Death toll rises to at least 36 from California warehouse inferno

Mon Dec 5, 2016 | 4:46 PM EST Oakland warehouse fire death toll rises to 36 By Curtis Skinner and Peter Henderson | OAKLAND, Calif. The confirmed death toll from a blaze that engulfed a converted warehouse during a weekend dance party in Oakland, California, rose to 36 on Monday, the greatest loss of life from a U.S. fire in over a decade, and officials said they were certain to find more bodies. What sparked the fire, which erupted late on Friday in a sprawling two-story building that housed an artists' collective, has yet to be determined, but authorities were believed to be examining possible safety violations at the site, which was already under investigation for reports of illegal construction. Investigators from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives identified an "area of interest" on the ground floor that was still out of reach, according to Sergeant Ray Kelly, a spokesman for the Alameda County Sheriff's Office. He declined to elaborate, though authorities said their first priority remained the recovery of victims and support for their loved ones. "We are no closer to finding the cause, and we absolutely believe that the number of fire fatalities will increase," Oakland Fire Battalion Chief Melinda Drayton told a news conference at the site. Authorities have said arson was not immediately suspected. But a team of criminal investigators from the Alameda County District Attorney's Office has been activated, and prosecutors are monitoring the recovery process, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said on Sunday. The nature of the fire has raised questions about whether building code violations might have been a factor. City officials have said the warehouse, known locally as the Ghost Ship, was under scrutiny for complaints of illegal construction inside, and that an inspector visited the property on Nov. 17. FIRE HAZARDS Municipal authorities also cited reports that people were living in the structure even though it was not permitted for residential use. A number of individuals who had been inside the warehouse described it as a potential fire trap. The first floor of the building, which housed a group of artists who called themselves the Satya Yuga Collective, was a cluttered warren of partitioned studio spaces and rooms crammed with furniture, musical instruments, antiques, sculptures, wall-hangings and rugs, according to photos posted on social media before the fire and accounts of survivors and city officials. Two recreational vehicles believed to have been used as living quarters and work space was found parked on the ground floor inside, Kelly said. The dance party was held on the second floor, which partially collapsed when the roof gave way in the fire. The building lacked sprinklers or smoke detectors, and a makeshift stairway between the first and second floors was at least partly constructed from wooden pallets, officials said. The 10,000-square-foot structure, which occupied about half a city block, had just two exterior doorways. The recovery of three more bodies from the charred ruins brought the official fatality count to three dozen, a tally that made it the deadliest blaze in the United States since 100 people perished in a 2003 nightclub fire in West Warwick, Rhode Island. About 70 percent of the Oakland site had been searched by the time recovery crews suspended operations in the early morning hours due to a wobbly exterior wall, but their work resumed at about 9 a.m. local time. As of Monday morning, 11 of the dead had been identified, police said. YOUNG VICTIMS Most victims were in their 20s and 30s, though some were teenagers, officials said. According to Kelly, the warehouse was known as a "safe-place" haven for young members of the city's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Some victims were from other parts of the country or overseas, including an unspecified number from South Korea, Finland and South America, Kelly said. With many of the dead burned beyond recognition, families were asked to preserve items that might contain their DNA to help identification. Kelly said some had died from smoke inhalation. Officials were unsure how many people were present when the fire erupted. One survivor has estimated 60 to 70 were inside at the time. Related Coverage VIDEOResidents lay flowers for Oakland fire dead VIDEOWorried friends, relatives await news on California warehouse fire Death toll rises to at least 36 from California warehouse inferno Some warehouse visitors saw warning signs in advance of Oakland fire Musicians, student among first list of Oakland fire victims The warehouse was one of many converted lofts on the east end of San Francisco Bay in Oakland's Fruitvale neighborhood, a mostly Latino district where rents are generally lower than in the rest of city. Survivors recounted fast-spreading flames and smoke that quickly filled the interior, blinding occupants trying to flee. Chris Nechodom, 30, said he was on the ground floor when he saw flames race across the ceiling. As he fled, he heard a loud noise and saw a plume of thick black smoke. "It blew out maybe 10 feet out of the entrance," Nechodom said. "After that, I saw a few more people crawl out." Police will use body camera footage from first responders, emergency calls and other information to help determine the cause of the fire and whether criminal charges should be filed. Exhaustion has taken its toll on fire crews who have worked around the clock. One of those killed was the son of a sheriff's deputy, Kelly said. "This tragedy has hit very close to home," he said. (This story has been refiled to add missing word in second paragraph) (Additional reporting by Laila Kearney in New York, Timothy McLaughlin in Chicago, and Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, Califorinia; Writing by Daniel Wallis and Steve Gorman; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Lisa Shumaker)

