Chelmsford native among the missing in Oakland fire

The building known as the “Ghost Ship” was an artist workspace and illegal home for a rotating cast of a dozen or more residents, those who lived there or visited often.

Oakland firefighters found the remains of 30 victims as they sifted through the debris-filled shell of the two-story converted warehouse in Oakland being used by an artists’ collective.

Among them is Vanessa Plotkin of Lakewood, an undergraduate student studying sociology at UC Berkeley.

Meanwhile, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf told ABC News that she has ordered an investigation into the building’s troubled history, including a complete review of all records of complaints. Search crews are on 12-hour shifts.

In the meantime, Oakland police spokeswoman Johnna Watson said officers have conducted an areawide search, noting license plate numbers of cars that victims may have driven to the warehouse. Kelly said officials have notified the families of three of the dead.

“We’re going to have to cut a hole through the building”. Firefighters worked through the night in a “mindful, thoughtful and compassionate” way.

Officials brought in heavy equipment, including cranes, dump trucks, excavators and bulldozers, to create a safe path into the building. Four of them were found close together, and the other six were within 10 feet away.

The Oakland Fire Department confirmed to the press that they are now working with a variety of agencies in the aftermath of the tragedy, including the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department, the Oakland Police Department, the Alameda County Search and Rescue, and the American Red Cross, among others. “It’s blocked at the entrance so we have to gain access on the other side”, Kelly said.

Officials also reportedly said they are investigating whether the warehouse was also being used as a living space.

The Gray Area, a nonprofit foundation for the arts, created a fire relief crowdfunding page to help support the victims.

At the press conference, ACSO spokesperson Sgt.

As of Sunday afternoon, the death toll had risen to 33 – but that’s with only 20% of the warehouse cleared.

“I can tell you when I was in there last evening – the somber approach our firefighters and Alameda County Sheriff’s Department members took to this search”, said Battalion Chief Melinda Drayton of the Oakland Fire Department. Several people were believed to be living there, including a family with three small children who survived but lost everything.

“A lot of these people are young people”, Kelly said Saturday. They ranged in age from 22 to 35, and all but one lived in the San Francisco Bay Area. As of Sunday morning, only a fifth of the building had been searched, authorities said.

“At first we thought it was a fog machine – and then we heard someone say ‘No, that’s a real fire, ‘ ” Brinkmann said.

Michael Rosen, an Oakland resident and former managing editor at The Daily Californian, also attended the event.

One survivor, Aja Archuleta, 29, a musician, was scheduled to perform at the electronic music party with her synthesizers and drum machines around 1 a.m. and was working at the door when the fire broke out around 11 or 11:15 p.m. They recalled rushing through thick black smoke, with the building caving in behind them.

“I just needed some closure”, said Josh Hawes, whose former girlfriend is presumed to be among the dead. “After that I saw a few more people crawl out”, he said. “I would not characterize it as something that was out of control”.

Rescue efforts have been hampered by the building’s makeshift and unsound structure.

Deloach-Reed said fire officials will verify those names against the ones they have compiled.

“We fervently hope that those who were injured will recover quickly and fully”, Dirks said in the email. “We have a community that’s hurting”. The Rhode Island nightclub was hosting a concert at the time the fire broke out, and one concertgoer was able to capture the start of it and the frantic minutes that followed on video.

He said it took about 15 seconds to go from realizing there was a fire to seeing the room engulfed.

“We will be here for days and days to come”, Kelly said earlier Sunday.

Drayton says the process is intentionally arduous for firefighters’ safety and to show respect to the families of those who have died.