CA - Massive fire at Oakland warehouse party, 36 dead, 2 Dec 2016 #1

[LaborOfLobe]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...waiting-happen-building-just-cited-month.html

Hope this link is acceptable. Lots of photos of the inside of this place. It's really cool looking and the younger me would have wanted to hang out there, but clearly a deathtrap. This is just heartbreaking.

 

[Hatfield]

Watching Fox news live right now. Live press conference. The mayor said she spoke with a "Roomfull" of family members wondering about loved ones. The Mayor lady was doing a good job in the press conference.

Mr. Kelly (who is not the mayor and i think a fire chief or LE) says something like "We dont know how many victims. Maybe a couple dozen more victims. 9 confirmed right now "

ETA: Updated to be clearer

 

[Hatfield]

Sorry I dont have link to the live Fox news reporting I am watching The footage is amazingly sad. Smoke from the fire was horrible. Lots of good footage . They are having live interviews right now.

 

[Hatfield]

"Identifying Victims could take days" per live fox news reporting

 

[Jax49]

http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/12/...witter&utm_term=Autofeed#link_time=1480804350

 

[Gardenista]

This guy had just left the building and he relates his experience. His second link is to another guy who was one of the last people to escape. So scary

[video=twitter;805166020776181761]https://twitter.com/seungylee14/status/805166020776181761[/video]

 

[Jax49]

MSNBC coverage just used the word "criminal", which is exactly what I'd been thinking.

 

[skibaboo]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...waiting-happen-building-just-cited-month.html

Hope this link is acceptable. Lots of photos of the inside of this place. It's really cool looking and the younger me would have wanted to hang out there, but clearly a deathtrap. This is just heartbreaking.

Yeah it looks super cool, and all those people missing? Horrible

No injuries, you either got out unscathed or you died? Oh man.

 

[Jax49]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...waiting-happen-building-just-cited-month.html

Hope this link is acceptable. Lots of photos of the inside of this place. It's really cool looking and the younger me would have wanted to hang out there, but clearly a deathtrap. This is just heartbreaking.

The Daily Mail always seems to have the best pics (moo).

Absolutely heartbreaking seeing all the people who are "missing".

 

[Jax49]

Another fire:

http://www.abc15.com/news/national/firefighters-battling-10-alarm-fire-in-massachusetts

Massachusetts firefighters are currently battling a massive 10-alarm fire in Cambridge, a suburb of Boston.

 

[Hatfield]

UGH. I hope not. But you never know these days.

I was thinking it might have been a faulty electric heater. It has been unusually cold the past few nights. Those large warehouses are very cold and drafty. And i doubt they had any kind of central heating. Someone may have had a small electrical heater plugged in upstairs?

Thats a good theory. Those small space heaters that have a glowing red heating element are dangerous. If they fall over or if something flamable gets too close to the red hot element then it could cause fire. Animals like dogs or cats can knock something close to the red heating element so even if you have it safe then an animal can cause it to cause a fire.

The absolute safest ones to get IMO are the oil based ones that look like an old radiator. See link below. They have no hot glowing element and do a wonderful job of heating a very large space. The only problem I have ever had with them is they sometimes quit working due to overuse but they are very safe IMO. And they heat wonderfully.
You want to keep them upright and they are very heavy so only a large dog could ever knock one over.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Pelonis-...gclid=CJXM4oiX2dACFZU1aQodYTYMaw&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[vulture]

So sad and horrible. We are all responsible for looking out for our own safety but people whose job it is to look after the safety of the public need to do their duty too. I hate hearing that people knew there was an issue and did nothing about it, if that's the case. It sure did look like a fun and creative place.

 

[vulture]

Yeah those radiator style heaters you mention are very effective. I have one in my studio. I have an infrared one in the bedroom - that works great too. I'm scared of fire but I like heat too. I have three smoke alarms in my small condo.

 

[LinasK]

So sad and horrible. We are all responsible for looking out for our own safety but people whose job it is to look after the safety of the public need to do their duty too. I hate hearing that people knew there was an issue and did nothing about it, if that's the case. It sure did look like a fun and creative place.

It appears the building owner is some sort of slum lord who owns other properties and has been cited before. The city knew the building had structural issues a month beforehand. I hope this owner is caught and severely punished. It did look cool with all the antique furniture and pianos, but who uses wooden pallets as the only type of staircase and no smoke detectors??? Too many blind/naive people involved in this situation.

 

[Gardenista]

Another fire:

http://www.abc15.com/news/national/firefighters-battling-10-alarm-fire-in-massachusetts

Hope this isn't arson jihad like Israel is going thru

http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-lesson-of-the-arson-jihad-in-israel-1480627358 via

 

[Hatfield]

This guy had just left the building and he relates his experience. His second link is to another guy who was one of the last people to escape. So scary

[video=twitter;805166020776181761]https://twitter.com/seungylee14/status/805166020776181761[/video]

The terrifying first hand account of how the person got out is incredible. Thanks for sharing this.

https://www.reddit.com/r/news/comments/5ga0nl/nine_people_have_been_confirmed_dead_with_25/daqxs0k/

 

[LaborOfLobe]

Thats a good theory. Those small space heaters that have a glowing red heating element are dangerous. If they fall over or if something flamable gets too close to the red hot element then it could cause fire. Animals like dogs or cats can knock something close to the red heating element so even if you have it safe then an animal can cause it to cause a fire.

The absolute safest ones to get IMO are the oil based ones that look like an old radiator. See link below. They have no hot glowing element and do a wonderful job of heating a very large space. The only problem I have ever had with them is they sometimes quit working due to overuse but they are very safe IMO. And they heat wonderfully.
You want to keep them upright and they are very heavy so only a large dog could ever knock one over.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Pelonis-...gclid=CJXM4oiX2dACFZU1aQodYTYMaw&gclsrc=aw.ds

O/T but I can also sing the praises of this heater that you posted. Same one, in fact. My hubby selected this one for my grandma a couple of years ago when her heater went out for a day. He's a Building Inspector who has seen his share of fires and also said this type is the safest bet.

 

[1&2&3]

The sad part of this tragedy is the city has been aware of the misuse of this building looong before the November inspection that is being referenced! It will be interesting to find out when the city last investigated this building.

The living arrangements being described didn't just happen recently. There has been a major event(s) to bring the inspectors to finally check this property out. My feelings are the city is back stepping to cover their arses!

With the owner being known as a slum lord, she is well known by city officials. Owning property in Oakland is not cheap, let alone owning 11 properties as I read in one article. No, can't retrace and find the article. Therefore, she must have money, and in many cities, citizens with money seem to live with a different set of rules - as in getting by with not following rules or laws that the average person must live by. JMO.

Hopefully time will tell when the families' lawyers start investigating into inspection reports on this property. My guess is that is where the true story is.

My opinion only.

 

[Jax49]

[h=2]Owner of Oakland warehouse says no one lived in building, daughter says[/h]
http://www.latimes.com/local/califo...rehouse-says-no-one-1480800502-htmlstory.html

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.

 

[gitana1]

My sister in law was at the rave. We cannot find her. She's not answering her phone which is dead. The coroner said she's on the unaccounted list. Please
pray for us. I'm on the plane to Oakland. Her name is Jennifer Mendiola. My brother is flipping out.