Welding was being done at San Francisco building destroyed by 5-alarm fire

A five-alarm fire that destroyed an apartment building under construction in the city's Mission Bay neighborhood on Tuesday is not yet under control this morning.

Firefighters are continuing to put water on the blaze, which burned at a construction site at Fourth and China Basin streets, but flames are no longer visible.

The neighborhood smells of smoke, and water is cascading down the sides of the gutted building and running onto Fourth Street.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee said at a news conference at the scene this morning that the cause of the fire remains under investigation, but noted that it started above ground.

"They were doing some welding, we don't know what occurred there," Lee said.

The building that burned was part of a development project by BRE Properties known as MB360. Company officials released a statement Tuesday saying that the building was known as Block 5, which contained 172 units under construction.

Lee identified the contractor as Suffolk Construction Co. He said a sprinkler system was being installed at the site but was not yet operational at the time the fire started.

The blaze was reported shortly before 5 p.m. and grew quickly, sending up a dark plume of smoke that could be seen from many parts of the Bay Area. Flames spread and engulfed the building, and there was initial concern that the blaze could spread to other structures.

Nearby apartments were evacuated, and heat from the flames shattered a number of windows of neighboring buildings.

"I think we're very lucky that the fire didn't jump any more," the mayor said.

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Welding was being done at San Francisco building destroyed by 5-alarm fire