Oakland Warehouse Fire

[GirlySports]

I am seeing very little of this and I haven't seen it mentioned here, but apparently at least 36 people died in a warehouse fire in Oakland over the weekend.

WTF? Thirty-six dead in a fire? What century is this?

And why isn't this a bigger story?

[Nyah]

I read on the news that it was in an old warehouse, with a bunch of artsy clutter everywhere. Apparently, the party was happening on the second floor, and the only staircase was a makeshift one built out of old, wooden pallets. You can imagine how quickly that might have been destroyed depending on where the fire started, trapping a lot of people on the second floor:

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local...404793415.html

Really gut wrenching.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Nyah

I read on the news that it was in an old warehouse, with a bunch of artsy clutter everywhere. Apparently, the party was happening on the second floor, and the only staircase was a makeshift one built out of old, wooden pallets. You can imagine how quickly that might have been destroyed depending on where the fire started, trapping a lot of people on the second floor:

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local...404793415.html

Really gut wrenching.

I also read that there were known electrical problems in the building. I am not sure if the cause was determined, but hooking up a bunch of musical electrical equipment in such a structure seems like a bad idea.

[aaronck]

I saw this yesterday, the person leasing the Warehouse and subletting it was not the greatest guy, more worried about his loss than the 30+ deaths.


http://cnews.canoe.com/CNEWS/World/2.../22688285.html

[Nyah]

I read that too. This is the venues website. The photos show that there is clutter and wood literally everywhere.

http://www.oaklandghostship.com/

Also an account on Reddit, where a guy describes just how difficult it was to get out of that place once the fire had started:

http://sfist.com/attachments/SFist_Jay/reddit-fire.jpg

[CaptainCrunch]

somebody needs to go to prison for this. That building wasn't safe at all.

[Fuzz]

At what point does personal responsibility kick in, where you walk into a place like this, see a bunch of electrical cords, candles and pallet stairs, and say, uh, NOPE. Or is that not a thin anymore? No one was forcing these "artists" to be in here. It sounds like it was pretty obvious it was not up to code.

[Resolute 14]

Personal responsibility has never been a thing. That's why we have warning labels everywhere.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

I am seeing very little of this and I haven't seen it mentioned here, but apparently at least 36 people died in a warehouse fire in Oakland over the weekend.

WTF? Thirty-six dead in a fire? What century is this?

And why isn't this a bigger story?

It's pretty crazy when you compare major news stories from ten years ago to now. Society just doesn't have the time or care for news that it used to. Everything just pops up and then it's on to the next.

[FlamesAddiction]

It was 36/50 that died just to put it in perspective. The odds of making it out were slim. Apparently the injuries of people who survived were relatively minor though, so you either made it out OK or you died.

It seems like it is usually a bad idea to head up in these situations, but it must be really counter intuitive at the time to head towards the source. It must have been terrifying.

I remember reading historical death records in the province of Ontario from the 1800s and "fire" was one of the most common causes of death back then. Nowadays, we have done a lot to reduce the risk that is why it seems so unacceptable when we hear of stuff like this these days.

[flamesfan1297]

Wow, that building looks super sketchy

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by Nyah

I read that too. This is the venues website. The photos show that there is clutter and wood literally everywhere.

http://www.oaklandghostship.com/

Also an account on Reddit, where a guy describes just how difficult it was to get out of that place once the fire had started:

http://sfist.com/attachments/SFist_Jay/reddit-fire.jpg

Two things.

That place looks really cool, but definitely a death trap.


That story is ####ing horrifying.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

At what point does personal responsibility kick in, where you walk into a place like this, see a bunch of electrical cords, candles and pallet stairs, and say, uh, NOPE. Or is that not a thin anymore? No one was forcing these "artists" to be in here. It sounds like it was pretty obvious it was not up to code.

I don't know. Death by structure fire isn't really on my radar. That looked like a seriously fun place to hang out.

[opendoor]

Yeah, places like that exist everywhere. Obviously it looks sketchy, but I don't think it's fair to judge the victims just for being there. Most people have done a lot dumber things and gotten away with it.

Whoever ran that place, yeah they should be facing some consequences.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

Two things.

That place looks really cool, but definitely a death trap.


That story is ####ing horrifying.

That place looks like it smells ####ing horrible.

[Sliver]

I bet they burned a metric fata ton of incense so it probably just smelled like that.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Sliver

I bet they burned a metric fata ton of incense so it probably just smelled like that.

So yeah, ####ing Horrible.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Sliver

I bet they burned a metric fata ton of incense so it probably just smelled like that.

Yeah, I could almost smell the sandalwood just looking at the pictures.

It did look like a really cool place and I would have loved to have seen it. But I think I would be too claustrophobic to be in there with 49 other people.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

At what point does personal responsibility kick in, where you walk into a place like this, see a bunch of electrical cords, candles and pallet stairs, and say, uh, NOPE. Or is that not a thin anymore? No one was forcing these "artists" to be in here. It sounds like it was pretty obvious it was not up to code.

Most people don't walk into a building, survey the premises, make notes of all the possible exit points and fire hazards, and plans for contingencies. Most people just assume things are safe because we have built everything else to fantastic safety standards in our modern age.

[Locke]

Wow....look at all that old 70s furniture...thats the definition of a Fire Hazard.