Oakland fire

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Man Guilty in Fire That Killed 36 Won't Go Back to Jail

Derick Almena will serve sentence at home

(Newser) - Derick Almena, the master tenant of a San Francisco Bay Area warehouse that caught fire during a music event , killing 36 people, was sentenced Monday to 12 years in prison, although he is unlikely to spend more time in jail. Already on house arrest after being released from jail last...

Neither Defendant Convicted in Oakland Warehouse Fire

Blaze killed 36 people

(Newser) - A jury on Thursday acquitted one man of involuntary manslaughter but could not reach a verdict for the leader of an artists' commune accused of turning an Oakland warehouse into a cluttered maze that trapped 36 partygoers during a fast-moving fire. Jurors found Max Harris, 29, not guilty but said...

Ghost Ship's Undoing: Ramshackle Network of Extension Cords

'The whole place was wires and cables and wood,' former resident says

(Newser) - The ATF and Oakland authorities are due to speak about the deadly Ghost Ship fire Tuesday morning, and sources tell the East Bay Times that they're expected to blame terrible wiring for the disaster that killed 36 people. One insider tells the Times that the warehouse, described as a...

Oakland Warehouse Went 30 Years Without Inspection

But witnesses say fire officials, police had been inside

(Newser) - Officials say they couldn't have designed " an equally flammable place " as the Oakland warehouse where 36 people died in California's deadliest structure blaze in more than a century—but Oakland's planning director says inspectors had no idea. Darin Ranelletti says inspectors hadn't stepped foot...

Old Refrigerator May Be Source of Oakland Fire

'Disaster waiting to happen'

(Newser) - Investigators searching for the cause of America's deadliest building fire in 13 years are focusing on appliances at the rear of the first floor of the "Ghost Ship" warehouse. "On that back wall, there was a 45-degree-angle burn, and they need to look at that area very...

City Failed to Shut Down 'Death Trap' Warehouse
Oakland Failed to Act 
on 'Death Trap' Warnings
THE RUNDOWN

Oakland Failed to Act on 'Death Trap' Warnings

Some of the 36 fire victims were able to text goodbyes

(Newser) - The death toll from Friday's horrific warehouse fire has risen to 36, making it California's deadliest building fire since the devastation of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. As recovery efforts at the "Ghost Ship" warehouse continue, many are wondering why inspectors failed to act despite repeated complaints...

Criminal Investigators Looking Into Oakland Disaster
Oakland Blaze Was
One of Worst US Fires
in 50 Years
THE RUNDOWN

Oakland Blaze Was One of Worst US Fires in 50 Years

Criminal investigation team looking into disaster

(Newser) - The blaze that ripped through a converted warehouse in Oakland, Calif., during a party on Friday has now been confirmed as America's deadliest fire in more than a decade—and authorities say more than half the wreckage of the "Ghost Ship" warehouse hasn't been searched yet. Oakland...

7 Stories