Pulse nightclub shooting survivor pays respects at Ghost Ship warehouse

Byby Cornell Barnard KGO logo
Friday, December 9, 2016
Pulse massacre survivor pays respects to Ghost Ship victims
The Ghost Ship warehouse fire took the lives of 36 people and a survivor of the Pulse nightclub massacre came to Oakland to pay his respects.

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- The City of Oakland officially declared a state of emergency six days after the [url HREF="abc7news.com/tag/ghost-ship-fire" TARGET="" REL=""]Ghost Ship warehouse fire[/url]. The community is still in mourning, and the city is looking for ways to investigate all the details.[br /][br /]"We're here to show condolences to families," said Angel Colon. He traveled a long way to pay respects to 36 victims of the Ghost Ship fire. He was shot six times during the Orlando Night Club shooting massacre. He knows the tragedies are different, but the support he received was a godsend.[br /][Ads /][br /]"It was overwhelming, show of love," said Colon. "Now it's my turn to do the same."[br /][twitter ID="807117182874202112" /][br /]The state of emergency makes the city eligible for state and federal relief funds. ATF investigators have requested a forensic mapping team as they try to pinpoint the cause of the flames. This investigation continues after learning the fire department didn't have the warehouse in its records.[br /][br /][b][url HREF="http://www2.oaklandnet.com/oakca1/groups/ceda/documents/report/oak061791.pdf" TARGET="" REL=""]Click here [/url]to read the full list of complaints.[/b][br /][br /]On Friday special forensic mapping teams from the ATF will create 3D imaging from inside the Ghost Ship warehouse to help find a cause. The agency maintains that the cause of the fire was not arson, and they'll be looking at every possible point of origin.[br /][br /]A man who did not want to appear on camera did odd jobs at the Ghost Ship warehouse. He told ABC7 News there was an upstairs kitchen fire just last Thursday. He warned founder [url HREF="http://abc7news.com/news/i-team-investigates-background-of-ghost-ship-founder/1642954/" TARGET="" REL=""]Derick Ion Almena[/url] that things were too dangerous inside.[br /][br /]"I tell him, you need to secure this place good, I think people are going to get hurt," the man said.[br /][Ads /][br /]As for fire inspections, ABC7 News has learned that regular inspections, as required by law, were not done at the Ghost Ship for at least a decade.[br /][br /]"I don't have an answer to that," said Dan Kalb of the Oakland City Council. "That's what we need to look at, find out what happened and what was missed."[br /][br /]Finding a cause to the tragic fire could take weeks.[br /][br /][b]TIMELINE: [url HREF="http://abc7news.com/news/timeline-complaints-against-ghost-ship-warehouse-since-2014/1640996/" TARGET="" REL=""]Complaints against Ghost Ship warehouse since 2014[/url][/b][br /][media ID="1641042" /][br /][br /][b][url HREF="http://abc7news.com/tag/ghost-ship-fire/" TARGET="" REL=""]Click here[/url][/b] for all ABC7 News stories, videos, and photos from the Ghost Ship warehouse fire.[/b]