Star of India fire victims identified

SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - Two men who were found dead in a loft above a San Francisco restaurant following a one-alarm fire Thursday were identified today, investigator David LeNoue of the San Francisco medical examiner's office said.

San Francisco resident Frank Dias, 35, and Sunnyvale resident Anil Middekadi, 24, were found dead in the area above the Star of India kitchen, fire department spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge said.

Medical examiners have not determined the cause of the two deaths or if Dias and Middekadi were dead before the fire began, LeNoue said.

The fire was reported at about 5:30 a.m. and was controlled about 20 minutes later. Fire damage to the loft area prevented firefighters from entering the loft immediately, but the two victims were removed after the area was stabilized at about noon, fire Lt. Ken Smith said.

The loft area was used for conducting restaurant business, but it is unclear what the two men were doing there at the time the fire started, Talmadge said.

Investigators have determined the fire does not appear to be criminal, Talmadge said. The cause of the fire has not been determined, she said.

The Star of India was extensively damaged and is closed until further notice, Talmadge said.

The restaurant shares a large building with several other businesses, according to Talmadge. The businesses all have separate storefronts, but share the structure that stretches along a portion of Polk Street, Talmadge said.

Pasha Restaurant, which shares the building and is located at 1516 Broadway, has not opened since the fire because of extensive damage.

The restaurant, which serves Moroccan food, will remain closed for about a month while the interior of the business is cleaned and repaired, manager Hicham Senhaji said.

"We're losing a lot of business," Senhaji said.

Other buildings also sustained minor smoke damage, Talmadge said.

— Bay City News

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