Last year's apartment fire in SF's Cow Hollow neighborhood sheds light on hoarding disorder

"SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Last October, a fast-moving fire tore through a 12-unit building in San Francisco's Cow Hollow. Residents say the blaze was preventable, and the city ignored repeated warnings about a tenant. We took a look at the threat posed by hoarding and why some worry that budget cuts may put some in danger. The fire was at 1550 Filbert Street and Van Ness Avenue. It displaced all of the residents and one person was killed."

"The fire started in the kitchen, where, according to investigators, it quickly spread. Neighbors told us the victim had a severe hoarding disorder. Despite years of complaints to the city and the landlord, nothing was ever done. "We do train on this daily in San Francisco, but we always say we thought we saw it all, and then we have the next fire which has hoarding conditions, and we're absolutely shocked," said San Francisco Fire Department Public Information Officer Jonathan Baxter."

"Firefighters are supposed to include that information in their incident reports. Last year, so-called "hoarder conditions" were mentioned in 15 SF Fire Department reports. There have been 58 reported since 2019. But that may not be a full picture. The fire department said that information is often not included for fear of shaming the person, or it's simple overlooked. "We know what we're responding to. We need to be more efficient on documenting what we're responding to," Baxter said."

A fast-moving October fire ripped through a 12-unit Cow Hollow building, displacing all residents and killing one person. Investigators said the blaze began in the kitchen and spread rapidly. Neighbors reported the victim had a severe hoarding disorder and alleged years of ignored complaints to the city and landlord. Fire department personnel acknowledge training on hoarding hazards but say documentation is inconsistent; "hoarder conditions" appeared in 15 reports last year and 58 since 2019. Reporting may be omitted to avoid shaming or through oversight. Past incidents showed excessive combustible clutter contributed to fatal firefighter injuries. Concerns exist about budget cuts and public awareness.

Read at ABC7 San Francisco