Feds: Blaze trapped warehouse victims
OAKLAND, Calif. — The fire that killed 36 people during a dance party at an Oakland warehouse grew rapidly and was raging by the time people on the second floor of the building detected it, trapping them upstairs, investigators said.
Federal investigators provided t he details Wednesday. With the death toll at 36, officials earlier announced that recovery efforts at the site have ended.
Jill Snyder, special agent in charge of the San Francisco office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said during a news conference that it appears the fire started on the first floor “and the occupants were consumed by smoke before they could get out of the building.”
She said smoke traveled up two stairwells Friday night, trapping the occupants on the second floor.
Although the search for bodies has ended, investigators were still examining the site for further clues on what sparked the fire.
Investigators are looking at “every possible source of ignition,” including a refrigerator, Snyder said, adding that arson “hasn’t definitively been ruled out,” but investigators have yet to uncover evidence that the fire was set on purpose.
It could take several weeks until authorities determine the cause of the blaze.
Documents released by the city Planning and Building Department reveal at least three prior complaints against the warehouse.
Those complaints include a report of illegal construction of a house or structure in October 2014; a report of construction materials, including pallets, blocking the sidewalk in September 2014; and a report that the lot adjacent to the warehouse was being used for parking and as a homeless encampment in November 2005.
Officials say there are no open complaints against the warehouse. Flowers at a makeshift memorial site Wednesday include a note for the victims of last week’s fire that killed 36 people.