By now, we know Oakland officials were well-aware of the some of the safety hazards at the Ghost Ship warehouse that caught fire in December of last year. But here’s a revelation that might throw even the most jaded observers for a loop: some Oakland firefighters had actually partied there before.
The Mercury News reports:
Two years before 36 partygoers died in the Ghost Ship warehouse inferno, Oakland firefighters toured the cluttered firetrap, even dancing in the same second-story performance space where the victims would huddle in their final moments, according to witnesses and documents.
The visits started Sept. 26, 2014, a Friday, when firefighters extinguished a couch fire outside the warehouse artists’ collective on 31st Avenue before touring the eclectic interior, people who saw them inside the building said. One firefighter called it a “museum” and stopped to play one of the many pianos scattered around the space cluttered with wood and furniture stacked to the ceilings. Another firefighter told master tenant Derick Almena that as long as there were marked fire exits, they’d be OK, a resident who overheard the conversation told this newspaper.
The next day, firefighters returned — twice — hanging out for hours inside the warehouse as a private party with live bands raged upstairs and chefs roasted a pig outside, multiple attendees said.
The warehouse was “completely packed with stuff” during the party, sources said. During a music set, the power went out, forcing the manager to jimmy-rig the electrical system to get it back on. (Sources would later tell multiple news outlets that it was this overburdened electrical system that caused the fire.) The firefighters never reported what they saw, instead dancing, drinking, and eating the night away.
“I am saddened to hear this,” acting Fire Chief Mark Hoffmann said of the allegations. “I can’t defend their actions.”
Read more about the shocking allegations here.