St. Patrick’s Day Fire Displaces North Beach Businesses, Residents

A four-alarm fire that broke out just before 7:30 p.m. Saturday night on the 650 block of Union Street in North Beach was contained early this morning, reportedly displacing as many as 10 ground floor businesses and 8 tenants of upstairs apartments. There were no fire-related injuries, although one firefighter was hurt falling off a truck and is in stable condition. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

St. Patrick’s Day revelers were gathered at bars and restaurants in the building last night, like Rogue Ales Public House at 673 Union Street. There, a bartender who noticed the smoke reportedly jumped on a table and ordered customers to get out of the establishment.

The fire appears to have been confined to the brick building at 659 Union Street, which runs between Powell and Columbus and borders Washington Square Park. Other ground floor business tenants of the building include Coit Liquors, Ferry Plaza Seafood, Tuk Tuk Thai Cafe, and The Salzburg.

Businesses in neighboring buildings, such as Michelangelo Caffe, have reportedly sustained fire-related damage as well.

According to neighbors in the North Beach area, the block of Union was closed to traffic on Sunday morning. Eater SF awaits further information on businesses and residents affected by the fire and will add updates accordingly.

North Beach News

• Huge fire in North Beach building brings damage but no injuries [SF Chronicle]