At least 9 dead in Oakland, Calif., fire
OAKLAND, Calif. — In what may be the deadliest structure fire in Oakland’s history, at least nine people died in a blaze that broke out late Friday at an electronic music party at a Fruitvale district live-work space, and firefighters as of late Saturday afternoon had started combing through the burned building.
The nine bodies were the most easily accessible ones, those that firefighters had initially identified, said Alameda County Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Ray Kelly. He said later that there are still at least two dozen people not yet accounted for.
The fire tore through the two-story building at about 11:30 p.m. Friday during an event featuring musician Golden Donna’s 100 percent Silk West Coast tour. The building, which was zoned as a warehouse, had been the subject of a number of complaints and may have been illegally modified in ways that made it difficult for partygoers to escape.
Most of the nine dead were found on the second floor, fire Chief Teresa Deloach Reed said Saturday.
“We still have to do a more thorough search of the building and we don’t know the potential number of other victims,” DeloachReed said. No firefighters were reported injured while battling the blaze.
Kelly said emergency responders were prepared Saturday night for a “mass casualty event” that could involve “several dozen fatalities,” but he later reported that “several dozen” people who were initially missing have since been located and are safe. Still, Kelly said he expects the recovery of bodies to take as long as 48 hours.
The plan is to “disassemble the building piece by piece and place the debris into bins, Kelly said. Heavy equipment could be seen and heard working on the building by 6 p.m. Saturday.
The blaze is already being called one of the deadliest single-structure fires in Oakland’s history, if not the deadliest.
“This is a true loss for the city, for the firefighters who responded and the people who lost family and friends,” Deloach Reed said. “It’s just tragic, a real tragedy.”
Friends and family of party-goers were on social media early Saturday looking for confirmation their loved ones are safe. Some are posting and getting information from the party’s Facebook event page.
Joel Shanahan, the electronic musician who performs as Golden Donna, confirmed on Facebook that he was safe.
“Joel is safe, but like many people he is heartbroken and has several friends among the missing,” a post on his Facebook page read. “Please refrain from messaging this page or Joel’s personal channels unless you have information on the Oakland fire victims. Sending love to everyone affected by this horrific event.”
Laura Hobbs of Oakland was visiting the Ghost Ship warehouse with five friends. At about 11:25, she said, she and her friends left the warehouse and bought beer at a nearby liquor store. “We were gone for about seven minutes, and when we came back, there was chaos in the streets.”
“We saw smoke coming from the window, and I thought it was something on fire in the building, not so much the building itself on fire,” said Hobbs, 24. But things got worse very quickly, she said.