http://www.ktvu.com/news/221282720-story

Quote: At least 9 people are confirmed dead and 25 others are unaccounted for in a three-alarm fire at a warehouse in Oakland where people were having a party.

Alameda County Sheriffs Office Sergeant J.D. Nelson says the building is not safe enough to enter. He also says the coroner's office is preparing for 40 or more bodies. No bodies have been removed from the building. Nelson says this is the largest mass casualty they have prepared for since the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

Oakland Fire Chief Teresa Deloach Reed says the cause is unknown and a task force will be assisting with the investigation. Reed also says the building was densely packed. The second floor likely had a makeshift stairwell made out of pallets.

The majority of victims were on the second floor.

The building likely did not have sprinklers, fire detectors.

Quote: Anywhere from 50-100 people were in the small building where a fire broke out at what some are calling a "rave".

The roof of the building collapsed down to the second floor.

Quote:The fire was first reported Friday night at 11:30 p.m., on 31st Avenue and International Boulevard.

The building houses a group of artists and their studios, according to police.

https://www.statter911.com/2016/12/03/ou...ooks-like/

Quote:We don’t know what caused this fire yet, but there’s a lot in these pictures that tell you why and how the fire spread and why people couldn’t get out. You don’t need to be a fire protection engineer to understand this.

Add to all of this the report that there were no sprinklers in this building, no smoke alarms sounding when firefighters arrived and a stairway to the second floor that was made of pallets.

How many of these fire traps are in your community?

How do we get rid of them?

How come we never learn this lesson?

Link to the pictures mentioned in the article above
http://www.oaklandghostship.com/


As a retired fire service professional I can tell you that after viewing those pictures there is absolutely no way that if we arrived on scene with smoke or fire showing that I would have committed my crew to make entry on that building due to the fire load both inside and outside the building. The collection of junk outside would have made both ingress and egress extremely difficult and the junk inside would have made it almost impossible to do proper searches or position hoselines in the proper place. I simply cannot believe that the fire authorities in Oakland allowed them to hold multiple concerts, etc in this place because just from the pictures I can see countless violations of nationally accepted fire codes. The place was a death trap and the fire last night proved that.

But I thought California had all of those regulations to stop these accidents.

(12-03-2016 04:33 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  http://www.ktvu.com/news/221282720-story

Quote: At least 9 people are confirmed dead and 25 others are unaccounted for in a three-alarm fire at a warehouse in Oakland where people were having a party.

Alameda County Sheriffs Office Sergeant J.D. Nelson says the building is not safe enough to enter. He also says the coroner's office is preparing for 40 or more bodies. No bodies have been removed from the building. Nelson says this is the largest mass casualty they have prepared for since the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

Oakland Fire Chief Teresa Deloach Reed says the cause is unknown and a task force will be assisting with the investigation. Reed also says the building was densely packed. The second floor likely had a makeshift stairwell made out of pallets.

The majority of victims were on the second floor.

The building likely did not have sprinklers, fire detectors.

Quote: Anywhere from 50-100 people were in the small building where a fire broke out at what some are calling a "rave".

The roof of the building collapsed down to the second floor.

Quote:The fire was first reported Friday night at 11:30 p.m., on 31st Avenue and International Boulevard.

The building houses a group of artists and their studios, according to police.

https://www.statter911.com/2016/12/03/ou...ooks-like/

Quote:We don’t know what caused this fire yet, but there’s a lot in these pictures that tell you why and how the fire spread and why people couldn’t get out. You don’t need to be a fire protection engineer to understand this.

Add to all of this the report that there were no sprinklers in this building, no smoke alarms sounding when firefighters arrived and a stairway to the second floor that was made of pallets.

How many of these fire traps are in your community?

How do we get rid of them?

How come we never learn this lesson?

Link to the pictures mentioned in the article above
http://www.oaklandghostship.com/


As a retired fire service professional I can tell you that after viewing those pictures there is absolutely no way that if we arrived on scene with smoke or fire showing that I would have committed my crew to make entry on that building due to the fire load both inside and outside the building. The collection of junk outside would have made both ingress and egress extremely difficult and the junk inside would have made it almost impossible to do proper searches or position hoselines in the proper place. I simply cannot believe that the fire authorities in Oakland allowed them to hold multiple concerts, etc in this place because just from the pictures I can see countless violations of nationally accepted fire codes. The place was a death trap and the fire last night proved that.

I don't really have a lot of phobias or fears, but getting caught in a situation like that is one of them. What an awful way to go.








Oh, and snakes. I ******* hate snakes.

(12-03-2016 05:54 PM)ArmyBlazer Wrote:  I don't really have a lot of phobias or fears, but getting caught in a situation like that is one of them. What an awful way to go.

