Oakland: many dead Burned at party

[theDoctorisIn]

No sprinkler system, no properly marked exits, only one way up and down from the 2nd story, fire extinguishers that apparently didn't work.
Commercial fire code inspections are mandated (in Oakland) every year. How the hell did this business slip through the cracks?

It wasn't a "business".

Guess it depends on how the local government defines "business". In the DC metro area that building would have been shut down.

The party was held in a loft space used by an "artist's collective".

I'm not claiming the party was legal - it almost certainly was not - but the building was not a commercial building.

It's defined as a warehouse....... How is that not a commercial building?

Because no commercial enterprise existed within it.

 

[Ringel05]

No sprinkler system, no properly marked exits, only one way up and down from the 2nd story, fire extinguishers that apparently didn't work.
Commercial fire code inspections are mandated (in Oakland) every year. How the hell did this business slip through the cracks?

It wasn't a "business".

Guess it depends on how the local government defines "business". In the DC metro area that building would have been shut down.

The party was held in a loft space used by an "artist's collective".

I'm not claiming the party was legal - it almost certainly was not - but the building was not a commercial building.

It's defined as a warehouse....... How is that not a commercial building?

Because no commercial enterprise existed within it.

Soooo, Kalifornia is seriously into semantics......... Figures......

 

[theDoctorisIn]

It wasn't a "business".

Guess it depends on how the local government defines "business". In the DC metro area that building would have been shut down.

The party was held in a loft space used by an "artist's collective".

I'm not claiming the party was legal - it almost certainly was not - but the building was not a commercial building.

It's defined as a warehouse....... How is that not a commercial building?

Because no commercial enterprise existed within it.

Soooo, Kalifornia is seriously into semantics......... Figures......

It's not a matter of semantics, it's a matter of resources and information.

Its likely that as far as the city was concerned, the building was empty.

This was an underground thing. I've been to parties in that building.

 

[theDoctorisIn]

You guys are thinking of this as if it was a fire in a nightclub.

Think more along the lines of a really big house party.

 

[Ringel05]

Guess it depends on how the local government defines "business". In the DC metro area that building would have been shut down.

The party was held in a loft space used by an "artist's collective".

I'm not claiming the party was legal - it almost certainly was not - but the building was not a commercial building.

It's defined as a warehouse....... How is that not a commercial building?

Because no commercial enterprise existed within it.

Soooo, Kalifornia is seriously into semantics......... Figures......

It's not a matter of semantics, it's a matter of resources and information.

Its likely that as far as the city was concerned, the building was empty.

This was an underground thing. I've been to parties in that building.

According to the article the city knew people were in there.

 

[JOSweetHeart]

Drugs and fire don't mix.

Amen and fire is just one of the many things that drugs do not go with.

Wow, first the fire that happened an hour away from where I am to this one.

God bless you and every impacted family always!!!

Holly

 

[leftwinger]

Oh I have many snarky comments, some prompted from another thread on this subject (step on my thread). Owned by some guy named Ng. Only 4000 sq ft? Seems small? Reports a few lived in there. 6 cars/rv parked inside for living?

24 pulled out. Lesbian spokesman says only 20% searched? Went on and on about respect for dead bodies? I never did get that? No one gives a crap for living homeless freezing to death, right outside.

 

[dannyboys]

No sprinkler system, no properly marked exits, only one way up and down from the 2nd story, fire extinguishers that apparently didn't work.
Commercial fire code inspections are mandated (in Oakland) every year. How the hell did this business slip through the cracks?

The LIBERAL!!!!!! local authorities had had hundreds! of complaints about what was happening inside that building for YEARS!!!!!!
They did sweet **** all b/c they didn't want to be seen as 'racists'.
Now it's all on the local LIBERAL!!!!!! authorities heads!
The dozens of civil lawsuits will cost the local LIBERAL authorities tens of millions of TAX dollars to settle.
Those tens of millions sure could have helped not have the local school corridors not be literal sewers.
You can't walk down those school corridors without stepping in human shit!

 

[dannyboys]

Guess it depends on how the local government defines "business". In the DC metro area that building would have been shut down.

The party was held in a loft space used by an "artist's collective".

I'm not claiming the party was legal - it almost certainly was not - but the building was not a commercial building.

It's defined as a warehouse....... How is that not a commercial building?

Because no commercial enterprise existed within it.

Soooo, Kalifornia is seriously into semantics......... Figures......

It's not a matter of semantics, it's a matter of resources and information.

Its likely that as far as the city was concerned, the building was empty.

