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San Francisco Begins Pier 29 Reconstruction After 4-Alarm Fire

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – Less than two months after a huge fire destroyed parts of Pier 29 on San Francisco's waterfront, the City has won a speedy settlement from its insurance company and reconstruction is already underway.

A fire on a pier often means years of ruin and neglect. A prime example is San Francisco's Pier 48. After a fire there in the 90's, it took eight years for the insurance company to pay up.

KCBS' Doug Sovern Reports:

But less than eight weeks after a four-alarm blaze gutted Pier 29, San Francisco Port Executive Director Monique Moyer has a $2 million insurance check in hand from AIG.

"We've lost facilities before that haven't been rebuilt. Pier 7 and Piers 30-32," she said.

Moyer said this time, Pier 29 will be completely restored, including its historic façade, within a year.

"It will look the way it did before so we're very pleased about that," said Moyer. "This is the last remaining collection of intact finger piers in the country. Ours looked just like New York's once upon a time and it's really important to maintain that look."

The fire was sparked by a welder's torch and crews are taking extra precautions to prevent another accident.

Pier 29 will be part of the America's Cup spectator's village next year, giving city officials incentive to get it fixed.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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