US party fire: 9 dead, dozens missing

Ray Kelly said emergency responders are prepared for a “mass casualty event” that could involve “several dozen fatalities” after firefighters and others gain full access to the building.

An electronic music party was happening at the building at 1305 31st Ave. on Friday night, according to a Facebook event page.

A family center has been set up in a county building where 30 or more people are waiting for word about missing loved ones. They opened an investigation on November 13.

“I didn’t really know people lived upstairs, though I saw some people coming out sometimes ” she said. The interior was cluttered with “a flea market of items”, she said.

The city had received complaints about unpermitted construction at the building and opened an investigation, but an inspector failed to gain access to the structure on November 7, and the inquiry remained open, according to the city’s buildings and planning chief, Darin Ranelletti. “We just don’t know that at this time”.

“Last night’s fire was an enormous tragedy”, she said.

The fire broke out late on Friday night, but it wasn’t until Saturday around noon that the announcement was made indicating that the number of people still unaccounted for had risen to 40.

Terry Ewing says his girlfriend was at the party and is missing. They said the venue had neither sprinklers nor working smoke detects. It’s believed numerous people who died during the fire were trapped on the second floor unable to reach an exit. There are reported nine deaths, although none of the victims’s names have been released to the public yet, and more than two dozen people still missing. Gray Area is also slated to hold a vigil starting at 6 p.m.at 2665 Mission St.in San Francisco. Fire crews have still not entered the building as of Saturday afternoon.

A survivor of the deadly fire at an Oakland warehouse said Saturday he’s thankful to be alive.

“It must have been a very fast-moving fire”, she said.

People who managed to escape the blaze gave firefighters a list of people who were unaccounted for. The cause is unclear.

Police said they have talked to people who came out of the warehouse and either left prior to the fire or were able to get out. “Furniture, mannequins, statues. Just a lot of stuff inside”. Deloche-Reed says the roof collapsed and that fire investigators will have to search through debris to find any remaining bodies. The majority of those confirmed dead were trapped on the building’s second floor. “There’s a bunch of people who didn’t show”, one attendee told the publication.

Lefebrve, who had just arrived as the first fire truck rolled up, said he thinks the residents built the stairway that was made mostly from pallets. He told KGO-TV that he and another person smelled smoke and spotted the fire in a back corner and started yelling.

Officials estimated at least 100 people were at the music show, which a Facebook page called the “Golden Donna 100% Silk 2016 West Coast Tour”.

Upwards of 50 people lived in the building. “Our hearts all go out to not only to the families, but our community”, said Johanna Watson of the Oakland police.

The Oakland Ghostship website features images of the site prior to the fire.

This Ghost Ship warehouse not only housed studios for various artists, but it was home to many of them as well. The office said the coroners were also at the scene Saturday morning and unavailable for comment.