Coonologist
2016-12-07 05:59:23 UTC
Officials in Oakland asked for a declaration of emergency
Tuesday, clearing the way for the city to receive federal and
state funding to cover the massive response to a warehouse fire
that left 36 people dead.
Oakland Fire Department Chief Teresa Deloach Reed said the local
state of emergency declaration, which will be taken up for
ratification Thursday by the City Council, will also allow
businesses affected by fire to obtain reimbursement for lost
revenue.
Addressing reporters on Tuesday evening, Deloach Reed praised
fire crews and law enforcement, who have worked around the clock
since Friday nights fire was first reported.
This has been a heavy labor operation as well as a heavy mental
operation, said Deloach Reed, as Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf
nodded in the background.
Of the 36 people whose bodies have been recovered from the
warehouse, all but one person has been identified, according to
Alameda County sheriffs Sgt. J.D. Nelson. The families of 30
victims have been notified.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Alexandria Corneiro, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told The Times that a
refrigerator and other electrical items inside the so-called
Ghost Ship warehouse were being examined as potential ignition
sources.
ATF engineers were still inspecting the wreckage from the blaze
and trying to determine the source of the fire, Corneiro said.
There is no determination of origin or cause," Deloach Reed
said.
Meanwhile, the building manager offered an apology for the blaze
but said he could not say whether he should be held accountable.
Can I just say Im sorry, a distraught Derick Almena told the
Today show in front of the fire-gutted building early Tuesday.
The only reason Im here is to put my face and body in front.
Asked if he should be held accountable for the fire that erupted
at an electronic music event late Friday, Almena responded,
What am I gonna say to that? Am I gonna be held accountable? I
can barely stand here right now.
Alameda County sheriffs Sgt. Ray Kelly told KTVU-TV that some
victims, realizing that they were facing death, texted family
members to tell them they loved them and to say goodbye.
Kelly said rescue crews found some of the victims protecting
each other, holding each other, the Associated Press reported.
Authorities have promised a thorough search.
We are going to continue the investigation, Oakland police
Officer Johnna Watson said. We are going to continue the
process until absolutely every piece of debris is removed from
this building, every area has been searched, so families and our
community know there is nothing left at this location.
A second area in the warehouse had to be stabilized before
firefighters could dig through the debris.
As the search for bodies progressed, pressure was mounting on
city officials to explain how they dealt with numerous
complaints concerning conditions in the warehouse.
Schaaf, the citys mayor, released more details Tuesday about
complaints the city had received over the years about the
warehouse.
She said three complaints had been filed about safety conditions
in the warehouse itself, two in 2014 and one in 2015.
Additionally the city received 18 complaints about a vacant lot
adjoining the warehouse between 2008 and 2016.
Officials have previously said they had an open safety
investigation in process at the time of the fire.
Neighbors said they had complained about piles of trash and
illegal construction at the warehouse. They said a steady stream
of young artists came and went, giving every indication that the
building was their home, yet the propertys owner had only a
permit for a warehouse, not a residence. Officials had opened an
investigation into possible code violations, and an inspector
had visited the warehouse but never went inside.
The administration has to tell us, well, what happened to the
code inspector. Why did he just knock on the door and not
pursue? said City Councilman Noel Gallo, whose district
includes the Fruitvale neighborhood where the warehouse was
located. This thing has been going on for 2 1/2 years.
The city of Oakland has yet to release a full accounting of all
city building or fire code inspections and investigations of the
warehouse, but city records available online show at least five
complaints had been investigated since June 2014.
The warehouse was a 10,000-square-foot tinderbox with stacks of
discarded furniture piled high, a rickety staircase made partly
of wooden pallets, and a half-dozen RVs. Officials said they
have found no evidence of sprinklers or fire alarms inside the
structure, known as the Ghost Ship. And, according to the man
who oversaw the building, it was also outfitted with his
homemade electrical repairs, for which he did not obtain permits.
Almena told NBC News on Monday that he made those repairs
because the landlord refused.
Chor N. Ng, the warehouse owner, could not be reached for
comment. Her daughter, Eva Ng, has previously said the family
was unaware people were living there.
Zac Unger, vice president of the local firefighters union, said
the fire marshals inspection unit has been understaffed for
years.
Were way short, especially in an aging city with a huge amount
of building going on, he said.
Unger said a more aggressive fire marshals office would scour
the city looking for buildings that had avoided scrutiny in the
past, or had other city code violations and might be hazardous.
Such tactics could have possibly prevented the tragedy at the
warehouse, he said.
Had a fire inspector walked into that building and seen the
conditions in there, they would have shut the place down, he
said.
Alameda County Dist. Atty. Nancy OMalley said her office is
investigating the fire, which torched the building during an
unpermitted concert. The probe could result in criminal charges,
including murder or manslaughter, she said.
We owe it to the community and those who perished to be
methodical, to be thorough and take the time to look at every
potential piece of evidence, OMalley said. Well leave no
stone unturned. Already people from the community have been
reaching out to us about the individuals involved and the scene
itself.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-oakland-fire-recovered-
20161205-story.html
Tuesday, clearing the way for the city to receive federal and
state funding to cover the massive response to a warehouse fire
that left 36 people dead.
