and a third firefighter tracy courtney, a female firefighter, was also hurt.tand not badly. she was able to be released from the hospital yesterday. again, the cause of this fire remains under investigation. and the mayor did order all the flags all around the city to be lowered to half-staff. frank, back to you. >> thank you. we are pulling for the valerio family to be sure. okay, elizabeth wenger, live in san francisco, thank you. >>> this morning, sources tell cbs 5 the fbi about to take over an investigation into alleged police corruption in contra costa county. the district attorney's office planning to announce a major development at an afternoon news conference. the allegations include stealing cash, drugs and guns from police seizures. >>> a lawyer and friend of jack kevorkian says the assisted suicide advocate died this morning in michigan where he had been hospitalized. kevorkian released from prison in 2007 after serving 8 years for second-degree murder. he claimed to have assisted in at least 130 suicides. jack kevorkian was 83 years old. >> giants

. >> reporter: and a third firefighter, a female firefighter, tracy courtney, was also injured in this fire. we understand not bad hurt. she was released from the hospital yesterday. the fire department hopes to give us an update on valerio and the cause of the fire around 2 p.m. >> thank you. >>> we are now hearing me to dispatch calls from fire command as that tragic situation unfolded yesterday morning. take a listen. >> activated the emergency alarm and they haven't confirmed the response for five minutes. you copy that? >> i copy that. i'm going to look for him right now. >> operating on the fire groundout side right now. i need two companies outside right now. . >> man down. ambulances came just moments after the flash fire c he life of vincent perez. >> that call for two more ambulances came just moments after the flash fire claimed the life of vincent perez. >>> this neighborhood brings back tragic memories for the san francisco fire department. in 1995, 60-mile-an-hour winds fanned a house fire on everson street less than a mile away from yesterday's fire. three firefighters w

. >> reporter: officials say that tracy courtney was also hurt battling the flames but not badly and she has since been released. there are signs of mourning tonight at station 26, where both lieutenants served. even worst outward displays of grief on the faces of the comrades for the fallen. >> our hearts heavy today and they will be for a long time. >> reporter: while their hearts may be heavy they should be proud because there were no civilians who were hurt in the fire. they did the job they were sworn to do. we did mention earlier that what made this so dangerous is something called a flash over. what is it? how does it work? robert is live tonight to explain. >> reporter: great, thank you, to understand a flash over think of a balloon, blow to much air in and it'll burst. here at the burned out home where the san francisco fire department is still outside there were burning fixt, res, to many created dangerous gases, to many gases for the home to handle. the burst was in fact an explosion at about 1200 degrees menlo fire chief took us inside this simulator. >> a flash over is r

tracy courtney was released from the hospital shortly after being treated for minor burns and smoke inhalation. >>> funeral services for lieutenant vincent perez could be held next friday but nothing is finalized. meantime, the san francisco firefighters union has established trust funds for the families of both lieutenant perez and firefighter paramedic valerio. you can donate through a link we have set up on cbssf.com. >>> the streets surrounding the diamond heights house that burned are still blocked off tonight and firefighters are keeping watch. that's because the house is considered a crime scene in mind investigation is complete. -- until the investigation is complete. the family that lives there went back to the house this morning. they went in to look at the damage and salvage what they could. they did not want to talk to us. >>> meantime, the search for the cause of the fire is still going on. among the things investigators are looking at is what caused the conditions that led to the flashover that consumed the firefighters. the house has been diagramed and firefighters have been int

. >> fire officials say tracy courtney was hurt while battling those flames.meantime, there are signs of mourning tonight at station 26 where lieutenants perez and valerio served. the outward displays of grief on the spaces of their comrade for the fallen. >> our hearts are heavy today and they will be for a long time. >> but one thing they can be very proud of is that they fulfilled their mission today. no san francisco civilians were hurt in this fire. what made this fire so dangerous is a phenomenon called flashover. what makes it so unpredictable and what exactly is it? robert lyles is live to explain. robert. >> thanks so much. to best understand a flashover, i want you to consider a balloon blowing too much air in that balloon and it will burst. well in the burned out home here on berkeley way, burning household fixtures generated too many dangerous gases. too many gases for either the walls or the ceiling to contain. so the burst here was actually an explosion and at least 1200 degrees fahrenheit. >> he took us inside the fire simulator to best understa

a third firefighter tracy courtney a female firefighter actually was also hurt we understand not badly though and she was able to be released from the hospital yesterday. but obviously, you know, firefighters are heroes so this is a very sad day for firefighters everywhere. and really for everyone here in san francisco. back to you. >> thank you. >>> elizabeth mentioned that those firefighters were caught in a flashover, which is what happens when the temperature in the fire area reaches about 1100 degrees. menlo park's fire chief demonstrates the situation in a fire simulator. he says the flashover starts in the heated smoke at the ceiling. firefighters will probably see jets of fire in the smoke over their heads. >> all those particles in the smoke, all the furnishings, products in the room are simultaneously heated to a point where they completely come bus and it's fatal. >> firefighters cut holes in rooftops to try to release the superheated gases that cause flashovers. >>> a san francisco firefighter died in the same area in 1995. that time, 60-mile-an-hour winds fanned a house fi

