Crews to monitor SoMa fire scene for several days after five-alarm blaze

Firefighters are likely to continue tamping down a five-alarm fire in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood for several days after it burned a half-dozen buildings Tuesday morning, fire officials said.

Fire crews responded to the area of Folsom and 13th streets around 7 a.m. and upgraded the fire response status from two alarms to five about 15 minutes later.

Crews had the fire roughly 90 percent contained as of 10 a.m., according to fire spokesman Lt. Jonathan Baxter. Fire Chief Jeanine Nicholson said fire crews will remain on site “for quite a while longer” to battle flare-ups and hot spots.

The fire affected six buildings, including a San Francisco Sheriff’s Department building, and displaced three people, according to the fire department. One building affected, an auto body shop, also raises hazardous materials concerns due to potential spills and explosions of gasoline, oil and other flammable substances.

About 160 firefighters and 60 fire apparatus — roughly half of the city’s firefighting capacity, according to Baxter — were on the scene battling the fire at its peak.

One firefighter suffered a minor injury while battling the blaze, Baxter said, but was taken to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital for treatment and is expected to recover.

Fire crews and the San Francisco Police Department shut down traffic on Mission Street and access to nearby highway ramps to allow firefighters to battle the fire. The closures were still in effect Tuesday afternoon and their expected conclusion is still to be determined, Baxter said.

PG&E has also turned off power in the area.