San Bruno fire claims 4 lives, destroys 38 houses

San Bruno, Sep 11: The massive fire that engulfed the San Francisco suburb of San Bruno for several hours has so far claimed four lives, injured 52 people, and destroyed over 38 houses.

The fire broke out on Thursday, Sep 9 night following a huge explosion in gas pipeline, which belongs to utility Pacific Gas & Electric Co (PG&E).

The fire fighters have to a large extent containted the fire and about three-quarters of the homes have been reportedly searched by rescue dogs.

The rest of the houses and buildings are too hot to enter yet, said media reports on Saturday, Sep 10.

Two additional urban search and rescue teams have also been deployed, informed California Lieutenant governor Abel Maldonado standing in for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The governor is away on a trade mission in Asia.

Investigation into the pipeline blast has begun and the scene is being searched for clues to ascertain the cause of the explosion.

The probe is also directed at the reports of people calling PG&E about smelling gas prior to the explosion.

"The investigation is going on. There is going to be some accountability. The pipeline is owned by PG&E," Maldonado told an international news agency.

OneIndia News