Fire Department: Nothing sinister behind recent Mission fires

“Arson” may be spray painted in giant pink letters on fencing around the recently demolished Rolling Stock tire store, but that wasn’t behind a devastating fire there last month, authorities said.

San Francisco Fire Department spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge said there was no foul play in that Nov. 8 fire or the Dec. 10 blaze that severely damaged a restaurant and apartments above it.

The fire that destroyed Rolling Stock at 16^th and Shotwell streets and left 21 people homeless in an adjacent building was caused by “discarded smoking materials,” Talmadge said. A blaze that severely damaged the former Palace Steak House, now The Palace, was the result of an electrical issue, she said.

The fires are the latest in a uptick in fires in the neighborhood this year – 18 compared to 15 in 2014, according to Talmadge. Despite concerns the hot real estate market might be leading property owners to take nefarious steps, the vast majority of the fires in the Mission this year have been ruled accidental, electrical or undetermined, she said. The reports on four of the fires have not yet been completed.

Fire Marshal and Assistant Deputy Chief Daniel De Cossio addresses the Mission fires and arson concerns in the below video, which was taken by Michael Petrelis at the Fire Commission meeting last week.