California warehouse a death trap
Dozens dead or missing after late-night blaze
Oakland, Calif. — Firefighters struggled to get to bodies in the rubble Saturday after a fire tore through a converted Oakland warehouse during a late-night electronic music party, killing at least nine people and making the charred structure unsafe for emergency crews to enter. Officials said they feared the death toll could rise as high as 40.
Officials described the scene inside the warehouse, which had been illegally converted into artist studios, as a death trap that made it impossible for many party-goers to escape the Friday night fire. And a day later, the maze of debris and devastation was complicating efforts to extract the bodies.
“It was just a labyrinth of little areas. We knew people were in there, and we were trying to get them out. But it was just a labyrinth,” Oakland deputy fire chief Mark Hoffmann told reporters Saturday afternoon.
He said firefighters had to stop
their search and rescue operation Saturday afternoon for safety reasons and shore up the structure, but they expected to resume later in the day. The building’s roof had collapsed into the second floor, which in places fell to the bottom floor.
Oakland officials said they had opened an investigation just last month into the warehouse after numerous complaints filed by neighbors who said trash was piling up outside the property and people were illegally living in the building, which was zoned as a warehouse.
Darin Ranelletti, of the Oakland Planning Department, said the city opened an investigation Nov. 13 and an investigator went to the premises on Nov. 17 but could not get inside the building. The city has not confirmed people were living inside.
One survivor, however, said 18 artists lived inside the warehouse.
Bob Mule said he was one of the artists living in the collective space. He told KGO-TV that he and another person smelled smoke and spotted the fire in a back corner and started yelling.
The fire “went up really, really, really quickly,” he said.
Mule said he tried to help someone who had an injured ankle but couldn’t. “There was a lot of stuff in the way, the flames were too much,” Mule said, trailing off. “I hope, I hope he’s OK.”
Another survivor was Madison musician Joel Shanahan, who was scheduled to perform at the event.
“Joel is safe but like many people he is heartbroken and has several friends among the missing,” a message on his Golden Donna Facebook page said Saturday. “Sending love to everyone affected by this horrific event.”
The warehouse was known as the “Oakland Ghost Ship.” Its website showed pictures of a bohemian, loft-like interior made of wood and cluttered with rugs, old sofas and a garage-sale like collection of pianos, paintings, turntables, statues and other items.
It’s unclear what sparked the fire. But officials said the clutter served as a tinderbox and there were no sprinklers inside.
“Something as simple as a cigarette could have started this,” Alameda County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ray Kelly said.
None of the nine dead has been identified.
About 50 to 100 people were believed to have been at the party when the fire started around 11:30 p.m. Friday, officials said.
Oakland Fire Chief Teresa Deloach Reed said at least 25 people were unaccounted for.