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FATAL CRASH AT CASTRO AND 18TH STREET CAUSES EXPLOSION !!!
Tonight, as I returned from downtown to my office in the Castro around 7:00 P.M., I came face-to-face with a terrific accident, which claimed one victim's life and injured at least one more. A car careened out of control down Castro Street, slamming into another car and causing an explosion just minutes before I emerged from the subway.
 | | Chain Reaction |
 | | Cliff's Variety Ablaze |  | | The Aftermath of an Explosion | The explosion caused gasoline to leak down the sloping street, sending a trail of fire underneath four other parked cars (see photo above). One by one, they ignited, first the tires, then the entire automobiles.
By the time I arrived in my neighborhood, emergency response crews were already containing the fire and gasoline leak. Pedestrians were sent away from the scene, so I had to waltz around the block to reach my office. When I arrived, I discovered that my office-mate was in the office when it happened, and he photographed the fire as it consumed the parked cars.
We just happen to have the best view of the entire neighborhood from our office suite, so I have several photos to share which depict the accident. The emergency response was very swift, and the safety of the neighborhood was in good hands. I tried to focus on the rescue and disaster control efforts in the photos below, to honor our civil servants for a job well done. The photo above and to the one to the upper left were taken by my office-mate, and the other three were taken by yours truly.
This is certainly not the first time that an explosion sent a fiery trail of gasoline down a steep avenue in San Francisco. This type of freak accident is unavoidable on many of our streets, the only thing stopping a stream of gasoline being a sewer drain. However, there are often flammable materials and sediment festering down in the sewer, which is why the fire department was frantic about stopping the gasoline at the drain (my corner).
Yesterday, I mentioned that I would embark on a photo journal of my fair city, but this was not what I had in mind. To offset today's sombre events with the best photo opportunities that a summer in California provides, I definitely have my work cut out for me!
 | | Silhouette of Heroes |  | | Repair-an-Awning Day |
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