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

[lucimhome]

So sorry for your loss gitana. Sending strength & love to you and your family.

 

[coopzoop]

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.

((Gitana))

I'm so very sorry.

 

[Spellbound]

http://www.wral.com/61-year-old-german-identified-as-oakland-fire-victim/16320494/

A nice tribute by the Associated Press to those who perished in the fire, including Jennifer.

Very nice, indeed. Done with such grace and praise for each one. Thank you for sharing this,.. it truly was worth reading. I am constantly reminded how talented and educated all these young people were. May they all Rest In Peace.

 

[Oakland CA]

Hopefully the tragedy in Oakland can help local authorities elsewhere expedite the appropriate actions that would make their own town or city a safer place.

Example...........

http://www.lfpress.com/2016/12/06/j-spot-london-after-hours-club-targeted-for-safety-concerns

 

[CARIIS]

go to 2:02 and freeze what an ironic shot

http://abc7news.com/news/rain-not-hindering-oakland-ghost-ship-fire-investigation/1646228/

 

[Spellbound]

go to 2:02 and freeze what an ironic shot

http://abc7news.com/news/rain-not-hindering-oakland-ghost-ship-fire-investigation/1646228/

Not or sure what you are seeing, Cariis.... but just after that spot it shows several propane tanks. Awful to think how they may have added to the fire.


according to this article with video, a man claims he worked at the warehouse as early as the Thursday before-re the fire, and that CPS workers were inside the building to check on the children very recently and "passed them".

also ... it says there was a small fire inside on that Thursday involving a refrigerator the time he helped out out. Another fire (arson) outside in 2014:
"all we see are flame, just lapping at the windows. I mean your heart just drops," said Almena". [he appears in the accompanying video]
http://abc7news.com/news/man-says-cps-worker-in-ghost-ship-warehouse-days-before-fire/1646820/

 

[Spellbound]

I don't know how anyone can read the following without feeling deep emotions.

"... one young woman set out to find a memorable photograph immortalizing her and one of the victims, 23-year-old Cal graduate Griffin Madden of Berkeley."

read her plea to find a memorable photo of her and and Griffin, and her touching words to him while searching and after he was found. It is both beautiful, and heart-wrenching.

http://abc7news.com/news/photographer-reunites-girlfriend-of-ghost-ship-fire-victim-with-lost-photo/1646719/

 

[MsMarple]

I understand why. They don't want to be forced to change or examine their lifestyle; they can't afford to live anywhere else and stay in the area. But really, they should be grateful someone out there cares about their living conditions and lives, tbh. JMO.

I'm not sure it's so black and white. Personally, I'd call it... complicated.

I grew up in Michigan not Ca but I went to plenty of sketchy venues when I was younger. Heck, even the Grande Ballroom in Detroit was probably a tinder box - the only exit I knew was the main door. And of course, backstage, lol. And even back then we had communes and artists living in warehouses - the concept is not new.

Anyway, it seems like just a few changes coud make a big difference in these warehouses. A sprinkler system, proper wiring, battery backed up EXIT signs, lit escape routes, no flames or smoking inside, stuff like that.

Unfortunately these issues usually snowball into cost-prohibitive changes and so the warehouse gets evicted and upscale developers move in. The biggest problem IMO (coming from a family with way too many lawyers) is the liability that comes when every single fire hazard isn't brought up to code. I wonder if there's a way to do a special designation code for artist lofts in warehouses.

Hopefully the city of Oakland will plow through some of these issues and maybe even set a standard for other cities to follow. In the meantime though, I think the city is about to be hit with a multi-million dollar lawsuit.

Bottom line IMO is that we can't make new land and what land we have is getting more and more crowded. But maybe it's time to stop catering to developers who want max profit from what's left at the expense of the artists, the low-income and disenfranchised people and turn an eye to sustaining our society - much like we work to sustain our environment. I dunno - like I said, it's complicated...