This was an underground thing. I've been to parties in that building.

BULLSHIT!!!!
The "City" had received hundreds or complaints about what was going on in the 'warehouse'.
The 'City' is 100% controlled by ******* LIBERALS! who knowingly closed their eyes.
This very moment dozens of 'ambulance chaser' lawyers are suing to get records of these complaints.
A judge WILL order the 'City' to turn over the complaints as part of 'discovery'.
There are going to be a lot of 'City' LIBERALS who will be in extremely deep legal shit!
Very likely criminal charges of first degree manslaughter will be filed.
Some LIBERALS!!! in the City are going to prison when this is over.

 

[leftwinger]

1.5 days and they are barely pulling out rubble and bodies? 20%? Why does that make me angry? I could empty a 600 sq ft. Garage in about two hours alone?

 

[leftwinger]

City code guy on TV said they could not gain entry Nov 17. So you just give up? Go off for holidays? That was a few weeks ago? Hello? Did u try again?

Try to install an exterior window in your house. They will be on you like maggots for fees fines permits eng-studies.

 

[dannyboys]

1.5 days and they are barely pulling out rubble and bodies? 20%? Why does that make me angry? I could empty a 600 sq ft. Garage in about two hours alone?

What's left of the warehouse is extremely unstable.
Literally every foot has to be stablizied first.
If there were no human remains inside a D9 would have taken down the warehouse in a couple of hours.

 

[leftwinger]

The teens told him they paid $10 to get into the warehouse party, which they found online.The event was thrown by a Los Angeles-based label called 100% Silk.The location was announced on Facebook just hours before the party, and 285 people checked in on the social media platform as attending.

LA Times

Pretty good story about two guys who left to walk to liquor strore, came back and it was on fire.

 

[whitehall]

Oakland was the center for OWS radicalism. The Fire spokesperson broke down when she described the remains of the fire but nobody is asking the tough questions about who is at fault when the building was cited for a hundred violations and even the freaking stairs inside the building were made of wood pallets. Who is going to jail for the incredible lack of government oversight?

 

[waltky]

33 now dead in Oakland warehouse fire...

Death toll from California warehouse fire rises to 33
5 Dec 2016: The death toll from a fire at a California warehouse where a rave party had been taking place rose to 33 on Sunday (Dec 4), the authorities said.

"The last number we gave out of deceased folks was 30. That's moved up to 33," Sergeant Ray Kelly of the Alameda County Sheriff's Department said at a late afternoon news conference. Crews had searched 35 to 40 per cent of the two-storey building, which was gutted and left unstable by the inferno late Friday night, he added. The rave party was held in a cluttered, maze-like warehouse for artists, fire officials said Saturday. It was not immediately known what sparked the inferno at the electronic dance music party attended by 50 to 100 people.

The building, which housed artists including several who apparently lived there, had numerous partitions and a makeshift stairwell built from pallets. Some of the structural changes made it extremely difficult for people to escape, Oakland Fire Chief Teresa Deloach Reed said. "There wasn't a real entry or exit path," she said. "I don't know where the fire started, but I do know that the way the building was situated made it difficult for people to escape," Reed said.

Firefighters were hampered in their efforts to put out the blaze by clutter. "It was filled end to end with furniture, whatnot, collections," she said. "It was like a maze almost." She added that it appeared no smoke detectors were activated in the building which also had no sprinkler system.

The fire raced through the structure quickly and got out of control at one point, forcing firefighters to pull back, reports said. Friends and family of partygoers went to social media to try and find news about their loved ones, with some posting information on the event's Facebook page. "Please tell me you are safe," one woman wrote, adding a friend's name, while others posted prayers.

Death toll from California warehouse fire rises to 33

See also:

Teenagers among Oakland warehouse fire victims
Monday 5th December, 2016: The death toll from a fire that tore through a California warehouse hosting a late-night dance party has climbed to 33 as firefighters painstakingly comb through the rubble for others believed to still be missing - and made the grim announcement that teenagers were among the dead.

The Oakland building, known as the "Ghost Ship", had been carved into artist studios and was an illegal home for a rotating cast of a dozen or more people, according to former denizens who said it was a cluttered death trap with few exits, piles of wood and a mass of snaking electric cords. "If you were going there for a party, you wouldn't be aware of the maze that you have to go through to get out," said Danielle Boudreaux, a former friend of the couple who ran the warehouse. The death toll was expected to rise further as crews using buckets and shovels slowly made their way through the building, finding victims where they least expected them, Sergeant Ray Kelly of Alameda County sheriff's office said.

