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Construction Resumes at SF Habitat For Humanity Site Damaged By Fire

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - After a week and a half delay, volunteer crews are back on the job at a Habitat for Humanity housing project damaged during construction by a 3-alarm fire.

Framing for the homes being built at 1 Capitol Avenue in the Oceanview neighborhood was almost finished when the fire broke out late in the night on Sept. 27.

"We were not as far along as we could have been on them," said spokeswoman Kristine Leja. "We feel incredibly fortunate that only three homes were affected out of the fifteen that are in active construction right now."

Construction Resumes at SF Habitat For Humanity Site Damaged By Fire

One of the new homes was completely gutted, and the adjacent units were partially damaged by what investigators believe was an arson fire.

The timeline for the site, which will one day have 28 low-income homes, has changed only slightly.

"We are all singly focused on getting back on track and getting these homes vertical and complete, and families moving in," Phillip Kilbridge, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco.

He said a complete complement of 50 volunteers would be back at the site each weekday.

"We want to build these homes as quickly and safely as humanly possible so that we can get hard-working Bay Area families to live in them."

Kilbridge said occupants for the Capitol Avenue homes have not yet been selected. But once they are chosen, they will help with the later stages of construction, in lieu of a down payment.

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