BTW, There are some videos of bands playing The Deathtrap - I don't want to directly link here so as not to confuse people but if you go to YouTube and enter Vampirates @ The Deathtrap in Oakland on 5/29/15 you can see what that live/work warehouse is like. It seems to be more open downstairs than the GS was but there's also junk in front of a big rollup door which makes me wonder where the exits are.

 

[Hoosgirl]

The illegally occupied Oakland warehouse where dozens of partygoers perished in a blaze does not appear in a database fire inspectors use to schedule inspections and may never have been checked for fire hazards, a firefighter with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Oakland fire officials are supposed to annually inspect commercial buildings for fire safety, with only single-family homes and duplexes exempted, according to a city website. Officials typically pull addresses from a database to request the yearly checks, said the firefighter, who feared retribution for disclosing the information and spoke only on condition of anonymity.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/nation-world/national/article119626563.html#storylink=cpy

 

[Spellbound]

Not sure if this has been posted. 32 page documents of previous complaints at Ghost Ship warehouse.

http://www2.oaklandnet.com/oakca1/groups/ceda/documents/report/oak061791.pdf

All but one complaint seems to be outside ... trash and graffiti. No inspections of inside?

but this was very interesting:

Pg. 4, 11/13/16. Complaint:
a ton of garbage piling up on the property and spilling over onto the sidewalk. The property is a storage, but owner turned it into a recycle. The main building was remodeled for residential. (Paraphrased) Reinspection deadline 1/16/2017

Certified letter sent to owner, Ng, 11/21/16, nothing said about tenants!

 

[crhedBngr]

Very nice, indeed. Done with such grace and praise for each one. Thank you for sharing this,.. it truly was worth reading. I am constantly reminded how talented and educated all these young people were. May they all Rest In Peace.

You are quite welcome!

{{{HUGS}}}

 

[LaborOfLobe]

I don't know how anyone can read the following without feeling deep emotions.

"... one young woman set out to find a memorable photograph immortalizing her and one of the victims, 23-year-old Cal graduate Griffin Madden of Berkeley."

read her plea to find a memorable photo of her and and Griffin, and her touching words to him while searching and after he was found. It is both beautiful, and heart-wrenching.

http://abc7news.com/news/photographer-reunites-girlfriend-of-ghost-ship-fire-victim-with-lost-photo/1646719/

Well that reduced me to a sobbing mess. Breathtakingly beautiful. Thank you for sharing that.

 

[Ian]

Excerpts from a recent article from the Portland Oregon website with statements from various people who dealt with the person who leased the building, Derek Ion Almena, pretty eye opening article.

"Acquaintances painted a devastating portrait of Almena and his longtime partner, Micah Allison.

"Honestly, I don't think he is capable of feeling any kind of remorse or guilt," said Allison's father, Michael Allison of Portland, Oregon. "I've never seen him ever really care about anyone else."

He described the couple as users of methamphetamine, heroin and crack and said their three young children were taken away from them by social service authorities for several months beginning last year. The youngsters were found hungry, infested with lice and ill-clothed, he said.

Derick Ion Almena
March 12, 2015, booking photo provided by the Glendale, Calif., Police Department shows Derick Ion Almena. Almena is an operator of the Ghost Ship warehouse in Oakland, in which dozens of people died in a fire that started Dec. 2, 2016. Spokeswoman Tawnee Lightfoot says Almena was stopped for driving with expired registration and, after a consensual search, two license plates from Oakland-area stolen cars were found. The charges apparently were not pursued. (Glendale Police Department via AP)
AP

Michael Allison recalled Almena and Micah overcome with laughter once when they told of a fire-breather accidentally setting himself on fire at one of their many parties at the building, which was widely known as the Ghost Ship.

Almena "surrounds himself with people who are going to treat him like he's some sort of guru," said Danielle Boudreaux, who said she was a friend of the couple for eight years. "He enjoyed having minions around to do his tasks for him and help build this great -- he thinks he's building this artistic empire."

Late Sunday, San Francisco's KGO-TV reached him for comment at a hotel and asked his thoughts on those killed in the fire.

"They're my children. They're my friends, they're my family, they're my loves, they're my future. What else do I have to say?" Almena said and walked away.