Less than half of the charred remains of the partly-collapsed structure had been searched as of Sunday afternoon. "When we started this investigation, if you had told us that you would have 33 victims, we wouldn't have believed you," Sgt Kelly said. "I don't know how many people are left in there." The victims include 17-year-olds and people from Europe and Asia aged from their teens to 30-plus. Officials have identified eight people who were killed - at least seven of them using fingerprints. Anxious family members who feared the worst gathered at the sheriff's office to await word on their loved ones. They were told they may have to provide DNA samples to help identify remains.

Experts search the remains of the warehouse​

As many as 100 people were there for a party on Friday night when the fire broke out just before midnight. Experts were still investigating the cause of the blaze, but said clutter fuelled the flames, with no sprinklers inside and few exits to escape. Ms Boudreaux identified the operators of the Satya Yuga collective as Derick Ion Almena and Micah Allison. She had a falling out with Mr Almena when she convinced Ms Allison's parents and sister about a year ago that the warehouse was a dangerous place for the couple's three children to live. Michael Allison, of Portland, Oregon, the father of Mr Almena's partner, Micah Allison, said the couple had a troubled relationship. Michael Allison and other family members were able to persuade Micah to go to a drug rehabilitation centre in 2015, but Mr Almena talked his way into the rehab centre and convinced Ms Allison to leave with him, Michael Allison said.

The family's three children had lice and needed new clothes, prompting family to call child-protective services, said Michael Allison. But Mr Almena and his partner were eventually able to win back custody of the children and cut off all communication with Michael Allison, the father said. "Whenever I could, I would to talk to (Micah Allison) to get away from him because I knew he was dangerous from day one," he said. "All of that has now been proven." Mr Almena did not immediately respond to emails or phone numbers associated with him. Authorities declined to talk about the manager, saying they were focused on recovering the bodies and consoling families. No one answered a call to a number for Micah Allison.

MORE

 

[waltky]

Oakland's 'Ghost Ship' was a death trap...

Former tenant: Run-down Oakland warehouse was a 'death trap'
December 5, 2016 — Shelley Mack says she didn't know the converted Oakland warehouse known as the "Ghost Ship" was an illegal residence until after she moved in, when she was instructed to tell visitors it was a 24-hour workspace for artists.

The building was often freezing cold. Water and power were sometimes stolen from neighbors, who would get angry and shut them off. Once, a generator blew up, and residents quickly doused the flames, she said. Mack, a 58-year-old tech sales worker and jewelry maker, lived in the warehouse for four or five months about two years ago. On Friday night, fire ripped through the cluttered space during a dance party, killing at least 33 people. Oakland officials say the death toll is expected to rise. The building was crammed with rugs, old sofas and a garage-sale-like collection of pianos, paintings, turntables, statues and other items that quickly fed the flames.

Mack recalled a jumble of extension cords and heavy musical equipment. "That place was just a death trap," she said. "I didn't think it was going to last this long before it went up or somebody shut it down." Mack found the rental in a Facebook ad and paid about $700 a month to live there, along with a security deposit of the same amount and a one-time contribution of about $700 to a fund meant to go toward improvements. She said none were ever made. "It's a good example of people taking advantage of people because they had no other options," Mack said. "People make businesses off scamming people online when they're looking for a place." When inspectors or other outsiders came to visit, she and other residents scurried to hide clothes, bedding and other evidence anyone was living there.

One doorway was blocked, Mack said, because it led to the property of a neighbor who'd been in a dispute with the operators, whom she and other former tenants and friends identified as 46-year-old Derick Ion and his 40-year-old wife, Micah Allison. "They lure you in with all these promises about what they're going to do with your deposit and your rent," she said. "They don't do any of it. They just party with it." Public records show Ion's full name is Derick Ion Almena and that he has lived in California since at least 1990, mostly in Los Angeles, before moving to Oakland in 2006. Allison spent much of her life in Northern California.

The Satya Yuga Collective, one of two groups affiliated with the space, advertised it as a location for anyone with an open mind. "Seeking all shamanic rattlesnake sexy jungle jazz hobo gunslingers looking for a space to house gear, use studio, develop next level Shaolin discipline after driving your taxi cab late at night, build fusion earth home bomb bunker spelunker shelters, and plant herbaceous colonies in the sun & air," its Facebook page advertised. Neither Almena nor Allison answered telephone calls placed to numbers associated with them. They did not respond to email messages from The Associated Press.

MORE

 

[EvilCat Breath]

Water and power were stolen from neighbors who would shut the utilities off.

