ghost ship fire

Crews work to shore up Ghost Ship warehouse, DA considers criminal charges

By
Tuesday, December 6, 2016
Crews have been working around the clock since the Ghost Ship warehouse caught fire on Friday night, killing at least 36 people.
OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley spoke publicly Monday for the first time about the deadly Ghost Ship fire. She admitted the investigation could result in possible murder or manslaughter charges.

RELATED: Some 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


The power in the area near the warehouse has been turned off so crews working with a large craned are safe from the power lines. They're shoring up an unstable wall that's been slowing the recovery effort.

"The area that's primarily affected, are really steel beams with heat still contained in those beams," said Deputy Chief Darin White of the Oakland Fire Department.

So far, 36 people have been confirmed dead. Of those, 22 have been positively identified. Family notifications have gone beyond the United States to Finland, Korea and Guatemala.

"At this point we can't locate any more deceased victims," said Sheriff Greg Ahern. "But we are prepared to remove them if the fire department and ATF do locate them, but at this time we're not anticipating any large, huge numbers."

As for the District Attorney's office, investigators are looking at two things; Whether there's criminal liability associated with the warehouse fire, and if so, who will be charged.

Officials have interviewed several people already. The City of Oakland could also be held liable for not enforcing building and safety codes.

TIMELINE: Complaints against Ghost Ship warehouse since 2014

"The range of charges could be murder," said D.A. Nancy O'Malley. "All the way to involuntary manslaughter and until we know what the evidence shows us, there may be other charges if the evidence presents that."

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