In a Facebook post hours after the fire, he made no mention of the deaths. "Everything I worked so hard for is gone," he wrote then, while noting that his partner and their children had been safe at a hotel during the blaze.

Survivors recounted having to struggle to escape the burning warehouse, where many of the victims were on a makeshift second floor served by a rickety staircase of wooden pallets. Visitors described the structure as a warren of scrap wood, sofas, old pianos and electrical cables, with only two exits.

Investigators have declined to say whether they believe Almena or the building's owner bear any responsibility in the deaths.

Oakland building inspectors had opened an investigation into the warehouse last month. Acquaintances and local authorities described repeatedly confronting Almena about what they saw as unsafe and unsanitary conditions for his children and others living there.

Noel Gallo, a city councilman who lives a block from the warehouse, said Almena essentially told authorities to "mind their own business."

"He had an attitude," Gallo said. "A big attitude."

Almena is on probation until 2019 after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor charge of receiving stolen property. A former landlord accused him of stealing her Airstream trailer.

The pair was part of an alternative scene in California that revolved around Burning Man and other festivals, music, a broad spirituality and drugs, acquaintances said.

Neighbors and colleagues said the family moved into the building in east Oakland's former industrial Fruitvale neighborhood in late 2012 or early 2013 and quickly began leasing space in it to others.

Neighbor Phyllis Waukazoo said her family befriended the couple's oldest daughter, now 12 or 13, when they realized how neglected the children were. The girl would stay with them during the frequent parties at the warehouse.

"We noticed, oh, my God, she was hungry!" Waukazoo said. When the girl took Waukazoo on a tour of the warehouse, Waukazoo saw that the place had no kitchen and that the family and tenants apparently shared one bathroom, where they used a hose to shower.

Almena previously worked as a marijuana grower in Northern California's Mendocino County, Michael Allison said. Almena would make himself out to be the man in charge of his fellow pot workers and managed to avoid work, Allison said.

"He was able to cast a spell on someone in a weird way that I just do not understand," Allison said. He described his daughter as passive and easily swayed by Almena.

He recalled both his daughter and Almena laughing over another episode in which partygoers at one of their gatherings trashed a social hall by flinging cans of paint on walls and furniture.

A few years ago, Micah Allison's family talked her into entering drug rehab, only to have Almena persuade her to leave again, her father said.

Some who knew the couple were bitter at their escape.

"I hope the same thing happens to them that happened to those people," said artist Shelly Mack, who said she rented living space in the warehouse two years ago from the couple. She said they knew it was dangerous: "They profited on this. And never spent a dime on anything but partying."

-- The Associated Press"

http://www.oregonlive.com/today/index.ssf/2016/12/founder_of_artist_colony_in_oa.html

I truly hope that local law enforcement and the District Attorney charge this man with multiple counts of manslaughter for his gross negligence.

 

[CapitalBat]

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 am late to this thread, but please accept my deepest condolences for your devastating loss.

 

[CARIIS]

O/T but not really!

Well that reduced me to a sobbing mess. Breathtakingly beautiful. Thank you for sharing that.

You can feel their love for each other in the pics

From her post :

For Sky's birthday tonight, I danced for the first time. Your tipsy father, MJ Bernier, Denim Decades and I jumped out of the car and danced our hearts out in the middle of the rainy street to "Best of My Love."
(Thom, of course, did not join the dancing). I felt alive again. The Christmas lights filled my heart with warmth; the music grooved every fiber of my being. You were there with me, dancing just as hard.


Oh my gosh. Just unreal. Loved loved loved ""Best of My Love"

The lyrics mirror her heart and her love for him ..................

[video=youtube;3kGDyS16ulQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kGDyS16ulQ[/video]

 

[HMSHood]

It has occurred to me that Derrick Ion Almena shows characteristics of an injustice collector.

Wound Collectors
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/spycatcher/201304/wound-collectors

- Adolph Hitler, in his book Mein Kempf, managed to list all the collected wounds he and others had accumulated, with particular emphasis on Jews.