All I can hope is that the smoke and gases got them before the fire.

Quote:Oh, and snakes. I ******* hate snakes.

Snakes don't bother me. The only ones I kill are the copperheads that come up in the yard from the creek bottom behind the house. For the longest time we ha a huge king snake that lived in out back yard and as long as he was around we didn't see any copperheads. Pretty sure my next door neighbor killed the king snake and I had to kill three copperheads this year.

(12-03-2016 06:22 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  

(12-03-2016 05:54 PM)ArmyBlazer Wrote:  I don't really have a lot of phobias or fears, but getting caught in a situation like that is one of them. What an awful way to go.

All I can hope is that the smoke and gases got them before the fire.

Quote:Oh, and snakes. I ******* hate snakes.

Snakes don't bother me. The only ones I kill are the copperheads that come up in the yard from the creek bottom behind the house. For the longest time we ha a huge king snake that lived in out back yard and as long as he was around we didn't see any copperheads. Pretty sure my next door neighbor killed the king snake and I had to kill three copperheads this year.

I'm the type that kills them regardless. Or I scream like a little girl and run away. It's really a toss up as to which will happen.

(12-03-2016 05:54 PM)ArmyBlazer Wrote:  I don't really have a lot of phobias or fears, but getting caught in a situation like that is one of them. What an awful way to go.

Agree. That moment in the panic when you realize this is it. Not being able to breathe or see from toxic smoke or burning up from flames...I just can't imagine.

(12-03-2016 06:40 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  

(12-03-2016 05:54 PM)ArmyBlazer Wrote:  I don't really have a lot of phobias or fears, but getting caught in a situation like that is one of them. What an awful way to go.

Agree. That moment in the panic when you realize this is it. Not being able to breathe or see from toxic smoke or burning up from flames...I just can't imagine.

Yea, it's like Kaplony said, though, hopefully the smoke got to them before the flames. At least they would have already been unconscious.

(12-03-2016 06:22 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  

(12-03-2016 05:54 PM)ArmyBlazer Wrote:  I don't really have a lot of phobias or fears, but getting caught in a situation like that is one of them. What an awful way to go.

All I can hope is that the smoke and gases got them before the fire.

Quote:Oh, and snakes. I ******* hate snakes.

Snakes don't bother me. The only ones I kill are the copperheads that come up in the yard from the creek bottom behind the house. For the longest time we ha a huge king snake that lived in out back yard and as long as he was around we didn't see any copperheads. Pretty sure my next door neighbor killed the king snake and I had to kill three copperheads this year.

The folks house has a crawlspace. Termite inspector came out one year with a 7 foot long rat snake skin. It was then we realized we hadn't seen any chipmunks or moles in years. And that squirrels now ran along the fence tops instead of through the bushes. Good. I hate squirrels. They'll destroy anything outside you let them get a hold of when their populations get out of control. Metal utility shed roofs. Plastic job buckets. There isn't much they won't gnaw on and destroy.

I hear the WH has snakes. The American people have just hired a great exterminator. He said they'd be out by January 20th.

(12-03-2016 07:05 PM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  The folks house has a crawlspace. Termite inspector came out one year with a 7 foot long rat snake skin. It was then we realized we hadn't seen any chipmunks or moles in years. And that squirrels now ran along the fence tops instead of through the bushes. Good. I hate squirrels. They'll destroy anything outside you let them get a hold of when their populations get out of control. Metal utility shed roofs. Plastic job buckets. There isn't much they won't gnaw on and destroy.

Been at war with squirrels for years. I've trapped over 50 using one of these and sunflower seeds as the bait:



They dig up our mulch, eat the birdseed out of feeders, and raid our garden tomatoes. I live in an older established subdivision with lots of big trees especially oaks. It's like Squirrel Manhattan around here. I do let the critters go - drive out in the boonies a few miles and let them free.

Liberals doing liberal stuff.

(12-03-2016 04:33 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  http://www.ktvu.com/news/221282720-story

Quote: At least 9 people are confirmed dead and 25 others are unaccounted for in a three-alarm fire at a warehouse in Oakland where people were having a party.

Alameda County Sheriffs Office Sergeant J.D. Nelson says the building is not safe enough to enter. He also says the coroner's office is preparing for 40 or more bodies. No bodies have been removed from the building. Nelson says this is the largest mass casualty they have prepared for since the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

Oakland Fire Chief Teresa Deloach Reed says the cause is unknown and a task force will be assisting with the investigation. Reed also says the building was densely packed. The second floor likely had a makeshift stairwell made out of pallets.

The majority of victims were on the second floor.

The building likely did not have sprinklers, fire detectors.

