Internet Archive's S.F. office damaged in fire

Founder Brewster Kahle poses for a portrait outside the Internet Archive offices which are housed in a former Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist church in San Francisco Friday September 28th, 2012. Founder Brewster Kahle poses for a portrait outside the Internet Archive offices which are housed in a former Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist church in San Francisco Friday September 28th, 2012. Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 10 Caption Close Internet Archive's S.F. office damaged in fire 1 / 10 Back to Gallery

The office of the nonprofit Internet Archive in San Francisco's Richmond District caught fire early Wednesday, destroying equipment and damaging several apartments next door.

The blaze began about 3:45 a.m. in the single-story Clement Street office, between 12th and Funston avenues, and spread to an adjacent three-story complex, firefighters said.

About eight residents of the next-door building were evacuated, but no injuries were reported. Firefighters had the blaze under control by 5 a.m.

The Internet Archive, which hosts the website https://archive.org, is an online library that provides users free access to a collection of digital books, videos, music and old websites. The site has 3 million daily users.

About 10 people work at the Clement Street office, one of 30 Internet Archive sites nationwide, digitizing books and other material. Employees said the fire did not cause major disruption to the website. No data were stored at the San Francisco office.

"Luckily, we're not aware of the loss of any collections," said Brewster Kahle, the nonprofit's digital librarian.

The fire is believed to have started when a scanner sparked, Kahle said.

The cost of the damages is not yet known. Red Cross officials are providing help to the displaced residents.

"It's going to be really expensive to rebuild, but it's really important to the Internet landscape," Kahle said.