- Usama bin Laden, his 1996 fatwa, is nothing less than a collection of wounds dating back to the time of the crusades which he used to justify the killing of Americans. This document demonstrates clearly that for wound collectors there is no statute of limitation on suffering.

- Jim Jones of Jonestown, Guyana fame was similarly a wound collector. He kept tabs on those around him and or society in general, particularly those that did not appreciate his divine grandeur.

Almena is very controlling and hates dissent in his circle. He likes to keep a close tab on them.

Injustice Collectors
http://www.psybersquare.com/family/family_injustice.html

1,) Injustice Collectors are convinced that they are never wrong. How is it possible that they are never wrong? It is simple: They are always right.

2.) Injustice Collectors never apologize. Ever. For anything.

3.) Injustice Collectors truly believe that they are morally and ethically superior to others and that others chronically do not hold themselves to the same high standards as the injustice collector does.

4.) Injustice Collectors make the rules, break the rules and enforce the rules of the family. They are a combined legislator, police, and judge and jury of

5.) Injustice Collectors never worry about what is wrong with themselves as their "bad list" grows. Their focus is always on the failings of others.

6.) Injustice Collectors are never upset by the disparity of their rules for others with their own expectations of themselves.

7.) Injustice Collectors rationalize their own behavior with great ease and comfort.

A longer list.

Are They an 'Injustice Collector?'
http://www.lisaescott.com/forum/2009/11/25/are-they-injustice-collector

1. Injustice collectors are never wrong. How is it possible that they are never wrong? It's simple: They are always right.

2. Injustice collectors never apologize. Ever. For anything.

3. Injustice collectors truly believe they are morally and ethically superior to others and that others seem incapable of holding themselves to the same high standards as the injustice collector does.

4. Injustice collectors make the rules, break the rules and enforce the rules of the family. They are a combination of legislator, police, judge and jury to those they consider their subjects. They forever banish from their kingdom any subject they deem disloyal, and only grant clemency if there is sufficient (in their eyes) contrition.

5. Injustice collectors never worry about what is wrong with them as their "bad" list grows. Their focus is always on the failings of others.

6. Injustice collectors are never troubled by the disparity between their rules for others and their own expectations of themselves. Injustice collectors rationalize their own behavior with great ease and comfort.

7. Injustice collectors have an external orientation; the problem always exists in the world, outside of themselves, and in their view, the world would be an acceptable place if their rules and standards were followed at all times.

8. Injustice collectors do not have a capacity for remorse, empathy or guilt.

9. Injustice collectors scoff at the idea of therapy, therapists, self-help books, and other tools used by people who struggle to live with them.

10. The phrase "walking on eggshells" describes life with an injustice collector.

11. The IC (injustice Collector) will prey upon your weaknesses to frame all issues in their terms.

12. IC's will always cry foul when you are 'mean' to them and accuse you of being nasty when you are confronting them with their negative behavior.

13. They are titanically insecure and cannot trust anyone. All relationships they have, even with their own parents and children and trustless and must be reinforced by subordination over and over.

14. They can only strengthen relationships through imprisoning their mates and banning behaviors and other relationships. Friends and family are a huge threat to the IC.

15. They must repetitively revisit situations where you service them, give in to them and agree with them. They will over time shrink your world to a small plot of empty activities that only they like. They are terrified of travel, meeting new people, understanding new concepts and paroling you from any punishment they have previously 'convicted' you of.

16. They do not care about you at all, they care about aggrandizing themselves with you as an assistant producer.

17. They will occasionally do something for you, but if you are not completely brainwashed, it will be a negative experience for you in the end. Example is throwing you a birthday party. I guarantee you will not have fun at your own party.

18. They will force you to choose between them and other things you like or love. The more you choose them, the more they will make you choose them over and over. They do not understand the concept of loyalty at all.

19. Hypocrisy is their modus operandi for debating and arguing with you. Everything they say about you is true about them. (aka Projection) It makes it so you try to 'win' fights by getting them to agree with you, which they never can because their whole position is false.

