Long article that says the cause of the Ghost Ship fire may have been discovered:
Did investigators miss something? The Investigative Unit took more than 200 investigative photos and other never-before released evidence we obtained from a source close to the case to fire scientist and mechanical engineer Bernard Cuzzillo.
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He pointed to an x-ray image of what remains of an electrical outlet that had powered the refrigerator Brito had pointed out to investigators. He says there are two screws – typically used to attach electrical wires to the outlet – that have shifted out of position.
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He says there is a clue for what might have caused that heat. Turns out that the refrigerator was not plugged directly into that outlet. It was connected into a power strip whose cord ran to the outlet.
Such strips have long been associated with overheating outlet connections when used to power refrigerators. Experts say refrigerator compressor motors need extra current to kick on, and power strips can block some of that current, slowing down the start-up process while at the same time causing the circuit to overheat.
“It’s fairly strong evidence that this was the culprit,” Cuzzillo said.
But since the refrigerator had operated after being plugged into the strip for a full week before the fire, Cuzzillo suspects another source of heating – the amplifier that a DJ turned on to provide electronic dance music that night.
“Plugging in the amplifier just a few minutes before,” Cuzzillo said, “could increase the amount of heat dissipated at that connection and can cause a critical increase of temperature at that connection.”
That’s because electronic amplifiers generate invisible, and normally harmless, electric fields. But such a surge of energy, he says, can be concentrated at any exposed nearby wire or faulty connection, such as the outlet and strip used to power the refrigerator.
The heat from both the power strip and the amp, he says, could easily have been a deadly combination.
Ghost Ship Fire Clues Overlooked?
An electrician who performed unpermitted work at the Ghost Ship warehouse will pay $1 million to the families of 33 of the 36 people who died in a fire at a music party at the warehouse under a settlement approved by a California judge.
Tuesday’s ruling by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Brad Seligman only affects electrician Benjamin Cannon, who was named as one of the defendants in litigation stemming from the deadly fire at the 10,000-square-foot warehouse, which had been illegally converted into an artists’ collective for about 25 people, in the deadly blaze on Dec. 2, 2016.
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The warehouse was cluttered with flammable materials and debris, received its power from an adjacent building through an overloaded cable snaked through a hole in the wall, lacked overhead sprinklers and emergency exits and only had two rickey stairwells — one of which had been blocked off before the party, according to the plaintiffs.
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The city’s settlement calls for the families of 32 of the victims to receive $23.5 million. Sam Maxwell, who survived the fire but suffered horrible injuries, will receive $9.2 million.
Judge Signs Off on $1 Million Settlement in Ghost Ship Warehouse Fire
The City Council on Tuesday agreed to pay $399,000 to settle the last lawsuit over a 2016 fire at an illegally converted warehouse dubbed the Ghost Ship that killed 36 people.
The city doesn’t acknowledge any wrongdoing in the settlement of a lawsuit by a dozen former residents, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
The warehouse had been illegally converted into a residential space for artists and an event venue when it caught fire on Dec. 2, 2016, during an electronic music party.
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The building was packed with furniture, extension cords and other flammable material but had only two exits and no smoke detectors, fire alarms or sprinklers, authorities said.
Oakland Agrees to Settle Lawsuit From Ghost Ship Fire
Defendant Derick Almena is awaiting trial from home in an ankle bracelet, but a judge has approved a repeatedly botched motion allowing him to go to the dentist.
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He got that permission Friday morning, but only for a trip to the dentist. The Bay Area News Group reports that an “exasperated” Alameda County Superior Court Judge Trina Thompson gave Almena permission to leave the house for emergency dental work, attributing said exasperation to inconsistent filings and “procedural errors” from the defendant’s attorneys that wasted a lot of her time.
After Annoying Judge, Ghost Ship Defendant Derick Almena Gets Permission for Dental Work
