OAKLAND, Calif. (Diya TV) — Searchers have recovered 33 bodies — some belonging to teens as young as 17 years old, or possibly younger — from a fire-ravaged warehouse that was hosting a dance party when the blaze broke out, officials said Sunday.
Sgt. Ray Kelly of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office warned that he anticipates that “the number of victims will rise” from a fire officials say may be the deadliest ever in Oakland. The search effort is expected to last for days, he said.
Kelly called the number of deaths “astronomical.”
Names of six of the eight victims identified by the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office Coroner’s Bureau were released this evening after their families were notified. They were: Cash Askew, 22, Oakland; David Cline, 24, Oakland; Nick Gomez-Hall, 25, Coronado, California; Sara Hoda, 30, Walnut Creek, California; Travis Hough, 35, Oakland; Donna Kellogg, 32, Oakland; and Brandon Chase Wittenauer, 32, Hayward, California. Another victim was a 17-year-old whose name will not be released, according to a statement from the City of Oakland.
Authorities are asking families with missing loved ones to preserve DNA samples to help them better identify those who were killed in the blaze.
The District Attorney’s Office has criminal investigation teams actively looking at the fire with the other law enforcement agencies involved in investigating the fire, according to a statement from the City of Oakland.
Oakland mayor Libby Schaff said Sunday she’s ordered an investigation into the history of the troubled building, including a complete review of all records of complaints.
According to The Associated Press, Oakland officials said they had opened an investigation into the warehouse last month, after repeated complaints from neighbors who said trash was piling up and people were illegally living in the building, which was zoned as a warehouse.
The Oakland Fire Department responded to reports of a structure fire at the warehouse known as the “Ghost Ship” on 31st Avenue at around 11:32 p.m. on Friday night. It’s unclear if the building was equipped with smoke alarms, the fire chief added.
Fire Department Battalion Chief Melinda Drayton said that firefighters have been impacted emotionally by bodies found. She painted a grizzly scene of the aftermath, describing what firefighters have encountered inside of what is left of the warehouse, where the second floor is hanging just above the heads of search crews, with pianos, appliances and other materials dangling from above.
Preliminary investigations at the scene have indicated the event was not an incident of arson, but rather an electrical fire. The building’s power went out when the fire began and the flames blocked the building’s sole exit, making it nearly impossible for those inside to escape.
Many people sadly suffer from the loss of life and property from fires. Whilst the former can never be restored, any property can with the help of a home insurance policy, be it for a condo or a house or anything in between.
Derick Ion, founder of the Ghost Ship Artist Collective, ran it at the warehouse, which housed, among other things, recording studios for music artists. Ion appeared to address the fire in a Facebook post early on Saturday morning by saying that “everything I worked for is gone.”
“Confirmed. Everything I worked so hard for is gone. Blessed that my children and Micah were at a hotel safe and sound… it’s as if I have awoken from a dream filled with opulence and hope…. to be standing now in poverty of self worth,” he wrote.
Kelly asked the public to be patient as authorities look into the cause of the blaze, and continue to search for the missing and the dead.
“We will be here for days and days to come,” Kelly said.
Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.