Quote: Anywhere from 50-100 people were in the small building where a fire broke out at what some are calling a "rave".

The roof of the building collapsed down to the second floor.

Quote:The fire was first reported Friday night at 11:30 p.m., on 31st Avenue and International Boulevard.

The building houses a group of artists and their studios, according to police.

https://www.statter911.com/2016/12/03/ou...ooks-like/

Quote:We don’t know what caused this fire yet, but there’s a lot in these pictures that tell you why and how the fire spread and why people couldn’t get out. You don’t need to be a fire protection engineer to understand this.

Add to all of this the report that there were no sprinklers in this building, no smoke alarms sounding when firefighters arrived and a stairway to the second floor that was made of pallets.

How many of these fire traps are in your community?

How do we get rid of them?

How come we never learn this lesson?

Link to the pictures mentioned in the article above
http://www.oaklandghostship.com/


As a retired fire service professional I can tell you that after viewing those pictures there is absolutely no way that if we arrived on scene with smoke or fire showing that I would have committed my crew to make entry on that building due to the fire load both inside and outside the building. The collection of junk outside would have made both ingress and egress extremely difficult and the junk inside would have made it almost impossible to do proper searches or position hoselines in the proper place. I simply cannot believe that the fire authorities in Oakland allowed them to hold multiple concerts, etc in this place because just from the pictures I can see countless violations of nationally accepted fire codes. The place was a death trap and the fire last night proved that.

The stairs to the 2nd floor...the only means of ingress and egress...were built of stacked pallets?

Seriously. What could go wrong?

What a predictable tragedy. Though I'll admit, the place and adornment are pretty intriguing, knowing it was an "Artists" enclave kinda place.

Anyone who knows the Outer banks of NC, it reminds me a bit of Port 'O call for decor, just don't eat there...

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/12/04/dea...ferno.html

Quote:First responders had recovered 30 bodies from the ruins of a Friday inferno at a converted Oakland warehouse known as the “Ghost Ship,” officials said Sunday, raising the death toll substantially from the initial report of nine deceased.

Fire and police leaders of the recovery effort became emotional as they described finding the bodies massed in bunches while somber rescue workers removed rubble “bucket by bucket.”

“It was quiet. It was heartbreaking,” Oakland Fire Battalion Chief Melinda Drayton said during a news conference.

Just 20 percent of the warehouse had been searched on Sunday morning, following 12 hours of night operations, Drayton said. Authorities expected to be at the site of the blaze for days and said the death toll was likely to rise.

Firefighters were forced to breach a wall of the warehouse to gain access on Saturday. Within just feet of the breach, rescue workers found the first body. At the center of the building, near a group of collapsed timber rafters, 10 people were found just feet from each other.

Quote:The warehouse was an artist workspace and illegal home for a rotating cast of a dozen or more residents, those who lived there or visited often said. Former residents also said it was also a death trap with few exits, a rickety makeshift staircase, piles of driftwood and a labyrinth of electrical cords. The ground floor had five recreational vehicles and other nooks used as living spaces that were rented out to tenants, while the upstairs had space for concerts like the deadly party that drew up to 100 people Friday night.

With few lights, the place could be pitch black. One staircase led to a boarded up door. The water and electricity were stolen from neighbors and often didn't work.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...-fire.html

Quote:A man who allegedly organized the illegal artist commune where up to 33 people died in a fire late Friday night is being heavily criticized for a Facebook post about his own material losses following the blaze.

Derick Ion Almena has been identified as the operator of the Ghost Ship venue and Satya Yuga Art Collective in Oakland where the fire broke out.

Shortly after the blaze erupted he wrote: 'Confirmed. Everything I worked so hard for is gone. Blessed that my children and Micah were at a hotel safe and sound... it's as if I have awoken from a dream filled with opulence and hope.... to be standing now in poverty of self worth.'

Quote:City officials also revealed that the warehouse had no permits that allowed for a party to be held or for residential occupation.

Those who were able to make it out to safety told of how they struggled to get through the cluttered warehouse while fire crews noted the were impeded by a massive amount of clutter, including furniture and art, as they tried to tackle the fire.

Quote:Officials revealed on Saturday that the city of Oakland started investigating nearly three weeks ago whether people were illegally living in the warehouse destroyed by the fire.

'Permits would be needed for people to live in the buildings and those permits have not been issued,' Darin Ranelletti, of the City of Oakland Planning Department said.

He said no permits were issued for a party on Friday night.

Quote:Oakland City Councilman Noel Gallo, who represents the Fruitvale district and lives a block from the burned-out warehouse, said the building had been a problem for several years and many residents had complained.

Those included complaints about trash piling up outside the property and concerns the garbage posed a danger, according to the city's Planning and Building Department website.

