Thursday, September 9, 2010

San Bruno explosion and fire



Pacifica FD was one of the fire departments responding to this.

Submitted by Jim Alex
Posted by at

11 comments:

Thomas Clifford said...

I am deeply saddened by this terrible fire. My heart goes out to its victims and their families.

I plan to find out were the main gas lines run in Pacifica and ask PG&E some hard questions about their age and repair history.

September 10, 2010 at 4:46 AM
Anonymous said...

The whole infrastructure is completely falling apart.
Detroits fires have to do with transformers sparking and spitting.
Now this, so close to home. 24inch gas line in a residential area is bizarre. Ask any foreman who has borred into the ground and built large structures.
There is a giant hole in my street (pacifica) and every winter it gets worse.
We are too busy spending and losing money we can't account for, and now this. Fire all politicians who have lost their way. My Prayers go out to all families who have lost their homes and loved ones. So sad.

September 10, 2010 at 8:06 AM
Heather Tanner said...

Tom - i think we also need to be mindful of how dry our grassy areas get and see what can be done to prevent widespread fire if a grass fire or other fire breaks out. The canyon near my parents house is always deathly dry - add to that Pacifica's wind and foggy days, and we could have a huge problem on our own hands.

September 10, 2010 at 1:46 PM
Sharon said...

I am especially concerned since I found out our city's emergency services are not allowed down Old Mori Point Road without a snake spotter to walk in front of their trucks and we don't have any trained snake spotters to do that job.

September 10, 2010 at 2:27 PM
Bernie McFrog said...

You're right Sharon. What happens when, not if Mori's Point goes up in flames? If there is any wind at all, homes in West & East Fairway Park, Vallemar and Sharp Park are all at risk. Oh and lets not forget about all the GGNRA land on the East side of Hwy 1. Shelldance Nursery would be at risk as well from wind blown embers. God forbid a snake or frog is run over by a fire truck trying to save humans!!!!

September 10, 2010 at 2:36 PM
Anonymous said...

I think if Pacifica ever had such a crisis , just ignore all GGNRA frog and snake rules. I lost family in San Bruno. I don't think it's funny. I am waiting for family to fly in state to help with this crisis. Thank You Fix Pacifica for posting much needed info.

September 10, 2010 at 2:59 PM
Thomas Clifford for City Council said...

Heather
People living in Vallemar, Rockaway beach canyon, and other heavily vegetated areas of Pacifica should take extra precautions, such as clearing the vegetation from around their homes, installing a fire sprinkler system in their houses, and installing tile or metal roofs when it is time to replace the roof. Above all, have an evacuation plan.

I have for a long time been concerned about the substandard roads in these areas. Fire safety personal trying to get in while residents try to flee will make for a disaster. Remember the Oakland Hills fires. I voted against one project at the back of Rockaway Beach Blvd. because the road they were going to build [The beginning of a new street] was going to be substandard. My fellow commissioners disagreed and the project was approved.

September 10, 2010 at 3:09 PM
Tom Clifford said...

Anonymous 2:36
So sorry for your loss

September 10, 2010 at 3:15 PM
Anonymous said...

Remember we live close to San Andreas fault.
For many many years I mention to friends and relatives that in case of an earthquake , what will kill us would be a fire. Just think about all this wires, hanging low. That scare me the most. It is visual. Now what its under the ground can be worst. Why do we have to wait for a disaster to happen first? Why is it? Is human error or just assume someday will get fix? Without politics involved ?
I have a good friend that lose her house and pets. She was at work when it happen.

September 10, 2010 at 5:30 PM
Markus said...

Anon @ 2:36, sorry for your loss. I do want to clarify something re fire trucks or other emergency vehicles on Old Mori Point Rd.. Not only do they need a spotter to walk in front of the fire truck, the 100 yard boardwalk stretch they built, so the snakes can travel from side to side UNDER it, without getting disturbed by hikers & bikers, will not accommodate the weight of emergency vehicles. How is that for total disregard of our safety? My wife & I were hiking the trail a couple of months ago when we noticed a SF Garter snake, (1st. one I've seen in the last 15 years) crossing on TOP of the boardwalk. Comically ironic. I would have laughed but somehow didn't feel like it. Thanks to Vreeland and his cohorts "Our environment is our economy" council members, a substantial part of Pacifica's open lands have been given away to GGNRA. The devastating tragedy in San Bruno can easily happen here. We must replace this council with people holding as much regard to citizen's needs as our wildlife.

September 10, 2010 at 5:39 PM
Heather Tanner said...

I think we need to look hard at Pacifica and see what we can do to help prevent tragedies such as this. My parents live right near Skyline. This could very easily have been their house. They take precautions with vegetation, sprinklers; etc - but as we saw with San Bruno, a large fire and winds won't skip those houses. We have a large elderly population in Pacifica - do we just say, oh, well - since they will have difficulty evacuating on their own? What about the schools? Vallemar is right in the canyon. This happened so quickly, could parents have gotten their kids from school if the school was in the path? How could they have gotten so many kids to safety?

I am all for protecting animals from unreasonable encroachment, but I think our ordinances should have a contingency plan in case of such an emergency. No firefighter should have to choose between the law and doing his or her job. The animals need fires to be put out, too!

September 10, 2010 at 8:31 PM

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