They were squatters. They had an illegal drug party. Very sorry about those who died but it was their choice.

 

[waltky]

Deputy's son killed in 'Ghost Ship' warehouse fire...

Son of Calif. Deputy Dies in Warehouse Fire
December 5, 2016 - Alameda County Sheriff's Sgt. Ray Kelly confirmed that among of the fatalities in a deadly Oakland warehouse fire was the son of a deputy.

The names of the victims of Oakland's deadly warehouse fire began to surface Sunday, as family and friends learned of the losses. The city of Oakland, citing information from the Alameda County coroner's office, released the names of seven adults who were among at least 33 dead in Friday's late-night blaze in a converted warehouse nicknamed Ghost Ship. Other names have not been released because authorities still need to make positive identifications, in some cases using fingerprints or DNA. The seven victims are:

--Donna Kellogg, 32, of Oakland.

--Brandon "Chase" Wittenauer, 32, of Hayward

--Travis Hough, 35, of Oakland

--Cash Askew, 22, of Oakland

--David Cline, 24, of Oakland

--Nick Gomez-Hall, 25, of Coronado (San Diego County)

--Sara Hoda, 30, of Walnut Creek

Firefighters survey a fatal fire where at least nine people died in a warehouse party on 31st Avenue in Oakland, Calif. on Dec. 3.​

An eighth victim whose family has been notified is a 17-year-old, authorities said. They withheld his name, but he was identified by San Francisco school officials as Draven McGill, a junior in the vocal department at Ruth Asawa School of the Arts. In a letter to parents, school Principal Barnaby Payne said, "This is an incredibly unsettling and sad event -- not only for the Asawa SOTA community, but especially for Draven's family. I am in contact with them, and will keep you informed of how we can provide support to them." "We must rise to this occasion," Payne wrote, "and rally around each other with love, compassion and support."

Among the confirmed fatalities was the son of a deputy for the Alameda County sheriff's office -- the agency that is in charge of examining bodies recovered from the tragic scene. Sheriff's Sgt. Ray Kelly, an office spokesman, revealed the death at a news conference, but did not specify which of the victims was the deputy's son. Families and friends of all of the victims were in mourning, with some talking about their loss in interviews and on social media. According to those who knew her, Donna Kellogg was a "free-spirited" woman going to culinary school while working at a local coffee shop.

MORE

See also:

Death toll rises to 36 from California warehouse inferno as questions linger
Wed, Dec 07, 2016 - The death toll from a blaze that engulfed a converted warehouse during a dance party in Oakland, California, on Monday rose to 36, the greatest loss of life from a US fire in more than a decade, as searchers sifted charred ruins being treated as a crime scene.

Authorities said they were certain to find more bodies in the gutted building and were still trying to account for about 50 people reported missing by loved ones, while ruling out any drastic climb in the tally of deaths. “If you have a best friend out there, please hug your best friend,” Franchesca Dickerson, a 21-year-old hairdresser, told a candlelight vigil, as she held a collage of images of a friend who died in the blaze. “I’d give 50,000 years to hug mine,” added Dickerson, who was to have joined her childhood friend, 19-year-old Michalea Gregory, at the party, but changed plans because of work.

The cause of the fire, which erupted late on Friday in a sprawling two-story building leased to an artists’ collective, has yet to be determined. Officials have said arson was not immediately suspected. However, charges ranging from involuntary manslaughter to murder could feature in a potential criminal case, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley told a news conference. Possible safety violations were expected to be one aspect of the investigation, with city officials having said the site was already under investigation for reports of illegal construction. Investigators from the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives identified an “area of interest” on the ground floor that was still out of reach, said Sergeant Ray Kelly, a spokesman for the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office.

He described the spot as being at the rear of the warehouse, where makeshift studios and cubicles were clustered. O’Malley said fire investigators and a task force from her office were working with recovery teams inside the wreckage to preserve any potential criminal evidence as they seek signs of victims and clues to the origin of the blaze. Debris was being removed “bucket by bucket,” said Deputy Fire Chief Darren White, but a large construction crane at the scene required nearby electricity lines to be shut down for several hours, as a precaution. The nature of the fire has raised questions about possible building code violations. City officials have said the warehouse, known as the Ghost Ship, was already under scrutiny, with an inspector having visited on Nov. 17.

Death toll rises to 36 from California warehouse inferno as questions linger - Taipei Times

 

[waltky]

Refrigerator malfunction looked at as cause of fire...

