, then saw three females run out of the home.
She said the smoke then started to turn black.
Later, she saw paramedics working on the injured firefighters. "I just hope they'll be OK," Stanton said.
The residents of this home declined to speak to media about a possible cause of the fire. They're being aided by the Red Cross.
Copyright 2011 by KTVU.com and Bay City News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
News Story: One Firefighter Dies, Another Struggles To Survive - News Story - KTVU San Francisco
Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White said Perez, 48, had been with the department for 21 years.
Perez was also a former Marine and once served in the Alameda County Sheriff's Department.
Three firefighters were hurt in the fire. The tragedy began as a routine call. Four San Francisco engine companies responded at 10:45 a.m. to a fire at a four-story Diamond Heights home on the 100 block of Berkeley Way, fire department spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge said.
All three were taken to San Francisco General Hospital, where Perez died around 11:50 a.m.
The second person injured, identified as firefighter/paramedic Anthony Valerio, 53, remained in critical condition, Hayes-White said.
The third firefighter, a woman, was treated at the hospital and released.
On Thursday night, Valerio's family gathered San Francisco General Hospital and hoped for some improvement, but his condition has been touch and go.
“His injuries are pretty severe,” said Valerio's brother Mark. “They found him, he was unconscious. They don't know how long he's been unconscious. He's actually not breathing on his own at all.”
Valerio, a San Francisco native, is the oldest of seven children and an avid surfer. He was very dedicated to his family.
“He's always the one to help us,” said Valerio’s nephew Austin Samsel. “Always taking care of us when we needed him, now he's the one needing us.”
This is the first time in eight years San Francisco has lost a firefighter in the line of duty. In January 2003, 40-year-old firefighter Melinda Ohler died after falling from a fire engine as it was responding to a call.
"We've been pretty lucky over the years," Talmadge said. "These instances happen few and far between."
A steady stream of family members and city officials showed up at the hospital today, including Mayor Ed Lee, Hayes-White, Police Chief Greg Suhr, and supervisors David Chiu and Ross Mirkarimi.
Lee was supposed to attend a 2 p.m. news conference in the Mission with former mayor and now-Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom to discuss the expansion of the city's technology industry, but the news conference was canceled after Lee headed to the hospital.
The Diamond Heights blaze started on the first floor of the home and spread to at least the second story, Talmadge said.
The four residents of the home escaped without harm, but fifteen minutes into routine firefighting operations something went terribly wrong.
Talmadge said firefighters saw a flash inside the home.
"You hear it referred to as a flashover. It's just a point where everything ignites," explained Talmadge.
Two firefighters went down. The sensor on one firefighter's oxygen tank harness alerted dispatchers, who sent in teams to pull them out.
Dispatch got the alert and notified the incident commander, who tried to reach the firefighter by radio but was unable to, Talmadge said.
Additional crew members were sent in, and they found two firefighters down and "pretty badly burned," Talmadge said.
"Two firemen were at the garage door but they were unconscious," said Talmadge.
The third injured firefighter was able to exit the home without help, she said.
San Francisco Fire Department investigators were working into the evening to learn exactly what happened during the Thursday morning house fire that killed one of their own. American Red Cross personnel were speaking with the home's occupants and police were at the scene.
Crews inside the charred house Thursday afternoon tried to determine what caused the flashover and whether the layout of the house disoriented firefighters.
"When you come up to the front of it, it appears to be a simple, two-story building," said Talmadge. "But from the back, there's an additional two stories and it's built down the hill."
Patty Stanton, who lives two doors down from the home that burned, said she came out to walk her dog this morning and saw white smoke in her neighbor's garage, then saw three females run out of the home.
She said the smoke then started to turn black.
Later, she saw paramedics working on the injured firefighters. "I just hope they'll be OK," Stanton said.
The residents of this home declined to speak to media about a possible cause of the fire. They're being aided by the Red Cross.
Copyright 2011 by KTVU.com and Bay City News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
News Story: One Firefighter Dies, Another Struggles To Survive - News Story - KTVU San Francisco
