Shelter In Place Briefly Issued During Transformer Fire In The Richmond

Shelter In Place Briefly Issued During Transformer Fire In The RichmondPhoto: Rick Prelinger
Bay City News
Published on March 23, 2017

Local archivist Rick Prelinger tipped us off to a situation that unfolded at 15th and Geary this evening, forcing some people to shelter in place while SFFD responded to the scene.

Bay City News reporter Daniel Montes has this bulletin:

A transformer fire in San Francisco's Central Richmond neighborhood caused fire officials to briefly order a shelter in place for residents this evening.

The transformer fire was reported at 15th Avenue and Geary Boulevard at 7:06pm, fire officials said.

Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire and no injuries were reported.

The shelter in place order was lifted about 20 minutes later, however streets in the area remained closed, according to fire spokesman Jonathan Baxter.

PG&E is responding to the scene. Dozens of residents in the area are without power, according to PG&E's website.

Earlier this evening, firefighters responded to a separate, unrelated fire at an underground electrical vault fire at 20th Avenue and Taraval Street. That began at around 5:10pm, Baxter said.

PG&E also responded to that fire, which has been extinguished and did not cause any injuries.

Baxter said that fire may have been caused by overheated materials or by trash that caught fire.