Nightclub fire kills at least 232 in Brazil

Nightclub fire kills at least 232 in Brazil Sun, Jan 27 12:36 PM EST 1 of 11 By Ana Flor SANTA MARIA, Brazil (Reuters) - A fire in a nightclub killed at least 232 people in southern Brazil on Sunday when a band's pyrotechnics show set the building ablaze and fleeing partygoers stampeded toward blocked and overcrowded exits in the ensuing panic, officials said. The blaze in the university town of Santa Maria was started by a band member or someone from its production team igniting a flare, which then set fire to the ceiling, said Luiza Sousa, a civil police official. The fire spread "in seconds," she said. Local fire officials said at least one exit was locked and that bouncers, who at first thought those fleeing were trying to skip out on bar tabs, initially blocked patrons from leaving. The security staff relented only when they saw flames engulfing the ceiling. The vast majority of the victims, most of them university students, died from asphyxiation, officials said. Others were crushed in the stampede. "We ran into a barrier of the dead at the building's exit," Colonel Guido Pedroso de Melo, commander of the Santa Maria fire squad, said of the scene firefighters found on arrival. "We had to clear a path to get to the rest of those that were inside." An estimated 500 people were in the Boate Kiss nightclub when the fire broke out at around 2:30 a.m., police said. Witnesses said the club, which has a 2,000-person capacity, was always busy on weekends but wasn't any more crowded than usual. The death tally was lowered slightly, with police saying at midafternoon that 232 people had been killed, down from an initial figure of 245. When the fire began, many revelers were unable to find their way out amid the chaos, confusing restroom doors for exits and finding resistance from bouncers when they did find an exit door. "It all happened so fast," survivor Taynne Vendrusculo told GloboNews TV. "Both the panic and the fire spread rapidly, in seconds." Once security guards realized the building was on fire, they tried in vain to control the blaze with a fire extinguisher, according to a televised interview with one of the guards, Rodrigo Moura. He said patrons were getting trampled as they rushed for the doors, describing it as "a horror film." Television footage showed people sobbing outside the club before dawn, while shirtless firefighters used sledge hammers and axes to knock down an exterior wall to open up an exit. SAFETY STANDARDS IN SPOTLIGHT Rescue officials moved the bodies to a local gymnasium, where the deceased were segregated by gender. Male victims were easier to identify, they said, because most of them, unlike the women, whose purses were left scattered in the devastated nightclub, had identification on them. One of the club's owners had already surrendered to police for questioning, GloboNews reported. President Dilma Rousseff, who started her political career in the Rio Grande do Sul state where the fire happened, cut short a visit to Chile to return to visit the scene. Before leaving Chile, she broke out in tears as she pledged government help for the victims and their families. "We are trying to mobilize all possible resources to help in the rescue efforts," Rousseff said. "All I can say at the moment is that my feelings are of deep sorrow." The disaster recalls other incidents including a 2003 fire at a nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island, that killed 100, and a Buenos Aires nightclub blaze in 2004 that killed nearly 200. In both incidents, a band or members of the audience ignited fires that set the establishment ablaze. Brazil's safety standards and emergency response capabilities are under particular scrutiny as it prepares to host the 2014 World Cup soccer tournament and the 2016 Olympics. Santa Maria, with a population of more than 275,000, is about 186 miles west of the state capital of Porto Alegre. Rio Grande do Sul state's health secretary, Ciro Simoni, said emergency medical supplies from all over the state were being sent to the scene. (Additional reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal, Gustavo Bonato, Jeferson Ribeiro, Eduardo Simões and Brian Winter; Writing by Paulo Prada; Editing by Todd Benson, Kieran Murray and Eric Beech)