SAN FRANCISCO – A longtime San Francisco hardware store went up in flames Sunday morning, sending one person to the hospital and causing major damage.

Plywood now covers up the former glass front door to Great Wall Hardware, next to the 76 gas station on Taraval, near 29th in San Francisco’s Sunset District.

Firefighters battled the flames around 4 a.m. Sunday after a neighbor heard a startling sound.

“I was up around 4 a.m. to use the bathroom and I heard an explosion,” said Dominik Mosur, who lives across the street, “It was a really loud boom.”

Owner Albert Chow tells us the fire gutted his family business, which has served the Sunset neighborhood since 1983.

“Looks like a train wreck in there, and that’s kind of hard,” Chow told KTVU.

The fire sent smoke into the two apartments above the store, forcing three people out of their homes, including Chow’s mother, the founder of the store, who was taken to the hospital after inhaling smoke.

“But she, she’s okay,” said Chow who showed KTVU the damage inside the front of the store.

He believes the flames broke out around a now boarded-up display window, but can’t figure out how.

“You got me,” said Chow. “I don’t know.”

Chow estimates the damage at around a quarter million dollars.

“The hardware stores in the city, if you’ve been inside, they usually have lots of items piled up the aisle ways are very narrow,” said Rescue Capt. Justin Schorr of the San Francisco Fire Department.

The store supports three employees and serves countless customers, with some stopping by to console Chow after the fire.

“Oh, it’s devastating. It’s very sad to see,” said Angie Petitt. “It was really heartbreaking to get the news. He’s a very active and very involved community member.”

Chow is also a contractor, and after surveying the damage, feels confident there’s nothing inside he can’t handle fixing.

“I think Great Wall Hardware’s going to be back,” said Chow.

The fire department said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Chow said the building is still in good shape structurally.

He plans to reopen as soon as possible, but he doesn’t know how long it will take to clean up the mess.

Right now, all the focus is on the San Francisco Giants getting into the playoffs.

After spending tons of money to overhaul this roster in the offseason, there could be major ramifications coming if this group isn’t able to win enough games to be playing fall baseball. What that could mean for the roster is unclear, but there is a chance Farhan Zaidi won’t be leading the charge this winter if the Giants aren’t able to earn a Wild Card spot.

Some reports have started to come out that Matt Chapman and San Francisco are continuing some extension talks, and based on how he’s played this year in addition to his relationship with manager Bob Melvin, that seems like a no-brainer.

Beyond him manning third base for years to come if something gets finalized, there are questions about how their infield might look going forward.

In a perfect world, their top prospect Marco Luciano would become their full-time shortstop, allowing Tyler Fitzgerald to be used as a superutilityman. And since second baseman Thairo Estrada has two more years of club control, the hope is he can get his OPS+ back to over 100 like in 2022 and 2023 instead of his figure that is 72 this season.

But, there is no guarantee any of those things will happen.

There is still time for Luciano to emerge at just 22 years old, but the concern was always about his defense, and that could persist for a while.

If the Giants feel like he may be better served playing another position, or even getting the majority of his reps at designated hitter, then they might turn their attention to a full-time shortstop option this winter.

One player who could become obtainable is a familiar name.

According to MLB insider Ken Rosenthal, there is a possibility that two-time All-Star Bo Bichette is made available for trade.

“Well, we’ve been talking about a Bo Bichette trade, I don’t know, almost going back to the offseason. And the reason for that is the same reason why we talked about a trade with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. before the deadline. They have not signed either of these players to an extension, and both are up after the 2025 season. So, if you’re not going to sign them to an extension … then sure, a trade is possible, and I would expect they’re going to revisit [trading Bochette] in the offseason, yes,” he said during an appearance on “Foul Territory.”

Considering the young star might be viewed as a rental with him only being under club control for another season, it might not take much for San Francisco to acquire him.

Maybe they feel like Bichette is their preferred option there going forward, willing to trade Luciano in a deal to get him. If they are able to get something worked out with Chapman, they could turn their attention to doing to same with Bichette, solidifying the left side of their infield for years to come.

Of course, this is all speculation.

Zaidi might not even be around to make these decisions if the Giants aren’t able to get into the playoffs, so for now, all the attention within the organization remains on the task at hand this season.

The San Francisco Giants have at least one prospect that is shaping up to be a future star.

Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report put together a list of the 25 best prospects that are 20 years or younger and one member of the Giants farm system made the cut, first baseman Bryce Eldridge.

“An imposing 6’7″, 223-pound slugger who was one of the best two-way players in the 2023 draft class, Eldridge has turned his full attention to hitting in his first full professional season,” said Reuter. “He has only scratched the surface of what could be some of the best raw power of any prospect.”

The future San Francisco first baseman came in at No. 20 on the list and was the third-highest player at his position.

He was the No. 16 overall selection in the first round of the 2023 MLB draft and has proven to be a bit of a value. If the draft were to be redone today, he might go a few spots higher.

The 19-year-old could have been an elite player at either pitcher or in the field. His size is that of the modern day ideal pitching prospect with the tall and lanky guys Noah Schultz for the Chicago White Sox and Andrew Painter of the Philadelphia Phillies taking over.

Instead, he went the route of adding a bit of muscle and going to first base to develop his bat. As of now, that looks like it was a great decision.

He made it up to High-A earlier this season and has looked better than he has at any other stop. Over 41 games, he has a .309/.425/.510 slashing line.

The power has been there, a 17 home runs season over 92 games. That’s about the same pace as he was on last season.

If the Giants are smart, they’ll keep him around for the future rather than trading him to chase a quick World Series title.

As of right now, Eldridge is expected to make the jump to the big leagues around 2026. That would be perfect timing as that’s when current first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. is expected to hit free agency.

Wade would be entering his age 32 season and will likely fetch a nice price tag if he continues his trajectory. Being able to stay at a lower price tag while building to the future will be nice.

That decision is down the road, though. For now, San Francisco needs to focus on continuing to develop his bat.