A roundup of current notable coverage of the Dec. 2 warehouse fire in East Oakland that killed 36 people.
Survivor who jumped from Ghost Ship window recalls fire horror (Kimberly Veklerov/San Francisco Chronicle): Just before the Ghost Ship lost power, a makeshift staircase turned into a confused bottleneck. A few people ran up the narrow passageway from the ground floor to flee the flames downstairs, hampering a much larger group trying to crowd-surf down. Not far from the mass, Aaron Marin scanned the second floor of the warehouse. “We all just looked at each other and knew we were trapped,” said Marin, 45, one of the last people to escape the Oakland building as it was consumed by flames. (Read full story.)
For Ghost Ship rescuers, a scene they can never forget (Los Angeles Times/Alene Tchekmedyian): The first body he saw, he recognized. She looked like a mannequin under a pile of charred wreckage about a dozen feet high, among pianos, drum kits and amplifiers coated with soot. As Brian Centoni carefully peeled away layers of debris, his body drenched in sweat under heavy fire gear, he realized he knew her face. (Read full story.)
Oakland warehouse fire in 2015 foretold Ghost Ship disaster (San Francisco Chronicle/Rachel Swan): Nearly two years before a fire killed 36 people inside an Oakland warehouse that city officials say they did not inspect because they considered it vacant, a fire killed two people at a similarly non-permitted live-work building in West Oakland. But in the March 2015 case, city officials were well aware that people were living in the two-story brick building — even though it was not approved for residential use. (Read full story).
Derick Almena's lawyers warn not to 'scapegoat' him (East Bay Times/Matthias Gafni): The attorneys representing Ghost Ship leader Derick Almena went on the offensive Monday, releasing a statement blaming various government agencies for the deadly fire, not the controversial artist collective founder. “Our investigation shows that Derick Almena committed no conduct amounting to criminal negligence. He should not be made a scapegoat,” said attorneys Tony Serra, Jeffrey Krasnoff and Kyndra Miller in a joint statement. (Read full story.)