GUILTY CA - Massive fire at Oakland warehouse party, 36 dead, 2 Dec 2016 #3

Hi everyone,
I needed to step away from this tragedy for awhile. I have a lot of reading to do to get up to speed. I am blessed to be able to step away, those who can't will continue to be held tenderly in the light by me.

Chicago Fire has an episode called DeathTrap season 5 episode 5 inspired by this fire.
Please use caution before watching.

I guess we can say, "So long," to the Oakland Fire Chief. She's retiring...

Please forgive if this is old news:

Oakland fire chief Teresa Deloach Reed retires

OAKLAND — A little more than three months after the deadly Ghost Ship fire and with the investigative report still pending, the city’s first African American female fire chief Teresa Deloach Reed filed retirement papers Tuesday, days after her city pension vested, the city administrator said.
. . .
Since the tragedy, Reed has brought up budget constraints as a reason for department struggles. Shortly after the fire, she acknowledged that the warehouse had never been inspected, pointing out that the building was not zoned for residential.

Her critics have complained Reed was slow to hire key fire positions. The city’s fire marshal position remained open for more than a year.

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http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/03/14/oakland-fire-chief-teresa-deloach-reed-retires-sources-say/

How many of us saw this one coming?

Fresh news:

PUBLISHED: March 17, 2017 at 9:00 pm | UPDATED: March 18, 2017 at 3:38 am

Exclusive: Oakland denies prosecutors access to Ghost Ship fire report

OAKLAND — In an escalating legal feud over the investigation into the Ghost Ship tragedy, Alameda County prosecutors have tried without success in recent weeks to pry the completed draft report of the deadly fire from the city’s hands.
. . .
“If the Oakland Fire Department has submitted a report to your office for review, a copy of the unredacted, unedited report must also be submitted to the prosecuting agency for review,” lead Ghost Ship prosecutor David Lim wrote in a Feb. 28 email to Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker. It was the final email exchange between the two sides.
. . .

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http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/03/17/exclusive-oakland-denies-prosecutors-access-to-ghost-ship-fire-report/

borndem said:

Fresh news:


http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/03/17/exclusive-oakland-denies-prosecutors-access-to-ghost-ship-fire-report/
[/COLOR]

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What a mess.

You said it, KaaBoom. I figured she just wouldn't come back from her family-illness problem, but she did return & leave again, during which time I guess she may have been using her vacation time, sick time, whatever. Then when her retirement vesting period had passed, I guess she arranged to receive that and GTH outta Dodge.She was making a salary of over 200K plus some other amount for retirement. Not bad -- but she had a big job. Oakland has nearly one-half million inhabitants, so that would be a big responsibility -- so much more than just taking calls at every fire in Oakland.

Yes, a mess...

Don't know if cya stuff but one police report indicates that a cop did tell both Ian and landlord that is was illegal for people to be living in the space

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Father-of-a-Ghost-Ship-victims-urges-lawmakers-to-11005032.php

Here they are the documents

http://www2.oaklandnet.com/oaklandfire2016/index.htm#PublicInformation

wont cut and paste doing cops like the scanner thread!

stab in hand

locked in cant get out

dangeroues weapon

car stolen

someone scared to try to get their stuff out called cops

kindnapping of 15 residents

illigal rave with drugs and alcohol -cop documented seeing a lot of cars around the plac e--cop then documents that he knows Ian and in fact the place is not allowed to be doing this (getting pis$ED!) --then adds a page and half of all the rules about how illigal this ?

box cutter something

antoher told cop flat out that owner and wife live s
upstairs in this indicdent some is a "govt agent" (tranlation not on needed meds)

- starting to get a diff pic (struggling artists using purging there creative juices - actually sounds like a **** resisdent home- just saying Ian and all his creative cravings?)

- someone running about with a gun

- another incident descbes "number of people who "reside"

funny cop lingo guy reports his freezer stolen - the cop writes it up as subject noticed his freezer was GOA cracked me up

he claimed Wendys employees were dumping theri garbage on his property !

robbery

restraining order stuff

Ion not letting another person take their stuff

assualt meth invovned

sex in cars out front


battrery serious injury

attempted rape

pistol whipping

another kidnapping

next up robbery of an inhabited builing

nest documented "inhibating there illigally" - delsuionial destroying doors meth invovned

stolen car, then armed robbery

auto nieghbor is not winning citizen of the year!

someone doused a couple of folks with lighter fluid threatening to set them afire


strong armed robbery

Can't edit other one sorry about that

Here they are the documents

http://www2.oaklandnet.com/oaklandfire2016/index.htm#PublicInformation

won't cut and paste doing cops like the scanner thread!