firefighter tracy courtney was treated for smoke inhalation and released.hief white saying about perez, he will be sorely missed, and our prayers are with the family, and are very much grieving this loss. that's the latest from here, reporting live in san francisco, christie smith, "today in the east bay." >> breaks your heart. thank you very much, christie. >>> firefighters are saying this morning that diamond heights fire was especially dangerous because of a sudden ignition that caused a room to burst into flames. firefighters call those types of bursts flashovers, which can cause temperatures to sky rocket to 1,000 degrees or more. today in the east bay's george shows us how traumatic and dangerous flashovers can be. >> reporter: if you've never seen a flashover, this is what it looks like. a fire so hot, everything in the room just bursts into flames. >> the flashover is really the end of the fire phase, where it's almost spectacular in some ways, where it reaches its maximum ignition, maximum burn, and what happens is all those particles that are in t

tracy courtney was treated for smoke inhalation and released in good condition.ut 53-year-old anthony valerio is on a ventilator and surrounded by family in the icu. >> it's pretty gruesome. no one wants to see it, but you have to, i had to talk to him for a minute. i don't know if he can hear me, but i had to say pull through. my mom did the same thing. my mom's struggling to keep it together. >> his brother is an athlete with a wicked sense of humor who loves to help people. the fire melted valerio's face mask and doctors are worried most about his lungs. >> they're desperately trying to stabilize him and get some response from him. they've done something to him to keep him so he doesn't move, so -- to help with his lungs. if he starts moving a little bit, it will damage what they're trying to do with helping him breathe. >> reporter: already mourning the loss of one firefighter, the san francisco fire department is hoping valerio pulls through. if he wakes up, he will be facing tough news, that his friend and colleague lieutenant perez is gone. funeral service

she is identified as tracy courtney and worked out of the noe valley fire department. she was treated and released from the hospital. >>> we will take you to the fire station where two of the firefighter were. you will see the outpouring of support and you will hear from mayor ed lee. >>> tonight we received the dispatch call as the firefighters were trapped in the home. jana katsuyama is live with the recordings and specific details on what went wrong. jana-- >> reporter: that's right frank. let me show you the scene. right now there is tape up blocking the road. you can see the fire engage parked right outside of the house that burned. investigators are still trying to figure out the origin and what caused the fire. four people inside the building managed to get out. fire crews went in but about 15 minutes later, an emergency alarm center sounded from a firefighter equipment. >> come in. we heard an alarm and they haven't contacted us back. you copy that? >> i copy that. >> i need two companies outside right now. we have a man down. down by the front door. >> we have

tracy courtney was treated and released. at this moment, three firefighters have been seriously injured. one dead, one still in critical condition here at san francisco general. reporting live, john fowler, ktvu channel 2 news. >>> the fire that killed one firefighter and injured two others was nothing out of the ordinary when it began late this morning. just minutes after crews arrived at that four story building and began attacking the flames something went terribly wrong. tonight investigators are combing through the wreckage. >> reporter: that's right, behind me investigators are working into the evening to learn what happened this morning that killed one of their own. >> sometimes things are beyond our control. >> reporter: the tragedy began as a routine call. four san francisco engine companies responded this morning to a fire at this four story diamond hill home. >> i saw three girls run out of the garage at my neighbor's house. i said what's going on. because i started to see white smoke coming out of the garage door

a third firefighter, tracy courtney, was treated for smoke inhalation and minor burns, and released.orting live in san francisco, christie smith, "today in the bay." >> thank you very much, christie. >>> this morning, investigators are still looking over the scene of that fire, trying to figure out exactly what went wrong. but they believe something called a flashover occurred. the bay area fire chief says it's something that can happen in seconds. menlo park fire chief says it's important for firefighters to read the smoke and conditions around them. he says a flashover is one where it reaches maximum ignition, and because it gets so hot, everything in the room just bursts into flames. >> flashovers can reach anywhere from 1,200 to 1,500 degrees, even at the floor. so for firefighters caught in something like that, it's going to be unsustainable. it's going to be typically significant injuries or even death. >> with major advances in fire safety gear, it's difficult to tell how hot it is getting. ask & when firefighters get deep into a fire, it could be too late. >>> new this mornin

now, a third firefighter a female firefighter tracy courtney was also hurt. we understand not badly. and she was able to be released from the hospital yesterday. but, you know, this is a reminder of how dangerous firefighting can be and obviously why firefighters are considered heroes. so a very sad day in san francisco. sydnie, frank, back to you. >> elizabeth, thank you. elizabeth wenger in san francisco. >>> the firefighters were caught in what is called a flashover in the burning house. that's what happens when the temperatures in the fire area reaches about 1100 degrees. menlo park's fire chief demonstrated it in a fire simulator. it starts in the heated smoke at the ceiling of the home. firefighters will probably see jets of fire in the smoke over their heads. >> all those particles that are in the smoke, everything in the room is simultaneously heated to a point where they completely come bus and it's fatal. -- combust and it's fatal. >>> firefighters try to put holes in the roof to relieve that flashover situation. >>> another firefighter was killed i