Oakland Fire Department Chief Teresa Deloach Reed said the local
state of emergency declaration, which will be taken up for
ratification Thursday by the City Council, will also allow
businesses affected by fire to obtain reimbursement for lost
revenue.
Addressing reporters on Tuesday evening, Deloach Reed praised
fire crews and law enforcement, who have worked around the clock
since Friday nights fire was first reported.
This has been a heavy labor operation as well as a heavy mental
operation, said Deloach Reed, as Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf
nodded in the background.
Of the 36 people whose bodies have been recovered from the
warehouse, all but one person has been identified, according to
Alameda County sheriffs Sgt. J.D. Nelson. The families of 30
victims have been notified.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Alexandria Corneiro, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told The Times that a
refrigerator and other electrical items inside the so-called
Ghost Ship warehouse were being examined as potential ignition
sources.
ATF engineers were still inspecting the wreckage from the blaze
and trying to determine the source of the fire, Corneiro said.
There is no determination of origin or cause," Deloach Reed
said.
Meanwhile, the building manager offered an apology for the blaze
but said he could not say whether he should be held accountable.
Can I just say Im sorry, a distraught Derick Almena told the
Today show in front of the fire-gutted building early Tuesday.
The only reason Im here is to put my face and body in front.
Asked if he should be held accountable for the fire that erupted
at an electronic music event late Friday, Almena responded,
What am I gonna say to that? Am I gonna be held accountable? I
can barely stand here right now.
Alameda County sheriffs Sgt. Ray Kelly told KTVU-TV that some
victims, realizing that they were facing death, texted family
members to tell them they loved them and to say goodbye.
Kelly said rescue crews found some of the victims protecting
each other, holding each other, the Associated Press reported.
Authorities have promised a thorough search.
We are going to continue the investigation, Oakland police
Officer Johnna Watson said. We are going to continue the
process until absolutely every piece of debris is removed from
this building, every area has been searched, so families and our
community know there is nothing left at this location.
A second area in the warehouse had to be stabilized before
firefighters could dig through the debris.
As the search for bodies progressed, pressure was mounting on
city officials to explain how they dealt with numerous
complaints concerning conditions in the warehouse.
Schaaf, the citys mayor, released more details Tuesday about
complaints the city had received over the years about the
warehouse.
She said three complaints had been filed about safety conditions
in the warehouse itself, two in 2014 and one in 2015.
Additionally the city received 18 complaints about a vacant lot
adjoining the warehouse between 2008 and 2016.
Officials have previously said they had an open safety
investigation in process at the time of the fire.
Neighbors said they had complained about piles of trash and
illegal construction at the warehouse. They said a steady stream
of young artists came and went, giving every indication that the
building was their home, yet the propertys owner had only a
permit for a warehouse, not a residence. Officials had opened an
investigation into possible code violations, and an inspector
had visited the warehouse but never went inside.
The administration has to tell us, well, what happened to the
code inspector. Why did he just knock on the door and not
pursue? said City Councilman Noel Gallo, whose district
includes the Fruitvale neighborhood where the warehouse was
located. This thing has been going on for 2 1/2 years.
The city of Oakland has yet to release a full accounting of all
city building or fire code inspections and investigations of the
warehouse, but city records available online show at least five
complaints had been investigated since June 2014.
The warehouse was a 10,000-square-foot tinderbox with stacks of
discarded furniture piled high, a rickety staircase made partly
of wooden pallets, and a half-dozen RVs. Officials said they
have found no evidence of sprinklers or fire alarms inside the
structure, known as the Ghost Ship. And, according to the man
who oversaw the building, it was also outfitted with his
homemade electrical repairs, for which he did not obtain permits.
Almena told NBC News on Monday that he made those repairs
because the landlord refused.
Chor N. Ng, the warehouse owner, could not be reached for
comment. Her daughter, Eva Ng, has previously said the family
was unaware people were living there.
Zac Unger, vice president of the local firefighters union, said
the fire marshals inspection unit has been understaffed for
years.
Were way short, especially in an aging city with a huge amount
of building going on, he said.
Unger said a more aggressive fire marshals office would scour
the city looking for buildings that had avoided scrutiny in the
past, or had other city code violations and might be hazardous.
Such tactics could have possibly prevented the tragedy at the
warehouse, he said.
Had a fire inspector walked into that building and seen the
conditions in there, they would have shut the place down, he
said.
Alameda County Dist. Atty. Nancy OMalley said her office is
investigating the fire, which torched the building during an
unpermitted concert. The probe could result in criminal charges,
including murder or manslaughter, she said.
We owe it to the community and those who perished to be
methodical, to be thorough and take the time to look at every
potential piece of evidence, OMalley said. Well leave no
stone unturned. Already people from the community have been
reaching out to us about the individuals involved and the scene
itself.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-oakland-fire-recovered-
20161205-story.html