San Francisco firefighters took on a 2-alarm blaze at an apartment building above a local taqueria near the city's Civic Center Sunday afternoon.

The fire was reported in a multi-unit apartment building that also housed Taqueria El Castillito, near Golden Gate and Larkin Streets at about 11:55 a.m., according to the San Francisco Fire Department.

The smoke coming from the fire was so thick that photos taken from the area showed roadways so cloudy that cars were barely visible.

"So many people were running around trying to see what was happening. The smell was awful as I drove through," said photographer Zach Bruce, who emailed pictures of the blaze to KTVU.

Fourty people were forced to evacuate the five story building.  

Emergency crews got a jump start evacuating residents because two officers driving by saw the smoke and called for more help. 

“There's a lot of older people in these buildings a lot of young families so we assisted in getting everyone out of the building as safely as we could,” said San Francisco police Lt. Colleen Fatooh.

At about 12:40 p.m., there were reports that crews had the fire contained.

There were no reports of injuries Sunday afternoon.

The cause of the fire was still under investigation Sunday.

Because of fire and water damage, eight families were out of their homes. The Red Cross is assisting those families with shelter for the night.