At least nine people are killed and another dozen missing after devastating fire breaks out on the second floor during a 100-person late-night rave inside an Oakland warehouse with no sprinklers
- Officials say at least nine people died in massive fire in at ‘Rave Cave’ that was held in an Oakland warehouse
- Fire Chief Teresa Deloche-Reed said that at least another 25 people are still unaccounted
- She said: ‘We still have to do a more thorough search of the building and we don’t know the potential number of other victims’
- Officials say there was no sprinkler system in the building and firefighters saw no evidence that smoke detectors were activated during the blaze
- Crews found flames on three sides of building when they arrived to scene after fire started around 11:30pm
- Party in city’s Fruitvale district was part of musician Golden Donna’s ‘100% Silk’ West Coast tour
- Oakland police said those concerned about missing people should contact the Alameda County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau 510-382-3000
By Jenny Stanton For Dailymail.com and Regina F. Graham For Dailymail.com
At least nine people died in a massive fire that destroyed a northern California warehouse during an electronic music party early Saturday morning and officials said the building had no sprinkler system.
Fire Chief Teresa Deloche-Reed said that at least another 25 people are still unaccounted for after the deadly blaze started around 11:30pm in the 1300 block of 31st Avenue during an event advertised as ‘Rave Cave’ featuring musician Golden Donna’s 100% Silk West Coast tour.
‘We still have to do a more thorough search of the building and we don’t know the potential number of other victims,’ Deloche-Reed said.
She added that there was no sprinkler system and that firefighters saw no evidence that smoke detectors were activated during the blaze. Arson investigators are being called to the scene to investigate.
‘Right now there’s 25 names of people that have not been accounted for,’ Deloach-Reed said.
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‘We’re not sure if they have already self-transported to the hospital or they have gone to friend’s home. We’re not sure.
‘This is a true loss for the city, for the firefighters who responded, and the people who lost family and friend. It’s just tragic, a real tragedy.’
The fire is thought to be one of the deadliest single-structure fires in Oakland’s history.
Between 50 to 100 people were at the party which started at 9pm and was supposed to last until 4am, officials say.
Most people who died were on the second floor of the building, which was accessible by a ‘makeshift stairwell,’ Deloach-Reed said.
In terms of efforts of party-goers trying to flee or firefighters trying to rescue people, Deloach-Reed said, ‘We know it was going to be difficult if it started anywhere near that stairwell.’
#Developing – 9 dead, 13 missing in warehouse fire in Oakland, CA. @CBSDFW pic.twitter.com/xf1FdIlQvj
— Jennifer Lindgren (@JLindgrenCBS11) December 3, 2016
She explained that a multiagency task force was being created to investigate the fire and begin the task of recovering victims inside.
‘The building is a huge building,’ Deloach-Reed said. ‘There’s going to have to be a methodical way we go about body recovery, and then also trying to find out where the fire started and how the fire’s spread took place. … We have not done a complete search of the building.’
Fifty-five firefighters battled the blaze at the scene, as crews found flames on three sides of the building located in the Fruitvale district of the city, Battalion Chief Lisa Baker told the East Bay Times.
An aggressive attack on the fire was underway when conditions suddenly changed and firefighters had to go back outside.
Officials say it took an estimated four hours to bring the huge blaze under control.
Firefighters are still at the scene this morning to extinguish hot spots. International Boulevard is closed between Derby and Fruitvale avenues.
The Oakland Police Department says the building also functions as ‘a live work/residence.’
Sabrina May Dolan told DailyMail.com that her sister, Chelsea Faith, was performing at the party under her stage name Cherushii when the fire started on the second floor of the building.
Dolan said she is standing by waiting for an update, as her sister still has not been located and cannot be reached.
Numerous people have been posting on the event page on Facebook about who they believe is missing, as others have posted on the event page to say they are safe and escaped the fire unharmed.
‘It was too hot, too much smoke, I had to get out of there,’ Bob Mule, a photographer and artist who lives at the building and suffered minor burns, told the Times.
‘I literally felt my skin peeling and my lungs being suffocated by smoke. I couldn’t get the fire extinguisher to work.’
Mule was able to make it out of the building that was engulfed in a matter of minutes.
It’s unclear how the fire started, as it’s believed an artists’ collective that is adjacent to the warehouse was also engulfed in flames. No firefighters have been injured.
Oakland police said those who were concerned about missing people in the fire should contact the Alameda County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau 510-382-3000.
Peter Wadsworth (above) is thought to be missing as people have posted requesting information about his whereabouts on the Facebook event page