Two men were rushed to the hospital after a fire broke out at a home in San Francisco, north of the Golden Gate Park Panhandle, according to the San Francisco Fire Department.
The three-alarm blaze at a four-story Victorian building on the 600 block of Baker Street between Fulton and McAllister streets spread to one other house before firefighters could contain it.
At one point, 115 firefighters were helping to battle the flames.
Firefighters received the call about the fire shortly before 9 p.m. Wednesday night. They say it was not easy getting a hose up to the third floor, where the fire started.
While crews worked on putting out the fire, firefighters say they found two critically injured older men inside the house by the front door. They were apparently trying to get out but didn't make it on their own.
Paramedics rushed the couple to the hospital in critical condition, and neighbors said on Thursday that they remained in intensive care.
"They are the sweetest,” neighbor and friend Ari Goodman said. “Randy and Patrick, the most kind guys. The type of neighbor who gives you a cup of sugar when you need it, so I'm just hoping they're doing alright and my thoughts are with them."
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Neighbors said they didn't hear an explosion, but they did see flames and smoke pouring out the back of the third story of the house. They say the men who were injured have spent the past five years working to renovate the Victorian home.
“It's sad,” neighbor Coleen Ivie said. “It's a beautiful house. They put a lot of love into it and it’s sad to see this happen.”
The Red Cross sent representatives to the scene to help those who have been displaced by the fire.
SFFD says the fire was raised to three alarms because old wooden homes burn quickly and this particular house is surrounded by other old wooden homes.
Investigators are trying to figure out what started the fire.
NBC Bay Area's Chase Cain contributed to this report.
