Also did you notice that the windows on the second floor are covered with a steel mesh. The second floor is where they found the bodies. Who knows if that steel mesh was not there perhaps there would have been a chance for them to jump out of those windows. That mesh prevented anyone breaking the windows from the outside or inside. That place no doubt was a big fire hazard.
yes, “expanded steel grating.” however, if you look at the side of the building, there does not seem to be any expanded steel grating on those windows. It could have been that there was limited visibiity if the electricity was out, or if it was smoky, or if the side of the 2nd story of the building was blocked by fire. however, i think that the building was not designed for holding large numbers of people. It was an industrial building. Next door, for example, is an auto repair shop in a similar building.
Raves seem to be a central part of the Oakland millenial counter-culture nowadays. There are many empty rundown buildings, and many millenials these days with excess time on their hands and some pocket change to spend on stuff such as tickets to rave concerts. I get a sense that many are drifting in their 20s, college dropouts or liberal arts degree holders, working menial jobs, doubling up in rented apartments, and making up any difference by mooching off of their parents. Some of the “lucky” ones are those who manage to find full time jobs with government funded non-profits or government related jobs such as museum guides. Occupy was very popular in Oakland. A day after the election I got trapped in an Oakland bar while hordes of millenials roamed the streets, blocking traffic, taking over streets, taunting the police and vandalizing businesses, cars, and trashcans. A generation or two earlier, this deviant behavior would have been largely confined to a 3 block area around People’s Park in Berkeley.