Oakland Ghost Ship Fire

Brad Layton
December 13, 2016

The Oakland Ghost ship fire was inside a warehouse art collective that killed 36 people on December 2, 2016. It is believed that the fire was started by overloaded electrical lines at the back of the building. The warehouse was ran by Derick Ion Almena, that allowed for it to be at times the home for dozens of artists. At the time of the fire, the upstairs of the warehouse was filled with "partygoers" that had no way of escape due to the stairs being hidden. The people upstairs had to climb down a makeshift wooden staircase that was highly unsafe. Alike the Triangle Fire, the people trapped inside had to climb down an old broken fire escape that was not well-kept and very dangerous. The concertgoers had to navigate the narrow, makeshift staircase that was jumbled with furniture and other objects in their way in order to escape the flames. A women that had lived in the building, Ms. Brito, stated how difficult it would have been for anyone who didn't know the place to find the exit in the best circumstances. Some people living in the Warehouse before the fire that had left said that they left due to the feeling that they were unsafe and the warehouse was not secure. For the Triangle Fire Factory, in New York City, with its tenements had witnessed a growing concern for issues of health and safety in the early years of the 20th century. Both of these establishments were unsafe and people noticed this, but didn't take action to prevent anything from happening.




https://trianglefire.ilr.cornell.edu/story/fire.html

http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2016/12/12/oakland-warehouse-fire-overloaded-electrical-system-seen-as-cause/

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/12/12/us/oakland-warehouse-ghost-ship-fire.html?_r=0