At the intersection of Beach and Divisadero Streets in San Francisco, a natural gas main rupture caused a major structure fire. The San Francisco Fire Department selected civilians to help run fire hoses from a distance because the nearby hydrant system failed. Since the bay was only two blocks from the burning buildings, water from the bay was pumped by the fireboat "Phoenix", to engines on the shore, and from there sprayed on the fire. The apartment structures that collapsed were older buildings that included ground floor garages, which engineers refer to as a soft story building.