Madilynne Medina
SFGate, San Francisco
(TNS)
Aug. 26—A fire severely damaged a longtime San Francisco hardware store over the weekend.
The fire happened at approximately 3:48 a.m. on Sunday at the Great Wall Hardware, at 1821 Taraval St., in San Francisco’s Sunset neighborhood, Justin Schorr, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Fire Department, told SFGATE.
Residents living above the store were displaced because of smoke damage, and one person was taken to a local hospital, Schoor said. According to a GoFundMe page for store owner Albert Chow, Chow’s parents live on the top floor of the building in one of the apartments that was damaged.
Schorr said fire crews arrived within four minutes and the blaze was extinguished with about 40 firefighters on the scene. The cause of the fire is under investigation, Schorr said.
“Full extinguishment is a very lengthy process, especially in a building like a hardware store, because firefighters have to go through and ensure that everything is completely extinguished,” Schoor said. “However, they halted the advancement of the fire within minutes.”
The 2,700-square-foot store is family owned and has been in business since 1983, according to its website. After the fire, the neighborhood’s supervisor, Joel Engardio, met Chow, according to a social media statement.
Engardio said there were no injuries and the building is still “structurally sound,” as the blaze did not reach the back of the store. Chow told Engardio he plans to reopen the store, Engardio added.
The GoFundMe campaign aims to assist with the costs of replacing lost inventory, repairing damage and helping employees, the organizer wrote. As of Monday afternoon, the GoFundMe had raised $29,406 out of its $50,000 goal. Several city leaders had donated to the campaign.
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