Burnt Ramen house in Richmond red-tagged, occupants told to leave

RICHMOND, Calif. -- Well-known punk house Burnt Ramen in Richmond was red-tagged for numerous safety violations by the city's Fire, Code Enforcement and Planning departments this morning, Mayor Tom Butt said.

At about 10 a.m., inspectors from the three departments determined that the building, located at 111 Espee Ave., would not be habitable for its six occupants until the violations were corrected.

The residents, none of whom were on site, were told to find other housing in the meantime.

The inspection of the house, which has hosted punk shows for years, was held in the wake of the deadly warehouse fire at the Ghost Ship in Oakland's Fruitvale district.

Since that fire, which claimed 36 young lives on Dec. 2, artists in the East Bay and San Francisco have feared evictions from affordable, creative warehouse spaces on the grounds of safety violations and code enforcement.

On Sunday, Pittsburg resident Gabe Sutton made a public Facebook post requesting donations to make improvements at Burnt Ramen. These included 10 battery-powered smoke detectors, three ABC-rated fire extinguishers, five first aid kits, 20 ground fault circuit interrupter or ground fault interrupter wall outlets, two exit signs and 10 monoxide detectors.

Burnt Ramen owner Mike Malin, known as Mykee Ramen, publicly shared the post and requested additional donations of a roll-out ladder to provide an upstairs fire escape, and an extra-large framed steel door that opens out and has a safety push bar.