Demolition at site of massive SF fire moves into second day

Demolition crews on Thursday continued to pull apart the smoking remains of San Francisco's Mission Bay 360 apartment complex and the projected week-long razing of the structure.

The under-construction complex was destroyed in a five-alarm blaze Tuesday afternoon that brought more than 150 firefighters to the scene.

On Thursday, firefighters stood watch as engineers hired by the project's builder walked along catwalks to get their first close up view of the tons of charred wood, metal and sheetrock.

The inspection came after a crane took down the last crumbling corner of the six-story apartment complex, enabling firefighters to hunt for hot spots and begin digging for evidence.

"In this, we're hindered by the fact that it took forever to put the fire out," said San Francisco Fire Department Battalion Chief Michael Thompson. "And we have floors and floors and floors of building that's now being crushed down under."

The cause of the fire has centered on welding equipment. Thompson said investigators have a sense of the fire's origin and are receiving video and photographs to help them pinpoint exactly where it began.

"Luckily, in San Francisco, you have a lot of people with a lot of electronic devices, so there's a lot of things that they can put together and people have been really forthcoming," said Thompson.

Residents at the Strata apartment building across the street struggled to resume normal life. Managers would not say how many apartments remain damaged or uninhabitable due to heat, smoke and water damage.

"It's kinda like a ghost town, because a lot of people haven't moved in and it's just a little weird," resident Samantha Morgan told KTVU.

Construction and demolition experts said the debris at Mission Bay 360 must be hauled away and disposed of.

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Demolition at site of massive SF fire moves into second day