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

[LinasK]

Thanks for the info. Because California is the way it is, I'm afraid that not a darn thing is going to come out of this as far as preventing future tragedies goes. I guess we'll see.

Oh I can guarantee it will. Some heads are going to roll over this- and it won't be the mayor's. She is pissed!!! And there will be lawsuits up the ying-yang and charges will eventually be filed against Almena and Ng. And inspections/rentals will be done differently. 36 lives lost is nothing to sniff at. It's just a matter of time. Gov. Brown used to be the mayor of Oakland before he was re-elected to governor, and he's well aware of the tragedy too...

“No one wants to ever see a tragedy like this in their community,” Schaaf told reporters at a news conference outside the charred and gutted warehouse Tuesday evening. “But when one strikes, it is our responsibility to take aggressive and quick action to avoid any future tragedies.”
As part of that effort, the mayor said she planned to form a task force to review and improve enforcement of city building and fire codes.Schaaf said the city building inspector had followed correct procedures during that visit. In the records made public Wednesday, the city redacted the names of inspectors who had been to the warehouse, as well as the resident who filed a complaint. Officials did not explain why that information was withheld.
Schaaf said Wednesday that the National Fire Protection Association was assisting the city in a review of building and event safety as well as improvements to the building complaint system.

Officials plan to assemble a “fire safety task force,” and Schaaf said experts would examine existing regulations for fire inspections, smoke alarms, carbon monoxide monitors, event permitting and emergency exit requirements.

The city was also examining how city officials can report potentially dangerous living conditions or illegal events.

http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-ln-oakland-fire-inspections-20161207-story.html

 

[LaborOfLobe]

http://www.ucmerced.edu/news/2016/message-chancellor-leland-student-jennifer-mendiola

Nice write up about Jennifer.

We will hold a moment of silence on campus for Jennifer at noon on Monday, Dec. 12, by the oak tree in front of the Leo and Dottie Kolligian Library.

This story has really gotten to me. More love and warm thoughts to Gitana, all those lost and their loved ones. Someone mentioned Lunesta this morning - I think it was CARIIS, thank you LOL - and I'm going to knock myself out now. I'm drained and can't even begin to imagine the exhaustion and despair of so many who are directly connected to this horrible event. My heart goes out to them all.

:rose::rose::rose::rose::rose:

 

[LinasK]

Are these the complaints you were referencing?

Per https://aca.accela.com/oakland

Filed Date 11/14/2016
Record Type Housing Habitability Complaint
Address 1315 31ST AVE Oakland CA 94601
Description Illegal interior building structure.
Status Pending Investigation

Filed Date 10/7/2014
Record Type Housing Habitability Complaint
Address 1315 31ST AVE, Oakland CA 94601
Description Constructing house/structure without permits.
Status Non-Actionable

I don't know because it was a news report about a complaint about exterior construction... Don't ask me for a link.

 

[Rallibella]

The manager of the band was also sentenced for setting off the pyrotechnics. His sentence was only four years and probation because his actions were "devoid of criminal intent".

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/10/us/10cnd-nightclub.html

Exactly. DA absolutely had criminal intent- he was using the space illegally (not for the manner intended).

The band manager had NO idea that there was the type of insulation etc in that nightclub that helped the fire spread so quick, yet he still was charged.

 

[LinasK]

Exactly. DA absolutely had criminal intent- he was using the space illegally (not for the manner intended).

The band manager had NO idea that there was the type of insulation etc in that nightclub that helped the fire spread so quick, yet he still was charged.

Can we please call him Derick? I see DA and think District Attorney.

 

[x_files]

Human, I am in complete agreement with your posts on this one. There is a lot of blame to go around, and the victims, as tragic as their deaths are for their ages (and some with higher education), do bear some responsibility for how these “live/work” spaces come to be—if they are truly “live/ work”, and not just an excuse for drug dens and squatters.

There are many successful, legal, and safe colonies of artists.

After looking at the photos. I wouldn't have stayed. But many probably didn't have a lot of options but couch surfing would have been safer.
I've lived in art 24 hour live-in studios and it wasn't a death trap from the photos I just looked at. yikes. It does look like a third world county drug den.

 

[LaborOfLobe]

Oh I can guarantee it will. Some heads are going to roll over this- and it won't be the mayor's. She is pissed!!! And there will be lawsuits up the ying-yang and charges will eventually be filed against Almena and Ng. And inspections/rentals will be done differently. 36 lives lost is nothing to sniff at. It's just a matter of time. Gov. Brown used to be the mayor of Oakland before he was re-elected to governor, and he's well aware of the tragedy too...

Fantastic. I am so happy to hear this, the thanks button was not enough. You are a lovely person, Linas. Everything you did for gitana and all. I must say that WS has been a great place to be through all this sadness. So many caring, thoughtful people. :heartbeat:

 

[LinasK]

I don't think think there are unions for nurse's aids, and janitors, and folks who just sit with the elderly in their home or in nursing homes. I could be wrong though, but I've never heard of one. I don't live in Naples, just a visitor, so I don't really have to worry about it. I just hate to see folks displaced b/c of greed.