Fridge probed as potential source of deadly Oakland warehouse fire
Wednesday 7th December, 2016 - A warehouse fire in California that killed 36 people does not appear to have been started intentionally and may have been caused by a refrigerator or other electrical appliance, investigators have said.

Details about a possible cause emerged as fire crews nearly completed their search for bodies in the most lethal building fire in the US in more than a decade. The death toll remained at 36 and is not expected to go higher. Tearful family members visited the scene in Oakland and exchanged hugs hours after the founder of the arts collective that used the warehouse stood near the gutted building and said he was "incredibly sorry". "Everything that I did was to make this a stronger and more beautiful community and to bring people together," Derick Ion Almena said.

He said he was at the site to put his face and his body in front of the scene, but he deflected blame for the blaze, saying he signed a lease for the building that "was to city standards, supposedly". The fire broke out during a dance party on Friday night in the cluttered warehouse. It had been converted to artists' studios and illegal living spaces, and former residents said it was a death trap of piled wood, furniture, snaking electrical cords and only two exits.

A search and rescue team is lowered into the site of the warehouse fire​

A fridge was a potential source of the fire, but it was too soon to say for sure, said Jill Snyder, special agent in charge of the San Francisco office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. She said investigators are looking at "anything electrical" on the first floor of the warehouse near the origin of the blaze. "We have no indication that this was intentionally set," she said.

Mr Almena told San Jose television station KNTV that he did not attend the event on Friday night and that he and his wife had decided to stay at a hotel because he was exhausted. City and state officials fielded years of complaints about dangerous conditions, drugs, neglected children, rubbish, thefts and squabbles at the warehouse, raising questions about why it was not shut down. The district attorney warned of possible murder charges as she determines whether there were any crimes linked to the blaze.

Crews have searched at least 90% of the building known as the Ghost Ship and fire officials started knocking down parts of the building they said were structurally unsound. Alameda County Sheriff's Deputy Tya Modeste said of the 36 victims found, 26 families have been notified. Another nine bodies have been "tentatively identified", she said. Officials are still lacking any type of identity for one individual.

Fridge probed as potential source of deadly Oakland warehouse fire - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk

 

[waltky]

Search phase concluded at Oakland warehouse fire scene...

Search completed at Oakland warehouse in fire that killed 36
Wed Dec 7, 2016 | Authorities said they have concluded their search on Wednesday of a warehouse in Oakland California, which was gutted by a fast-moving fire that killed 36 people during a dance party.

The blaze erupted on Friday in the sprawling two-story building known as the Ghost Ship, which was leased to an artists' collective. It was the deadliest blaze in the United States since 100 people perished in a 2003 nightclub fire in Rhode Island. A special agent of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Jill Snyder, told reporters the fire started on the first floor and trapped party-goers above. "There was rapid fire progression. Initial witness interviews have indicated the fire was well developed by the time the second-floor occupants realized a fire was going on on the first floor," Snyder said. Officials have proclaimed a local state of emergency, potentially allowing for state and federal funds to help cover the costs of the response to the inferno. The declaration is set to go before the Oakland City Council for ratification on Thursday.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaff on Wednesday afternoon told reporters the city was convening a fire safety task force to enhance building and event space safety as well as inspection protocols. She said a "flood of complaints and concerns" about other locations have come in to the city since Friday's deadly fire. "We will learn from this tragedy to make Oakland safer," Schaff said. The coroner's office has concluded autopsies on most of the victims, and the cause of death in all those cases was determined to be smoke inhalation, Alameda County Sheriff's Office spokesman J.D. Nelson said, adding that that is typical for a major fire. Survivors said flames spread quickly and billowing thick, black smoke blinded and choked those struggling to flee.

A firefighter watches from the roof at the scene of the fatal warehouse fire in Oakland, California.​

Investigators are still seeking to determine the cause of the blaze. Officials have found no evidence of arson. However, charges ranging from involuntary manslaughter to murder could be brought, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley told reporters on Monday. The dance party was held on the warehouse's second floor, which has partially collapsed. The 10,000-square-foot (900-square-metre) building lacked sprinklers and smoke detectors, and wooden pallets partially formed a makeshift stairway between the first and second floors, officials have said. It had just two exterior doors.

City officials released complaint and inspection logs for the warehouse, which showed three complaints had been recorded by the city's building and planning department from 2005 to 2014. Records showed an inspector visited the site on Nov. 17 to investigate a complaint about an "illegal interior building structure" but was unable to gain entry. The investigator did not return to the scene before Friday's deadly blaze.

Search completed at Oakland warehouse in fire that killed 36