By Kelly Zito
The San Francisco Chronicle
SAN FRANCISCO — A fire initially reported at the Chinese Consulate on Monday afternoon turned out to be at an apartment complex roughly 300 yards away, where firefighters rescued a 93-year old woman from a third-story window.
At 5 p.m., callers in the Fillmore district reported seeing a fire on the balcony of the Chinese Consulate at Laguna Street and Geary Boulevard. However, the 42 firefighters who responded found the fire at 35 Lottie Bennett Lane, one of a series of small walkways connecting apartment buildings off Geary Boulevard.
The tight walkways made maneuvering difficult for fire trucks, but eventually firefighters were able to extend a ladder to a third-story window, where they could see a hand waving through thick black smoke.
A firefighter from Truck No. 5 was able to lean over and pull the woman out of the window and "brought her to the ground very gingerly," said fire Lt. Ken Smith.
The woman did not appear to suffer any injuries or smoke inhalation, but Smith said she was taken to a nearby hospital as a precaution.
Smith said the fire was contained by 5:19 p.m. and was under control by 5:35 p.m. Several other apartments were damaged by smoke and water, and four residents were offered temporary housing by the American Red Cross. Smith said the fire did not appear suspicious.
Last month, a group of arsonists poured flammable liquid on a security gate at the Chinese Consulate and set it on fire. No one was hurt and damage to the building was minimal, but a statement from the consulate called the attackers terrorists and said U.S. officials apologized for the incident.
Fire officials are on high alert this week due to planned protests of human rights conditions in China as the Beijing Olympic torch makes a stop in San Francisco.
"We're going to be diligent," Smith said. "We have the protests tomorrow and Wednesday, and we're always vigilant when something is close to the consulate. My goal is to get people to calm down."
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