Actually I think CNA's may belong to a healthcare workers union...

 

[LinasK]

Fantastic. I am so happy to hear this, the thanks button was not enough. You are a lovely person, Linas. Everything you did for gitana and all. I must say that WS has been a great place to be through all this sadness. So many caring, thoughtful people. :heartbeat:

Alot of the previous inaction you have seen was due to the mayor's predecessor Jean Quan whom I believe was incompetent. Not sure how she rose to power. She was defeated by Libby Schaaf last election.

 

[Jax49]

Building inspectors had not been inside Oakland warehouse in 30 years, officials say

http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-ln-oakland-fire-inspections-20161207-story.html

Link to complaints:

http://documents.latimes.com/read-record-complaints-against-ghost-ship-building-oakland/

 

[x_files]

Our beautiful Jennifer has been identified. She died without suffering. She was unconscious in 15 minutes and was not touched by the fire. She died of smoke inhalation.

Thank you all for your incredible support. And love. And assistance. And a special thanks to Tricia and Linask who kept my confidences and communicated for me. A special thanks to Linask who drove over two hours round trip to pick me up and taken me to the Family Assistance Center and who saw things there that were incredibly difficult for her to see and who used such discretion in protecting the privacy of the families and officials she saw and spoke to and whose intense pain she witnessed. I know it shook her. But she was there for me.
You are all my cyber family.

I'm so sorry for your loss.

 

[Zuri]

Gitana, I am so very sorry for the loss of your Sister in law. Please convey our deepest sympathies to your family and hers. Hugs. Xo

 

[HMSHood]

Building inspectors had not been inside Oakland warehouse in 30 years, officials say

http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-ln-oakland-fire-inspections-20161207-story.html

Link to complaints:

http://documents.latimes.com/read-record-complaints-against-ghost-ship-building-oakland/

30 years! This gets worse and worse. This is an epic Charlie Foxtrot!

 

[SophieRose]

Actually I think CNA's may belong to a healthcare workers union...

I met a CNA about ten years ago and she had made about $25/hr at a hospital, and was unionized. When the hospital closed she took a job as a in home NA and at that time made $10/hr agency charged $15/hr. At that time the agencies could cap out at $150 for 10 hours or overnight. So she could work through the night and still only get 10 hours wages. California finally changed the law a few years ago.

I've got a number of relatives who are RNs and they say they would never work at a nursing home because they are not unionized.

 

[1&2&3]

Building inspectors had not been inside Oakland warehouse in 30 years, officials say

http://www.latimes.com/local/califo...plaints-against-lghost-ship-building-oakland/

The fact that inspectors had NOT been inside for thirty years raises many questions!! It is evident, with the proof on paper, that several departments had failed to do their jobs. The question is going to be how can the owner be held responsible if city inspectors and the fire department did not know what codes or violations existed inside the warehouse?

Does CA have required inspections done on a property by the buyer before a transfer is made? If so, the inspector should have noted the numerous problems and that it wasn't up to code.

 

[LinasK]

I met a CNA about ten years ago and she had made about $25/hr at a hospital, and was unionized. When the hospital closed she took a job as a in home NA and at that time made $10/hr agency charged $15/hr. At that time the agencies could cap out at $150 for 10 hours or overnight. So she could work through the night and still only get 10 hours wages. California finally changed the law a few years ago.

I've got a number of relatives who are RNs and they say they would never work at a nursing home because they are not unionized.

What state was this in?

 

[HMSHood]

A narcissist or an eccentric? Derick Almena, the man behind the Ghost Ship, left conflicting impressions
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-almena-profile-20161206-story.html

This caught my attention.

Wherever he went, Almena, 47, made a strong impression. Many of those who knew him described him as a narcissist and an opportunist. They said he deftly manipulated those around him, including his longtime partner Micah Allison, 40, who lived with him and their three children on the warehouse’s second floor.

“He is able to charm people, but when they don't go along with what he wants he will threaten people,” said Allison’s father, Michael Allison.

Looking more like a narcissist and psychopath. I can see Charles Manson, Jim Jones, and Jerry Sandusky in him.

More about his past.
Michael Allison said his daughter and Almena both grew up in Southern California and have lived together as wanderers, organizing their lives around Burning Man and other festivals. They had an apartment for a time near MacArthur Park in Los Angeles, where Almena pursued photography and Allison belly danced.

 

[SophieRose]

What state was this in?

California, the Bay Area.

 

[rsd1200]

Can we please call him Derick? I see DA and think District Attorney.

I've been going with Ion. For some reason I can remember that.

 

[K_Z]

$25/ hr for a CNA is very inflated, IMO, due to the union. $25/ hr is about $50K/ year. CNAs in our area make about $10-15/ hr, and I can't imagine any hospital system paying $25/ hr, even with an aggressive union. That is more than associate degree RNs and LPN's starting wage.