Shocking images of pier fire in San Francisco

Fifty pieces of firefighting apparatus, including fireboats, were used to battle the blaze threatening the SS Jeremiah O’Brien in San Franciso. Aggressively protected by a fireboat with multiple water streams, the ship, which was built during World War II, remains intact.

The vessel, which launched on June 19, 1943, and participated in the D-Day invasion in 1944, is one of about 2,700 so called Liberty ships. Now a tourist attraction, the ship moored at Pier 45, had been closed because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the New York Times.

“We are happy to say that we have really saved the Jeremiah O’Brien, and we really secured the rear end of Pier 45,” says Lieutenant Baxter who was on the scene.

One firefighter was injured during the operation. About 150 firefighters battled the blaze that destroyed a quarter of the structures on Pier 45. The fire broke out at Fisherman’s Wharf, a commercial tourist district with attractions, including restaurants and museums.

“We traditionally don’t have fires of this magnitude with warehouses,” says Lieutenant Baxter, adding that the pier was being evaluated for structural integrity. “It was an impressive, massive fire.”

He says the building was a total loss and had housed several businesses, ferry fleet offices, and multiple independent crabbers and fishers.

The offices of the Red and White Fleet, a sightseeing cruise company, and its maintenance and repair workshop were destroyed, according to the New York Times.