stab in hand

locked in can't get out

dangerous weapon

car stolen

someone scared to try to get their stuff out called cops

kidnapping of 15 residents

illegal rave with drugs and alcohol -cop documented seeing a lot of cars around the plac e--cop then documents that he knows Ian and in fact the place is not allowed to be doing this (getting pis$ED!) --then adds a page and half of all the rules about how illegal this ?

box cutter something

another told cop flat out that owner and wife lives
upstairs in this incident, some is a "govt agent" (translation not on needed meds)

- starting to get a diff pic (struggling artists using purging there creative juices - actually sounds like a **** resident home- just saying Ian and all his creative cravings?)

- someone running about with a gun

- another incident describes "number of people who "reside"

funny cop lingo guy reports his freezer stolen - the cop writes it up as subject noticed his freezer was GOA cracked me up

he claimed Wendys employees were dumping their garbage on his property !

robbery

restraining order stuff

Ion not letting another person take their stuff

assault meth involved

sex in cars out front


battery serious injury

attempted rape

pistol whipping

another kidnapping

next up robbery of an inhabited building

nest documented "inhabiting there illegally" - delusional destroying doors meth involved

stolen car, then armed robbery

auto neighbor is not winning citizen of the year!

someone doused a couple of folks with lighter fluid threatening to set them afire

narcotics strong armed robbery

Just ain't feeling a casting call, a Picasso exhibition, an evening at the symphony, or an opera

moo

wow

111 trucks

358 people

don't understand the fire stuff

After looking at the stuff blown away that there have not been more terminations or resignations!!

Wow -- this is indeed stranger than fiction -- no one could write a screenplay & imagine all this stuff... no one. SMH.

Gee willikers, Lassie.

borndem said:

Wow -- this is indeed stranger than fiction -- no one could write a screenplay & imagine all this stuff... no one. SMH.

Gee willikers, Lassie.

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Yep, Timmy's in the well alright, Lassie!

The City of Oakland hired a public relations firm, in a 6-month deal worth up to $90,000, to serve as official media consultants and spokespeople following the city’s deadly warehouse fire.

The Press Shop, a San Francisco-based public relations agency, was hired to develop “media strategies and communications” following the disaster. The NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit obtained the contract and discovered the deal entitles the city to a 3-person communications team, including one executive who is being paid $500 per hour.
...
The city became a target of heavy criticism following the fire, which erupted on Dec. 2 during an unpermitted, late-night dance party. The warehouse, known as the Ghost Ship, was never permitted as housing or event space, but it had been used for both. In the hours after the fire, the Investigative Unit obtained records that showed city building inspectors knew about the unpermitted activity and potentially dangerous living conditions well before the disaster.

Source: Oakland Hired Pricey PR Agency after Deadly Warehouse Fire, Paid Exec. $500/Hour | NBC Bay Area http://www.nbcbayarea.com/investiga...aid-Exec-500Hour-416392243.html#ixzz4bpzbxkt0

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Oy vey. How's that working for you city of Oakland? IMO it's gonna take a lot more than a pricey PR firm to get the city out of this mess. Seems like they're just compounding the problem.

MsMarple said:

Yep, Timmy's in the well alright, Lassie!



Oy vey. How's that working for you city of Oakland? IMO it's gonna take a lot more than a pricey PR firm to get the city out of this mess. Seems like they're just compounding the problem.

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Man that is so not OK People died, take responsibility - private sector you would have been fired two days after.


Instead of hiring a PR take that money and hire more fire inspectors --the focus is all off any more

Its actually repulsive, using public funds to CYA sounds illegal to me!!

CARIIS said:

Man that is so not OK People died, take responsibility - private sector you would have been fired two days after.


Instead of hiring a PR take that money and hire more fire inspectors --the focus is all off any more

Its actually repulsive, using public funds to CYA sounds illegal to me!!

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bbm

Yes, yes and yes. I've seen it happen -- three times where I worked for 30 years -- all three were way-up-there executives -- one of whom was fired by the CEO over the telephone during a weekend! Here today & gone tomorrow. With a terse e-mail to all employees in each case: "John K. Doe is no longer working at So-and-so Company." Full stop.

A PR firm - the very idea. Damm.

borndem said:

bbm

Yes, yes and yes. I've seen it happen -- three times where I worked for 30 years -- all three were way-up-there executives -- one of whom was fired by the CEO over the telephone during a weekend! Here today & gone tomorrow. With a terse e-mail to all employees in each case: "John K. Doe is no longer working at So-and-so Company." Full stop.

