OAKLAND — City officials had safety concerns about the converted warehouse known as the Oakland Ghost Ship in the weeks leading up to a deadly fire that raged through the artist's collective Friday, leaving nine dead and two dozen missing in the charred remains.
An inspector from Oakland’s Department of Planning had attempted to enter the building on Nov. 17 in response to complaints of illegal building and blight in the lot next door, but was unable to get in, Darin Ranelletti, director of Planning and Building at the city of Oakland, said at a news conference outside the building Saturday afternoon.
Permits would have been needed to legally use the space as artists studies, for living areas or to hold large parties.
“Those permits had not been taken out,” Ranelletti said.
Whether the inspector couldn't get in because he was refused entrance or simply because no one was at home wasn’t immediately known.
Oakland City Councilman Noel Gallo, who represents the district where the fire broke out, said neighbors have regularly complained about the building — particularly regarding piles of trash and debris outside.
“We would complain to the manager that they had all that nonsense outside of his building, blocking sidewalks, blocking streets. And … he always had an attitude,” Gallo told the Los Angeles Times.
Did the building have residential permits? “Absolutely not," he said, according to the newspaper.
The artists collective had divided the warehouse into areas, with people doing woodworking, sculpting and other art. The crowded, cluttered "labyrinth" made it difficult for first responders to make their way through the smoldering building, officials said.
The was no evidence of sprinklers or permits for a party at the building, Oakland officials Saturday.
Partygoers on the second floor may have become trapped when the single stair case, apparently made out of wood pallets, became inaccessible when the fire started to spread. The cause of the fire is still unknown.
Images posted to a website (www.ghostship.com) shows a space heavily decorated with rugs, musical instruments, vintage lamps and lanterns and furniture, with individual spots carved out of the warehouse by nailed wood constructions. The warehouse, which also hosted a collective called Satya Yuga, regularly hosted EDM dance parties, according to its site. Friday's performance was scheduled for 9 PM to 4 AM Pacific time Friday-Saturday, according to the electronic musician Golden Donna's Facebook page.
Flowers left in memory of those who died in the fatal fire in Oakland. pic.twitter.com/ZRnLdtjfbl
— Elizabeth Weise (@eweise) December 3, 2016
