Anthony Valerio, S.F. Firefighter, Dies

Anthony Valerio

​San Francisco lost a second firefighter this morning after Anthony Valerio died.

Valerio, 53, had been in critical condition since Thursday morning after being badly burned while fighting a blaze in Diamond Heights. Lieutenant Vincent Perez, 48, died Thursday afternoon at San Francisco General Hospital.

Fire officials told SF Weekly on Friday that Valerio's outlook was not good. They were losing hope, even as his friends and family sat by his bedside praying for his recovery. But media outlets are now reporting that Valerio, a paramedic, died at about 7:30 a.m. Saturday.

Both firefighters were inside the two-story home on 133 Berkeley Way when a flashover ignited everything in the room at once.

Some 30 firefighters had responded to the blaze, which started at about 10:45 a.m. Fire officials outside the home lost radio contact with Perez and Valerio. When they went inside, they found the two firefighters on the ground, burned and unconscious.

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