Stay safe,
On Dec 7, 2016, at 08:34, 'Lewack, Mark A.' Mark.Lewack@opm.gov [californiadisasters] <californiadisasters@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
Disregard my comment about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, it's irrelevant.
Very Respectfully,
Mark Lewack
Emergency Management Specialist (Coordinator)
U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Facilities, Security and Emergency Management
1900 E Street NW, Suite 1300
Washington, DC 20415
(202) 606-5415 (Office)
(301) 807-8943 (Cell #2)
Make preparation in advance. You never have trouble if you are prepared for it"
- - Theodore Roosevelt
From: Lewack, Mark A.
Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2016 8:14 AM
To: 'californiadisasters@yahoogroups.com'
Subject: RE: [californiadisasters] Oakland fire: Crews hopeful that death toll won't rise above 36
In a perfect world, this incident should be a wakeup call to owners of sub-standard facilities, that if they only see $$$, they will be responsible for loss-of-life if a fire or active shooter incident happens. I assume the exits weren't marked and the occupants were like fish in a kettle. Even if they were marked, could the occupants that perished get out? I've been in clubs with tight dance floors and narrow exits many moons ago. It's a miracle that no one was hurt or a fire didn't break out.
It's safe to say, that there weren't any sprinklers in the building or if they were installed, not properly tested.
I thought we learned a lesson in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911. I guess not.
Am I right?
Very Respectfully,
Mark Lewack
Emergency Management Specialist (Coordinator)
U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Facilities, Security and Emergency Management
1900 E Street NW, Suite 1300
Washington, DC 20415
(202) 606-5415 (Office)
(301) 807-8943 (Cell #2)
Make preparation in advance. You never have trouble if you are prepared for it"
- - Theodore Roosevelt
From: californiadisasters@yahoogroups.com [mailto:californiadisasters@yahoogroups.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2016 6:37 AM
To: californiadisasters@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [californiadisasters] Oakland fire: Crews hopeful that death toll won't rise above 36
Thanks, Rick for clarifying. It wasn't ALLOWED to happen. But it is a tragedy nonetheless.
Very Respectfully,
Mark Lewack
Emergency Management Specialist (Coordinator)
U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Facilities, Security and Emergency Management
1900 E Street NW, Suite 1300
Washington, DC 20415
(202) 606-5415 (Office)
(301) 807-8943 (Cell #2)
Make preparation in advance. You never have trouble if you are prepared for it"
- - Theodore Roosevelt
From: californiadisasters@yahoogroups.com [mailto:californiadisasters@yahoogroups.com]
Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2016 4:10 PM
To: californiadisasters@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [californiadisasters] Oakland fire: Crews hopeful that death toll won't rise above 36
Correction: It was NOT allowed to happen. It had no use permit (other than storage). It was not zoned for any of the current uses. It has inadequate facilities for the current uses that would have REQUIRED bringing it up to the current standards (like sprinklers, exits, lighting, protected stairwells and more). It WAS under investigation but that is a tedious process at best. The city certainly would not be 'in the loop' for any planned events, in fact it would be quite the opposite (it would be stealthy). These investigations frequently last YEARS, are silly expensive and ties up courtrooms for decades in the best of situations. This hadn't gone that far yet.
This tragedy falls SQUARELY on the owner, manager and occupants of the building, with some falling on the city (who will correctly claim budget, staffing and lack of legal ability as limiting factors - it takes more than an investigator, it takes legal staff and enough willingness to pursue it as the crime that it is). The owners/occupants KNOWINGLY and WILLINGLY violated the laws. There is no gentle way to say it any other way, they are culpable.
I'm not a fan of Oakland (or any city) but this type of event is THE MAIN REASON that we have fire codes (and building codes) in the first place. Tragic history repeating itself, yet again (and again and again...). This goes well beyond ignorance fully into the realm of STUPID because it was knowingly done by the occupants (a staircase made of pallets is ok, really?). The only saving grace is that the victims wouldn't last long, unconsciousness is a mercy before the pain of burning alive and one can only hope that the responsible parties are among those that remained. There will be no 'justice' here, only sorrow.
No, I'm not PC and these are the cold hard facts. No one wins here, not one single party. People DIED because others were stupid. Friends and family are grieving because of that same reason.