A PR firm - the very idea. Damm.

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I authentically believe it is illegal- it is public money,

A draft report of the fire was finally turned over to the Alameda DA's office on Saturday (March 18). A criminal investigation is underway.

http://kron4.com/2017/03/20/alameda-county-da-receives-draft-of-ghost-ship-fire-report/

However, the delay in getting the report to the DA and the fact that it was sent to the Oakland city attorney first could cause problems down the road if charges are filed:

But legal experts have pointed out, this delay in getting the report to the district attorney's office could pose problems if criminal charges are ever filed. "Why was that report given over to the city attorney? And secondly, why did the city attorney hold on to that report for at least three weeks? What was going on? What wasn't in the report? If it was going to the city attorney, be turned over simultaneously to both the D.A. and the city attorney, Retired Superior Court Judge Ladoris Cordell said.

Cordell says if anyone is criminally charged, their defense attorney's can easily raise this question in court.

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http://abc7news.com/news/no-explanation-offered-for-delay-in-ghost-ship-fire-report/1810234/

More info on this bizarre battle between the city and the Alameda county DA:

http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/03...prosecutors-access-to-ghost-ship-fire-report/

What a stinking mess. The city of Oakland is so desperate to avoid any liability that it seems like officials don't care if the people responsible for the condition of the Ghostship - IMO that's both Derick Ion Almena and wife Micah Allison and the owner Chor Ng, and yes, Oakland fire inspectors too - end up escaping punishment.

:stormingmad:

You said it, Detective Marple. This whole shebang has been one fuh'd-up mess since even before the first spark. There are not enuff bushes or shrubs behind which all those involved can hide.

The DA is really gonna take a fine-toothed comb to this case with even more determination than ever, IMO. And just because the now-retired Fire Chief (if I've got the title right) is no longer in her position, doesn't mean that she can't be named as a principal in some legal action or other. It is certainly her right to retire or leave the position whenever she wishes, but she surely left at a tuff, tuff time. Maybe she is helping in some way -- we don't know. And what's with all the smoke & mirrors in the City offices to sit on that report for 3 weeks or so? What was the hold up? Maybe their spell-checker wasn't working...

Yep, I'm sticking with this one for as long as it takes -- prolly years. I'll just get comfortable.

The hurting families and friends deserve better than this, and IMO, the DA is gonna do what it takes to get it as right for them as possible.

Please pardon the rant...:rant:

This is old news, but interesting:

Changes came over the woman who helped run Ghost Ship

By Vivian Ho

December 12, 2016 Updated: December 12, 2016 4:15pm


There is no easy way to untangle the story of Micah Allison from that of Derick Ion Almena — the wife and husband behind the Oakland warehouse art collective that burned down last week in the deadliest fire in the city’s history.

To their friends, that’s because the 17-year bond between “true soulmates” is impossible to break. To Allison’s father, Michael Allison, it’s because spending years under Almena’s dominating and unpredictable personality has corrupted the daughter he loved.

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http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/...r-the-woman-who-helped-run-Ghost-10789682.php

My sister in law is now Dr. Jennifer Mendiola. My brother called me tonight crying, with the news. She was awarded her doctorate posthumously, after working harder than anyone I've known.

borndem said:

This is old news, but interesting: ....
http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/...r-the-woman-who-helped-run-Ghost-10789682.php

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^ Dec 12. ^sbm
[Micah's friend, who had met them in 2010] "Boudreaux continued, “When she was very young, she had aspirations of being a dancer, but the whole time we were friends, she never did anything like that. Neither of them worked the entire time I (knew) them, except to build stages for parties. When they got the Ghost Ship, everything changed. It all became about his dream.” bbm

I had wondered about that. Were they living on income from GhostShip sub-lets (i.e., the markup between rent $ they pd to bldg owner & rent $ they rcvd from allowing ppl to use a work-live space? From trust funds? Lawful income? Not-so-lawful income?

borndem Thanks for posting link. As you said, interesting. Revealing.

gitana1 said:

My sister in law is now Dr. Jennifer Mendiola. My brother called me tonight crying, with the news. She was awarded her doctorate posthumously, after working harder than anyone I've known.

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Thank you for letting us know, Gitana. Such bittersweet news. I'm happy that Jennifer was posthumously rewarded for her hard work for the sake of those who supported her dreams. But how sad that she was robbed of her future in her field. I hope your brother is managing...and you too. It still hurts. Hugs. :heartbeat: