http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... s-out.html
Alameda County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Ray Kelly said they fear up to 40 people could have possibly died. Arson investigators are being called to the scene to investigate.

'I literally felt my skin peeling': Nine are killed and 25 missing after huge fire tears through a 100-person rave in an Oakland warehouse filled with artists' clutter, a makeshift stairwell and no sprinklers or smoke detectors

Officials say at least nine people died in massive fire at 'Rave Cave' that was held in an Oakland warehouse
Fire Chief Teresa Deloche-Reed said that at least another 25 people are still unaccounted
She said: 'We still have to do a more thorough search of the building and we don't know the potential number of other victims'
Officials say there was no sprinkler system in the two-story building and firefighters saw no evidence that smoke detectors were activated during the blaze
Crews found flames on three sides of building when they arrived to scene after fire started around 11:30pm
Alameda County Sheriffs Office Sgt. J.D. Nelson said coroner's office is preparing for 40 or more bodies
Party in city's Fruitvale district was part of musician Golden Donna's '100% Silk' West Coast tour
Oakland police said those concerned about missing people should contact the Alameda County Sheriff's Coroner's Bureau 510-382-3000

Who was the opening band, "Great White"?

To soon man, to soon.

I went to a few raves in my younger days. This does not surprise me in the slightest. I feel for the family of the people that perished.

11:30?....must have been during set-up, don't most raves start well after midnight?

Sad. Prayers for the survivors/families involved.

As much as I hate rules/regs. Firecodes. I don't know all the facts, but seems sketchy.

Makeshift stairwell, second floor made from pallets, no sprinklers, no smoke alarms, several previous fire code violations, complaints by neighbors that the building was a fire hazard, zoned only as a warehouse, filled with debris so people had to navigate it like a maze, and “a large structure had been built at (the) property that had not been strapped down or stable.”

Edit: No permits.

Someones going to prison on this one.

Probably the building owner, the rave promoter, and maybe the code enforcement officer that signed off on it.

Sgt. R. Kelly from Alameda County is investigating this, someone is at least gonna get pissed on.

They may never ID the promoter or anyone who'll admit to being the promoter.

The property owner will swear that she had no idea there were people living in the building and the people she leased to were just there working.

Since no permit was issued, nobody at the City will own up to any responsibility. The neighbors who complained to the city could have prevented this if someone secretly torched the place when they knew the building was empty.

In the end there will be as many as 40 people dead and nobody will go to jail. Lots of civil suits will be filed but the cagey owner is probably well shielded in an "LLC" with no personal liability.

Just life in the big city, 21 century style.

It's no Cocoanut Grove.

Updated to reflect 24 dead found so far with only 20% of building searched.

Holy shit....

I think they had a pretty good idea of what to expect from the beginning when the Coroner said they were prepared to handle 40 bodies. If the place is as bad as described, and the "crowd" was what people said it was, it could be even more.

My prayers for the victims, survivors, and their families. Prayers also for the first responders and their families who have to deal with the emotional toll investigating something like this is bound to exact.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/ ... 36-w485893

Two people have been charged with involuntary manslaughter after they “knowingly created a fire trap” inside an Oakland warehouse where a fire claimed 36 lives during an electronic dance music concert late last year, prosecutors alleged Monday.

Derick Ion Almena, 47, the property manager who converted the warehouse into an artists residence and underground concert venue known as the Ghost Ship, and Max Harris, who served as the venue’s “creative director” and ran the concert that took place on the night of the blaze, were arrested Monday and charged with 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter, according to Alameda County Dist. Atty. Nancy E. O’Malley.

Derick Ion Almena, the warehouse's operator and concert promoter who converted the space into an underground venue and living space for local artists, was arrested Monday morning, according to Almeda County Assistant District Attorney Teresa Drenick.

Almena and Harris allowed as many as 25 people to illegally reside in the warehouse, failed to provide any fire suppression equipment and filled the building with flammable materials from “floor-to-ceiling,” creating a deadly “labyrinth” from which the victims had little chance to escape, according to a probable cause statement filed Monday.

On the night of the fire, Harris rented the upstairs portion of the warehouse to a promoter and was on the premises to oversee the event. During preparation for the electronic dance show, Harris allegedly blocked off a second stairwell that had served as an exit, leaving guests only one way out when flames began to devour the building.

I graduated from HS with a guy who died in the fire. He texted his GF that he loved her in his final moments.