San Francisco’s Vaillancourt Fountain caught fire as it was being disassembled on Wednesday morning, sending plumes of smoke into the sky as flames licked the sculpture’s 10-ton cantilevered arms. The news comes just a couple of weeks after the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department announced it was preparing to take apart the controversial landmark ahead of a $40 million renovation of the Embarcadero Plaza and Sue Bierman Park.
“Today, during torch cutting activity, debris inside the tubes ignited,” Coma Te, director of communications for the San Francisco Arts Commission, which owns the fountain, told SFGATE in an email. “The team responded by continuously spraying water to control and quickly extinguish the fire.”
The process involves using a high-temperature flame and a pure oxygen jet to sever metal. The fire broke out as a crew member was attempting to remove one of the arms of the fountain. There was no major damage, Te said.
“Essentially, the tubes are acting like a chimney,” she explained. “To separate the pieces, the team is torch-cutting the welded steel tubes. As expected, this process produces sparks.”
The disassembly of the fountain will continue as scheduled over the next few weeks, she said. “However, the team will first review options to prevent this from recurring” and “are aligning on an updated plan to eliminate the risk of similar ignition events.”
No one was injured during the blaze.
Officials still have no word on where the fountain will be stored once it’s taken apart.
“For now, we’re glad everyone is safe,” Te said.