20. Your life will disappear into their lives. Your hopes and dreams will fade, even in your own mind. You will eat what they want, you will watch what they want on TV, you will vacation where they want, or not at all.

Almena shows all of them.

Other examples of injustice collectors are Omar Mateen, Elliot Rodger, Adam Lanza, Seung-Hui Cho, Yoselyn Ortega, Lori Drew, and Jodi Arias. They also show most if not all characteristics of injustice collectors in the list above.

I would not be surprised if Derrick Almena is a constant complainer. He always sees himself as a victim.

Websleuth Radio Interview Of Tina Meier describing Lori Drew
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/websleuths/2013/09/30/tricias-true-crime-radio-adult-cyber-bullying

Starting at the 20:40 mark. Tina Meier describes Lori Drew, the woman who harassed Megan Meier to suicide in October 2006. Tina Meiers describes Lori Drew as a very unhappy and bitter person who complained nonstop about how life is so unfair. She envies people and think everyone else has it good, but her. She is in a unhappy marriage with Curt Drew. Meier states that Drew was very off putting because of her constant complaining. I would not be surprised if Almena is a unhappy marriage too as he is very controlling.

Meier's description of Lori Drew very likely describes Derrick Almena. That applies well to the likes of Osama bin Laden, Jim Jones, Charles Manson, Elliot Rodger, Eric Harris, and Jodi Arias.

 

[CARIIS]

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/nation-world/national/article119626563.html#storylink=cpy

I think the head of the agency oought to be polishing his resume or getting a name change.

I have seen him interviewed a couple of times, and I found him bothersome and angering.

I could not figure out what it was, still cant , but with this kinda stuff coming out they are gonna have to roll some heads just to give the appearance of "action" moo

 

[alucardsdream]

Well that reduced me to a sobbing mess. Breathtakingly beautiful. Thank you for sharing that.

I don't know how anyone can read that and not cry...I lost it less than halfway through and cried hard enough that my dog came running over to see what was going on. I don't think I could ever be quite so eloquent while dealing with losing a loved one. Absolutely heartbreaking.

 

[CARIIS]

Not or sure what you are seeing, Cariis.... but just after that spot it shows several propane tanks. Awful to think how they may have added to the fire.


according to this article with video, a man claims he worked at the warehouse as early as the Thursday before-re the fire, and that CPS workers were inside the building to check on the children very recently and "passed them".

also ... it says there was a small fire inside on that Thursday involving a refrigerator the time he helped out out. Another fire (arson) outside in 2014:
"all we see are flame, just lapping at the windows. I mean your heart just drops," said Almena". [he appears in the accompanying video]
http://abc7news.com/news/man-says-cps-worker-in-ghost-ship-warehouse-days-before-fire/1646820/

Thats weird - that was not the video in the link --although this one is an amazing report.

In the one I was attempting to share it was a closeup on the sidewalk right in front of the building, like a little pile of trash from cleanup and Propane tanks were sitting outside right next to several fire extinguishers..............................

right next to one another

and none of them had soot on them.

It was an unreal shot- but it was just coverage video which made it all the more ironic

. When I found out CPS was involved - it was so confusing. But it was my understanding that CPS made it clear to them that the children are not allowed in the warehouse.....

which now does IMO, add some nuance to his initial post outlining kids and wife were at a hotel ..if CPS was just in the warehouse.

We shall see, but in big cases like this with CPS involved I think we are going to find out more about CPS - confidentiality or not

I know that two different (posted earlier) CPS agencies were involved in this case- his dad or someone said something akin to I think the two CPS agencies ( different counties) "dropped the ball" in reference to reunify the kids and bio and dad

It keeps getting ..........I can not come p ith a word but......................

 

[mom2four717]

Earlier today I posted a link regarding 1305 31st avenue. The warehouse is actually at 1315 31st Avenue.http://www.eppraisal.com/home-values/property/1315-31st-ave-oakland-ca-94601-a422500286/

Please accept my sincere apologies for the misinformation.