Oakland Warehouse Fire Latest: 31 Identities Released

OAKLAND, CA — The number of people killed in an Oakland warehouse fire late Friday night remains at 36. The City of Oakland continues to release the names of victims.

The most recent victims identified:

• Billy Dixon, 35, Oakland, Calif.
• Johnny Igaz, 34, Oakland, Calif.
• Ara Jo, 29, Oakland, Calif.
• Amanda Kershaw, 34, San Francisco, Calif.
• Griffin Madden, 23, Berkeley, Calif.
• Vanessa Plotkin, 21, Lakewood, Calif.
• Hanna Ruax, 32, Helsinki, Finland
• Nicole Siegrist, 29, Oakland, Calif.
• Alex Vega, 22, San Bruno, Calif.
• Jason McCarty, 35, Oakland, Calif.
• Wolfgang Renner, 61, Oakland, Calif.
• Jennifer Mendiola, 35, Oakland
• Joseph Matlock, 36, Oakland

The previous victims are:

• Cash Askew, 22, Oakland, Calif.
• Matthew Bohlka, 33, Oakland, Calif., who lived her life as Em Bohlka
• David Cline, 24, Oakland, Calif.
• Micah Danemayer, 28, Oakland, Calif.
• Chelsea Dolan, 33, San Francisco, Calif.
• Alex Ghassan, 35, Oakland, Calif.
• Nick Gomez-Hall, 25, Coronado, Calif.
• Michela Gregory, 20, South San Francisco, Calif.
• Sara Hoda, 30, Walnut Creek, Calif.
• Travis Hough, 35, Oakland, Calif.
• Donna Kellogg, 32, Oakland, Calif.
• Edmond Lapine, 34, Oakland, Calif.
• Jennifer Morris, 21, Foster City, Calif.
• Justin Fritz, 29, Berkeley, Calif. who lived her life as Riley Fritz
• Benjamin Runnels, 32, Oakland, Calif.
• Jennifer Kiyomi Tanouye, 31, Oakland, Calif.
• Brandon Chase Wittenauer, 32, Hayward, Calif.

The other known victim was a 17-year-old minor whose name was released by his school principal in San Francisco.

The Coroner’s Bureau is identifying the victims to the public by the names their families ask for, "and will note the legal name, if different, on the official death certificate, according to law. They are consulting with an LGBT diversity consultant to assist in appropriate gender identification." Justin Fritz was identified originally as Justin Fritz, then Feral Pines, and finally as both Justin Fritz and Riley Fritz.

Just one victim remains unidentified.

At 2 p.m. a fire official said that 90 percent of the building had been cleared of debris. An unstable part of the structure over an area already cleared is being demolished to protect crews working inside.

>>Related: Oakland Fire Donations: 2 Official Victim Funds Established

Monday night, hundreds of people attended a vigil for the victims at Oakland's Lake Merritt. The overall tone of the vigil was one of remembrance — laughter as stories were shared even as tears of loss were shed. A few took the opportunity to express anger at the city over the unsafe conditions of the building that burned and frustration over high rents.

The fire ripped through a building known as the "Ghost Ship," as warehouse that had illegally been turned into an artists' residence and work space. There was also an illegal second story added to the building that was being used as a music venue. Some of the dead were attending an un-permitted electronic music event.

The building's history

The building was only permitted to be a warehouse. City officials released documents Monday detailing the troubled history of the building. On Saturday, following the fire, the complaint history was updated with, "Firefighters said that some of the victims might have been trapped in the blaze when they couldn't escape down a makeshift one-way stairwell leading to the second floor that was built out of wooden pallets."

In October 2014, the same document states, a complaint noted, "Constructing house/structure without permits" that was deemed "Non-Actionable."

An open complaint reported by city planning officials on Saturday showed the city was told the building had been "remodel(ed) for residential" purposes.

Anyone with information that might be useful in the criminal investigation is encouraged to call 877-288-2882.

Timeline

The fire department responded to the structure fire around 11:30 p.m. Friday in the 1300 block of 31st Avenue. A rave was under way; officially the "Golden Donna 100% Silk 2016 West Coast Tour" was taking place upstairs.

Firefighters were met by flames on three sides of the building. Crews did not hear any smoke detectors going off when they arrived, and the building had no sprinklers. One man who escaped the building said he grabbed a fire extinguisher but couldn't get it to work.

The fire went to three alarms and was quickly declared a defensive fire, meaning it was too dangerous for firefighters to go inside. They sprayed water on the towering flames from aerial ladders and ground level. The building was still smoking at 4:30 a.m., five hours after flames broke out.

Additional Coverage:

• ‘Ghost Ship’ Manager Derick Ion Almena Defends Actions
• Oakland Fire Donations: 2 Official Victim Funds Established
• Oakland Warehouse Fire: 33 Killed, IDs to Be Released, Recovery Efforts Continue (UPDATES)
• Support Pours in for Oakland Fire Victims: How You Can Help
• Oakland Warehouse Fire: Nightclubs Have Long Posed Safety Questions
• Oakland Warehouse Fire: 10 Bodies Recovered, Dozens More Deaths Suspected (UPDATES)
• Oakland Warehouse Fire: Three UC Berkeley Students Among the Missing Says Student Paper

Victims:

• Oakland Fire Victims Identified: Coroner's Bureau Releases Names of 7
• Oakland Warehouse Fire: Santa Monica Man Among Those Killed
• Oakland Fire Victim From Walnut Creek
• Oakland Fire Victim From Hayward, Coroner Reports
• Coronado Man Identified As Victim In Oakland Fire
• Oakland Warehouse Fire: Lakewood Woman Among the Missing
• Morristown Man Missing From Deadly CA Warehouse Fire: Report
• N.J. Man Among 24 Missing In Deadly CA Warehouse Fire, Reports Say
• Youngest Victim of Oakland Warehouse Fire Was 17-Year-Old San Francisco Student

-Image via City of Oakland