The Post I Didn't Plan to Write
A Fire in the Inner Sunset and Complicated Feelings During A Disaster
This is not the post I planned to write this week.
I wanted to write a post about walking in San Francisco, with some colorful pictures and whatnot, and maybe a fun little piece in advance of Outside Lands.
The Universe had other plans, though, and last night while busy attending to things, I heard my phone beeping and ringing and whatnot, the messaging services alight like a Christmas tree. My initial reaction was “Why is anyone urgently messaging me on a Tuesday night?”
Then I saw the messages and for the first time in a while I was genuinely alarmed. My old building was on fire. The one I kept saying was a death trap. The one where many nice people I used to be neighbors with lived. The one where I created the first blog and so much more. Where so much happened, both good and bad. It was…complicated.
Defying a self inflicted “COVID rule” about not leaving the house at night, I ran (!) down Irving, hoping everyone got out ok. These were people I hadn’t seen in years, and yet all I wanted was to find out if they got out ok. Property can be replaced, people can’t.
If you live in the Inner Sunset, you’ve likely walked past the Sunset Apartments at some point. It’s an old building, built in the early 1920s, and sadly, most of it hasn’t really been updated since. Living there was, as the cliche saying goes, the best of times (great location and nice neighbors) and the worst of times (a neglectful landlord and management that ran the place into the ground.) Complicated, indeed.
Enough Truly Bad Things happened in the last few years there, a friend of mine, upon hearing my ongoing tales of woe at the Sunset Apartments, made an urgent call on the “Clue Phone” and said “Greg, you’re not a tenant anymore, you’re in an abusive relationship. Person up, and move the f—k out.”
That was in January 2020. By late February 2020, I moved out to another place in the Inner Sunset, and well, you know how the rest goes. It was a bad end to a place I once enjoyed living in, and the whole experience really affected myself, and others too.
While observing the fire I ran into longtime friend and artist Jennie Hinchcliff, who had an art studio for many years right under my apartment. We talked about our complicated feelings about the building - one the one hand she a place where she got to make the art that has advanced her artistic goals, but also place where she , was treated terribly, and in her case forced out on a day’s notice smearing her good experiences with some really crappy ones. Complicated indeed.
I could easily make this post into the 95 Theses Why The Sunset Apartments Suck, but that’s not what’s important right now. The fire didn’t just affect Sunset Apartments - Progress Hardware, a neighborhood anchor for 75 years took significant damage as the fire spread. What’s important now is that those of us in the neighborhood rally support for our neighbors and local businesses.
That’s why we need to spend our money at Progress Hardware when they repoen. You don’t need to buy keys and paint and whatever else you need at some Bee Ess “online” retailer - you can spend your money locally. That helps out a lot more than “thoughts and prayers” or some Big Talk from some useless PR person at City Hall.
This is also why we should donate to relief efforts for the tenants of the Sunset Apartments as well. While I have not found out about any approved crowdsourcing plans for them yet, I will post when available.
In the meantime the Red Cross is providing assistance, and was on site last night contacting affected residents. Likewise, staff from Supervisor Melgar’s office were there too to help coordinate and when I hear more about what they’re doing, I will post that as well.
Now, at this time I’d like to make note of the San Francisco Fire Department’s excellent response to this terrible fire. Our City government is not always known for getting things done anymore (again, holding back on another 95 Theses post) but at least the Fire Department is doing their job. They showed up in force and FAST.
At a time when it seems City government is devoted to sucking up to big tech and big donors to political campaigns, it was nice to see that the Fire Department continues a commitment to serving the public. Thanks to them, a bad situation was prevented from getting a lot worse.
I am not in the habit of heaping endless praise on the City, now, or ever, so when I do, well…you get it.
I’ll end this with asking you, the reader, a question - what is your plan in case of a fire or other emergency? What would you take if you had only a few minutes to get out of your living space?
Post in the comments and I’ll update as I get new information about relief for our neighbors. Thank you again for reading, and if you like this newsletter, please consider sharing it with someone to spread the word about relief for our friends in the Inner Sunset.
PS: I am NOT a paid spokesperson for ANY insurance company, but situations like this are a reminder that if you’re a renter you really should consider some form of renter’s insurance.
Whether you live in the newest, shiniest apartment building, or a Looney Tunes disaster, having a renter’s insurance policy from a reputable insurer can help significantly in situations like these.
Donate! https://gofund.me/3d33c239
I would grab the portable fireproof safe we keep all our important documents in, and which I heartily recommend. It’s around $100, I think this one was a Wirecutter pick: https://www.staples.com/honeywell-0-39-cu-waterproof-and-fireproof-chest-1114/product_2724229?cid=PS:GS:SBD:PMAX:OS&gclid=CjwKCAjw8symBhAqEiwAaTA__AnT4upbhP2O3vYBcJbFJMHg1jXr_uYWPbnG6Bw6s910ppo-lkQuFhoCiccQAvD_BwE
I also always tell people to use a service like Backblaze that can automatically back up all your computer data. And digitize all your old photo albums just in case! It can be a fun project.