Posted on 12/11/2016 1:34:21 PM PST by SteveH
Max Ohr considered himself the creative director, the “go-to guy,” the “camp counselor” at the Ghost Ship warehouse, and on that Friday night, he was also the doorman.
He had spent the day getting ready for an electronic music party upstairs, arranging the sound system and cleaning up the fantastical bohemian space where he and about two dozen of his fellow artists lived. Before 9 p.m., the lanky jewelry maker with a scraggly beard and crescent tattoo on his cheekbone began welcoming visitors. They arrived in small groups, more than 100 guests in all from a tight-knit music and art scene — a transgender barista, a 35-year-old therapist who helped at-risk kids, a father of twin daughters, a couple in their 20s, he with a pencil-thin mustache, she with green glitter sparkling on her cheeks.
As they entered this one-of-a-kind sanctuary to Oakland’s creative culture, they followed the pulsating beat to the second floor, up the single-file staircase made of scrap wood and pallet planks to a dance party promising good vibes and good friends.
(Excerpt) Read more at eastbaytimes.com ...
Some details have been emerging in stories that have been published in recent days concerning the Oakland warehouse fire, which is, according to some, the worst fire in Oakland's history.
Apparently the city did not make this place abide by safety regulations.
I think a lot of heads should roll over this but it’s Oakland so I doubt any will.
“Apparently the city did not make this place abide by safety regulations.”
Regulations are for conservatives, Republicans, Christians, business people and the like. Artists, Democrats, free-spirited people and liberals don’t have to comply.
How come no one has been arrested?
Heartbreaking
I suggest it’s for the same reason there are few arrests in black-on-black crime: leftists really don’t care if their own people die. They’re just collateral damage in the war against the bourgeoisie. Have drugs, move on.
Very, very sad.
The place seems never to have been inspected. Was the owner paying off somebody in the department? Or were they just incompetent? Apparently it’s the FD, in their off hours, who wander around and check out these places - and almost half of them have never been checked or, at any rate, no record exists.
Oakland is a dysfunctional city.
There will be some ENORMOUS liability issues.
All around...like EVERYWHERE around.
Read up on the Rhode Island fire in 2003 I think, 100 died.
There were huge penalties for just being within arms reach.
Here we have a complicit city government.
Cash will flow, heads will roll.
And no George Bush to blame.
Need more popcorn.
It was a scam and everybody was in on it. The owner was getting $5,000 in rent. Way more than he should have got for a crumbling old warehouse appraised at less than $100,000. So he knew they were living there. Everybody knew people were living there and did nothing.
It’s Oakland and doesn’t really matter in the overall scheme of things
“The place seems never to have been inspected. Was the owner paying off somebody in the department?”
When St. Pete was trying to rejuvenate itself there were several similar buildings occupied by dozens of little cubicles where “artists” lived and slept and created “art.” (I’m sorry, the quotes are necessary as I toured a couple of these with a real artist, without the quotes.) They had wires strung everywhere and were fire traps. I think, eventually, most of them disappeared as the city did succeed in rejuvenating itself and turning the downtown area into a real, going concern.
The thing is, the city made no obvious attempt to inspect or to apply the regulations. This may have been because they were so desperate for somebody to do something with the properties. I’ve read speculation that Oakland gave them a pass because it was a bunch of hippies and they didn’t want to force them out, which is what would have happened.
As for fire inspections, I’ve been involved with a few and it wasn’t part time guys doing it on their own. A man in uniform shows up and applies the regulations. Now, in every case, the companies I worked for instantly made the changes and they came back later to verify the changes were made. In one case, the company had too many tables and chairs, allowing too high an occupancy, in their cafeteria. In another, we had to tear down walls so there was a direct fire exit from every cubicle with no cul-de-sacs.
The section of this article where it gives the story from the perspective of the fire captain was absolutely damning. He knew what to prepare for, and he knew what his men would be facing inside the building. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT KNEW ALL ABOUT THIS SITUATION.
They let the #OccupyOakland stinkfest go on and on and on.
I’d wager many of those in this warehouse were also stinking up the park
“How come no one has been arrested?”
It takes time to “cross the t’s and dot the i’s” on 36 murder warrants.
Fine article. Thanks for posting it.
I think there should be charges against the owner (who was also stealing power for the building from a city lamp post) and that they’ve got to review their whole permitting process. I know there are a lot of people on FR who are opposed to building inspections, but actually, there’s a reason for them.
Possibly. And even probably, since the building was literally around the corner from the fire station. But there is no record in the city’s database that it was ever inspected.
So did somebody remove the record - or was it never inspected because of collusion? Neither scenario is good.
The local Left/dem politicos made the health risk into political issue and re-opened the bath houses. Not to mentioned blocking any mention of the true vectors ...
concern of immediate pleasure/gratification over reality
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