Rick
On 12/6/2016 12:33 PM, 'Lewack, Mark A.' Mark.Lewack@opm.gov [californiadisasters] wrote:
It's sad that those who died had little chance of being rescued or safely exiting from the 2nd floor. It's even more sad that the place had known code violations and yet was allowed to be occupied and hold events.
Just a few observations from an East Coast person. Most of the deadliest incidents in the past year and a half , if not all were at nightclubs or in this case, makeshift operations.
Very Respectfully,
Mark Lewack
Emergency Management Specialist (Coordinator)
U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Facilities, Security and Emergency Management
1900 E Street NW, Suite 1300
Washington, DC 20415
(202) 606-5415 (Office)
(301) 807-8943 (Cell #2)
Make preparation in advance. You never have trouble if you are prepared for it"
- - Theodore Roosevelt
From: californiadisasters@yahoogroups.com [mailto:californiadisasters@yahoogroups.com]
Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2016 3:28 PM
To: californiadisasters@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [californiadisasters] Oakland fire: Crews hopeful that death toll won't rise above 36
Is it sad to be relieved some didn't burn alive?
'The autopsies completed so far found that the victims died of smoke inhalation, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office said.'
-deeAnn
On Tuesday, December 6, 2016 11:45 AM, "Kim Noyes kimnoyes@gmail.com [californiadisasters]" <californiadisasters@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
Oakland fire: Crews hopeful that death toll won't rise above 36, building 85 percent searched
By Rick Hurd | rhurd@bayareanewsgroup.com, Harry Harris | hharris@bayareanewsgroup.com and Erin Baldassari | ebaldassari@bayareanewsgroup.com
PUBLISHED: December 6, 2016 at 6:48 am | UPDATED: December 6, 2016 at 11:24 am
OAKLAND — The meticulous search for bodies in the rubble of a devastating Fruitvale District warehouse fire neared its final stages Tuesday morning, and crews were hopeful that the current death toll of 36 would not rise.
Fire and recovery crews completed about 85 percent of their search by 6 a.m., and authorities said they'd begin combing through the final bit of debris after stabilizing a front corner of the building also known as the "Ghost Ship". Officials suspended the search around 10:30 p.m. Monday to address that concern, then resumed their search around 2 a.m.
"There are two pockets that remain (not) searched," Oakland Fire Battalion Chief Robert Lipp said. One of them will be processed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, he said, and Lipp "saw no reason" that it wouldn't be finished Tuesday.
"The remaining (pocket) is the (southwest) corner that remains unstable," he said.
Lipp was optimistic no more victims would be found by searchers.
"I don't anticipate (the number) going up," he said. "One area has potential but otherwise no. We're hoping we don't find any more bodies."
Lipp would not comment on a question about whether some of the victims were found holding onto each other.
The death toll from the state's deadliest structure fire since 1906 remained at 36. Authorities have identified 26 of the victims and tentatively identified nine of them. One victim remains unidentified.
The autopsies completed so far found that the victims died of smoke inhalation, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office said.
Officials did not release any additional names during a 6 a.m press conference on Tuesday. An additional 10 names were made public on Monday.
The founder of the Ghost Ship collective, Derick Ion Almena, was interviewed at the scene remotely by NBC's "Today" show. In the interview, which aired Tuesday morning, Almena was defensive when asked questions about the dangerous conditions of the building.
"I'm the father of this space," he told the "Today" show hosts. "On the night of the fire, did I know there was going to be a fire? Did I remove myself from this space and get a hotel because I wanted to avoid this, because I wanted to cast blame on other people. No."
Even though Lipp indicated the remaining search efforts should not take much longer, officials said there is no timeline on when they expect the search to be finished. Crews won't quit the search until they are convinced there are no other victims inside.
"We are not going to put an end time on this," police spokeswoman Officer Johnna Watson said. "It won't be until every piece of debris is removed and every part of the building searched."
Fire investigators said Tuesday they have zeroed in on a "point of interest" in the cause of fire but are not releasing details at this time. The fire began in the downstairs in the rear of the building and quickly spread upstairs, authorities said.
Police said many people were coming to the scene to offer support and said that donations could be made online at https://www.youcaring.com/firevictimsofoaklandfiredec232016-706684 .
Check back for updates.
--
Kim Noyes
Subscribe to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/californiadisasters/
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