SAN FRANCISCO -- Residents from 30 units in two Victorian buildings in San Francisco's Mission District did not sleep in their beds Monday night after a four-alarm fire ravaged the structures.

Flames were first reported at the four-story building at 5:56 p.m. on Valencia Street between 25th and 26th streets, a San Francisco Fire lieutenant said.

The blaze was contained at 7:35 p.m.

SLIDESHOW: Fire Burns In SF Mission District

Residents were evacuated from the residential building. The apartments are about three blocks from the 24th Street Bart Station, around the corner from a popular bar and a local church.

One firefighter was injured in the blaze and was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation.

The winds were reported to be between 10 to 15 miles per hour.

An eyewitness told NBC11 that he saw a lot of people crying and that "there is a lot of emotion here right now."

The smoke from the fire could be seen in downtown San Francisco, and one eyewitness said the smoke blocked out the sun.

Lt. Ken Smith said that when firefighters went into the buildings to try to retrieve items for residents such as shoes and car keys they reported that not all of the units were damaged by smoke and fire. While the actual building may not be salvageable, many other items will be.

Luckily, firefighters were able to "put a wall of water" between the fire and the building and it was saved from any damage.

One reason this particular fire was so difficult to fight is the shape of the buildings, Lt. Mindy Talmadge said. The four-story buildings are very long, about 60 feet, which meant that when the fire reached the attic it could spread along the entire length of the structure.

"That is a lot of attic space," Talmadge said.

The fires were burning on the fourth floors of both buildings and pushing against each other, which meant that the flames from each building were feeding each other, Smith said.