Oakland Ghost Ship Fire

The Oakland Ghost Ship was a warehouse in Oakland, California that was a venue for music and art. People partied, worked, and lived in the warehouse. Artists and musicians rented studios and affordable homes in the warehouse. On December 2, a party was being held with several DJ's and rooftop dancing. Ghost Ship was not approved for the amount of people who came to the party or for people to live in.

A fire broke out in the bottom floor of the warehouse. It spread throughout the warehouse and because there was no sprinklers or fire alarms. People think a source of electricity caused the fire to happen. There were so many victims because the building broke every safety percausion. Fire alarms nearby were not heard because the music from the party was so loud. The warehouse was extremely overcrowded with all sorts of stuff like pianos, art, furniture, even mannequins. The people on the top floor had to exit using two stair cases which were far from the actual exits on the main floor. Smoke had trapped many people on the second floor. The staircases and most of the building were made of wood which basically kindled the fire. Once on the main floor, the exits were extremely hard to find and then even harder to get to because all the clutter. People had to crawl to avoid the smoke which slowed down the escape.

The Triangle Fire in 1911 is similar to Ghost Ship because both buildings were very dangerous working places. Both buildings were packed with flammable materials. The doors to the stairs were supposedly locked like how all the furniture blocked people in Ghost Ship from the staircases and exits.

http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2016/12/13/ghost-ship-fire-atf-to-address-oakland-inferno-that-killed-36/

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/oakland-ghost-ship-warehouse-deadly-fire-gallery-1.2901036?pmSlide=1.2901030

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/oakland-artists-fear-crackdown-ghost-ship-fire-44081810