'We were reporting the issues when it came to the illegal dumping... creating the rooms, there's no permits,' he said.

'Whether it's law enforcement or the fire enforcement, we need to be more aggressive' about ensuring property owners are held accountable, he said.

According to The East Bay Times, records show on November 13 a neighbor filed a complaint over a 'a ton of garbage piling up on the property' at 1305 31st Ave.

'Also, a lot of items are left on the sidewalk near the property,' the complaint said.

'Some of trash was hazardous. This property is a storage but the owner turned it to become trash recycle site.

'The yard became a trash collection site and the main building was remodel for residential. The change causes our neighborhood looks very bad and creates health issue.'

The Los Angeles Times reported that the building had at least three code violations this year.

Property records list the owner as Chor N. Ng and that he purchased the warehouse in 1997. He also owns other properties in the city.

City officials opened an investigation on November 13 and an investigator went to the premises on November 17, but could not gain access to the inside of the building.

Officials have not confirmed whether people were living in the building, which had first floor spaces divided by home-made partitions and a staircase to a second level fashioned with wooden pallets.

Quote:During an afternoon press conference, city officials said an investigation was underway into if the interior of the structure was illegal.

Deloach-Reed said that fire crews found a 'makeshift stairwell' between the first and second floor and that most people who died were on the second floor of the building that only had two exits.

She said that when fire crews first entered the building to fight the blaze, they were impeded by a massive amount of clutter that included furniture, art and several mannequins.

'It filled end to end with furniture, whatnot, collections,' Deloach-Reed said. 'It was like a maze almost.'

Quote:Earlier in the day, some Facebook users commenting on a post about those who have been reported missing by family or friends shared their experiences at The Oakland Ghost Ship and how it apparently was severely disorganized by the clutter.

George Goatmandan Weber said on Facebook: 'This was the nightmare I always had about hazmat. I spent alotta (sic) time planning escape routes from that sh******.'

Another user, Kristen Parks, replied back to him about how 'narrow' walkways were inside the building.

'yes (sic) true no windows too. I remember this (sic) place being super scary escape wise with wood everywhere and narrow walkways'.

Michael Rosen described vivid details to The Daily Beast about the moments before the fire consumed the building, as one of his friends said, 'That place was a tinderbox.'

That guy is going to get sued big time.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using CSNbbs mobile app

(12-05-2016 07:07 AM)fsquid Wrote:  That guy is going to get sued big time.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using CSNbbs mobile app

oh yeah, he's ****** into the ground financially.

I'm assuming he could be facing criminal charges as well that could land him in prison for a long time. Maybe Kaplony can shed some light on that.

(12-05-2016 11:47 AM)Niner National Wrote:  

(12-05-2016 07:07 AM)fsquid Wrote:  That guy is going to get sued big time.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using CSNbbs mobile app

oh yeah, he's ****** into the ground financially.

I'm assuming he could be facing criminal charges as well that could land him in prison for a long time. Maybe Kaplony can shed some light on that.

It's possible he could face manslaughter charges on every single death if they deem he was the one responsible for the condition of the building. If deemed the responsible party it's possible he could face criminal charges for the code violations.

The death toll now at 36.

Investigators believe they have found the area of fire origin.

(12-05-2016 06:03 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  

(12-05-2016 11:47 AM)Niner National Wrote:  

(12-05-2016 07:07 AM)fsquid Wrote:  That guy is going to get sued big time.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using CSNbbs mobile app

oh yeah, he's ****** into the ground financially.

I'm assuming he could be facing criminal charges as well that could land him in prison for a long time. Maybe Kaplony can shed some light on that.

It's possible he could face manslaughter charges on every single death if they deem he was the one responsible for the condition of the building. If deemed the responsible party it's possible he could face criminal charges for the code violations.

The death toll now at 36.

Investigators believe they have found the area of fire origin.

hope it wasn't one of those hipsters walking around swinging those fire torches.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/06/05/gho...ed-36.html

Quote:Two men behind an Oakland warehouse concert that ended in tragedy when 36 partygoers were killed in a fire are set to be charged with involuntary manslaughter, a source close to the investigation told The Associated Press Monday.

The source – who was not authorized to publicly discuss the charges and spoke on condition of anonymity -- said Derick Almena and Max Harris will each be charged with 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter.

Quote:Authorities said Almena leased the warehouse and illegally sublet space for artists to live and work, The Associated Press reported. He also held for-profit concerts at the warehouse, which was not licensed for entertainment.

Harris lived at the Ghost Ship and is accused of helping plan the December concert where the fire broke out.

Law enforcement sources confirmed Monday to KTVU Derick Almena, the "master tenant" of the artist collective was arrested in Lake County.