Community Chat

[Noel7]

I was up before dawn this morning and watching the local news. 

Professionals are working 'round the clock, 24 hours.  It's lit up all around with a special area for reporters.  Grief counselors are on the scene for loved ones who come to wait. 

Construction is going on to shore up damaged walls so firefighters and other experts can go in to check the area.  It's complicated because the roof fell in and pancaked the makeshift second story onto the first story.

Tents have been set up for firefighters to refresh with coffee and something to eat.  There are also tents as a makeshift coroner's office.

[Noel7]

At this point in time, I feel safe in saying Derick Ion is the most hated person in the Bay Area:

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With up to 40 people feared dead after a fire broke out at an illegal California rave, the space's operator mourned on Facebook — for his venue.

The manager of the so-called “Ghost Ship” warehouse, Derick Ion, is now under fire for complaining about the loss of the building in a Friday night fire — which also claimed at least nine lives, and left the fate of dozens more unknown.

“Confirmed. Everything I worked so hard for is gone,” Ion wrote on Facebook Saturday morning after the Oakland inferno.

Photo and rest of story here:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/calif-warehouse-operator-mourns-business-deadly-fire-articl...

[skuggles]

I've reached a stage in my life where it's all too much to bear now.

[cherry]

That place should have been condemned . There was no heat, or running water ,and it was a firetrap

He knew it and just laughed it off

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3998304/Fury-operator-artist-enclave-34-died-fire.html

[sidsmom]

The warehouse was owned by Ms. Ng.

Derick Ion ran the collective from the warehouse. 

Have a feeling both knew is was deemed unsafe,

but at the end of the day, the owner is responsible, yes?

The warehouse is owned by Chor N. Ng, said her daughter, Eva Ng, 36. She said the warehouse was leased as studio space for an art collective and not used as a dwelling.

"Nobody lived there," she told The Times, adding: "It was an art collective."

She said she had asked her leaseholders about the issue and been reassured nobody lived in the building. "They confirmed multiple times. They said sometimes some people worked through the night but that is all," she said.

[cherry]

Legally perhaps yes, but morally, they both were in my book

[Noel7]

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@skuggles wrote:

I've reached a stage in my life where it's all too much to bear now.

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Hi @skuggles

I sure understand how you feel.  This is on home ground for some of us.  I worked not far from the scene of the fire, and those young people attended the party from neighboring areas including San Francisco.  Three were students at UC Berkeley.

This is just so sad.

[Noel7]

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@sidsmom wrote:

The warehouse was owned by Ms. Ng.

Derick Ion ran the collective from the warehouse. 

Have a feeling both knew is was deemed unsafe,

but at the end of the day, the owner is responsible, yes?

The warehouse is owned by Chor N. Ng, said her daughter, Eva Ng, 36. She said the warehouse was leased as studio space for an art collective and not used as a dwelling.

"Nobody lived there," she told The Times, adding: "It was an art collective."

She said she had asked her leaseholders about the issue and been reassured nobody lived in the building. "They confirmed multiple times. They said sometimes some people worked through the night but that is all," she said.

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Hi @sidsmom

You're right, but apparently Ion also has some responsibility, they haven't said how that worked but both Ion and Ng are said to be looking forward to multiple lawsuits.

There were no sprinklers in the warehouse, which was one of the several violations.  Some who had been in the artist's colony were interviewed this morning and admitted they had stayed overnight there... basically living there is what it sounded like.

I don't think there were homeless there but there sure was a mess of garbage and junk in front.

[cherry]

According the the daily mail, they lived there once with their kids, who were taken awy from them, because of the conditions

[Noel7]

Local reporters contributed to the latest ABC report which contains an informative video on the status.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/24-bodies-recovered-oakland-warehouse-fire-search-20/story?id=43964350

"Preliminary indications suggest the blaze was not caused by arson, but rather an electrical fire. The power went out inside the building when the fire began and the flames blocked the building's only exit, making it difficult for people inside to escape, an official briefed on the ongoing investigation told ABC News.

According to The Associated Press, Oakland officials said they had opened an investigation into the warehouse last month, after repeated complaints from neighbors who said trash was piling up and people were illegally living in the building, which was zoned as a warehouse."