ghost ship fire

OPD bodycam video captures officer predicting danger 1 year before deadly Ghost Ship fire

By
Sunday, April 29, 2018
Newly obtained body camera video reveals the observations of Oakland Police officers at the Ghost Ship artists' collective well before it burned down.
OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Newly obtained body camera video reveals the observations of Oakland Police officers at the Ghost Ship artists' collective well before it burned down. Officers had visited the warehouse several times and can be heard voicing their concerns about the potential fire hazards.

"I don't feel comfortable going up there. Let's make it quick," Officer J. Low is heard saying.
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The body camera videos were obtained by ABC7's media partner, the Bay Area News Group. In one clip, you can hear one of the officers describing the warehouse as a huge fireplace -- more than a year before the Ghost Ship burned down.

PHOTOS: 36 victims of Oakland warehouse fire identified
The full list of victims of the Ghost Ship warehouse fire in Oakland, Calif. are listed here, and will be updated as more victim names are released.none
Jonathan Bernbaum, 34, from Berkeley was identified as one of the victims of the Oakland fire.none
Billy Dixon, 35, from Oakland, Calif. was identified as one of the victims of the Oakland fire.none
Barrett Clark, 35, from Oakland was identified as one of the victims of the Oakland fire.none
Ara Jo, 29, from Oakland, Calif. was identified as one of the victims of the Oakland fire.none
Peter Wadsworth, 38, from Oakland was identified as one of the victims of the Oakland fire.none
Nicholas Walrath, 31, from Oakland was identified as one of the victims of the Oakland fire.none
Wolfgang Renner, 61, from Oakland, Calif. was identified as one of the victims of the Oakland fire.none
Griffin Madden, 23, of Berkeley, Calif. was identified as one of the victims of the Oakland fire.none
Jason McCarty, 35, from Oakland, Calif. was one of the victims of the Oakland fire.none
Jennifer Mendiola, 35, from Oakland, Calif. was identified as one of the victims of the Oakland fire.none
Joseph Matlock, known as Joey Casio, 36, from Oakland, Calif. is one of the victims of the Oakland fire.none
Benjamin Runnels, 32, from Oakland, Calif. was one of the victims killed in the Oakland fire.none
Chelsea Dolan, 33, from San Francisco, Calif. was one of the victims killed in the Oakland fire.none
Em Bohlka, 33, from Oakland, Calif. was one of the victims killed in the Oakland fire.none
Alex Vega, 22, from San Bruno, Calf. was a victim of the Oakland fire. His girlfriend, Michela Gregory, also died in the fire.none
Amanda Kershaw, 34, from San Francisco, Calif. was one of the victims killed in the Oakland fire.none
Hanna Ruax, 32, from Helsinki, Finland was one of the victims killed in the Oakland fire.none
Denalda Nicole Renae, also known as Nicole Seigrist, 29, from Oakland, Calif. was one of the victims killed in the Oakland fire.none
Johnny Igaz, 34, of Oakland, Calif. was one of the victims killed in the Oakland fire.none
Vanessa Plotkin, 21, of Oakland, Calif. was one of the victims killed in the Oakland fire.none
Feral Pines, 29, of Berkeley, Calif. was one of the victims killed in the Oakland fire.none
Jennifer Kiyomi Tanouye, 31, of Oakland, Calif. was one of the victims killed in the Oakland fire.none
Jennifer Morris, 21, of Foster City, Calif. was one of the victims killed in the Oakland fire.none
Edmond Lapine, 34, of Oakland, Calif. was one of the victims killed in the Oakland fire.none
Alex Ghassan, 35, of Oakland, Calif. was one of the victims killed in the Oakland fire.none
Michela Gregory, 20, of South San Francisco, Calif. was one of the victims killed in the Oakland fire. Her boyfriend, Alex Vega (right), was also a victim of the fire.none
Micah Danemayer, 28, of Oakland, Calif. was one of the victims killed in the Oakland fire.none
David Cline, 24 of Oakland, Calif. was killed in the Ghost Ship warehouse fire.none
Brandon Chase Wittenauer, 32, of Hayward, Calif.was killed in the Ghost Ship warehouse fire.none
Cash Askew, 22, of Oakland, Calif. was killed in the Ghost Ship warehouse fire.none
Draven McGill, the youngest victim confirmed so far, attended Asawa School of the Arts in San Francisconone
Nick Gomez-Hall, 25, of Coronado, Calif. was killed in the Ghost Ship warehouse fire.none
Sara Hoda, 30, of Walnut Creek, Calif. was killed in the Ghost Ship warehouse fire.none
Travis Hough, 35, of Oakland, Calif.was killed in the Ghost Ship warehouse fire.none
Donna Kellogg, 32, Oakland, Calif. was killed in the Ghost Ship warehouse fire that broke out late at night on Dec. 2.none


"I would be so worried about the electrical wires. Wow," said Officer Moises Palanco.

Yet despite those comments, the Bay Area News Group found no public records indicating that the officers notified city fire or building officials. 36 partygoers died at the Ghost Ship after a fire broke out at the warehouse on December 2, 2016. The cause is still unknown, but the master tenant, Derick Almena, and his right-hand man, Max Harris, are charged with involuntary manslaughter for creating unsafe conditions -- conditions Almena's spokesperson says aren't completely their fault and the body cam videos prove it.
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"Why don't you shut it down. If it was that bad of a situation, why don't you file a complaint. Why don't you call the fire department, why don't you call city officials?" said Kali Mari-Bowyer, Almena's spokesperson.



Oakland Police officers had visited the Ghost Ship several times over the years, ranging from a report of a stabbing to a child welfare check. Jim Dudley is a retired deputy chief with the San Francisco Police Department and a criminal justice lecturer at San Francisco State University.

"If they don't have a code enforcement program formally, I think you need an officer to think outside of the box to make that next step," said Dudley.

Almena and Harris are scheduled to stand trial in July. Their attorneys have included the numerous visits by city employees as part of their defense

Click here for full coverage on the investigation into Oakland's deadly Ghost Ship Fire.
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