News

Actions

Oakland warehouse fire trapped people on second floor

Posted
and last updated
The Latest on the Oakland warehouse fire (all times local):
 
   1 p.m.
 
   Investigators say a fire at a warehouse in Oakland that claimed 36 lives progressed rapidly, trapping people on second floor.
 
   Special agent in charge of the San Francisco office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Jill Snyder said Wednesday people on the second floor of the warehouse did not know there was a fire on the first floor until it was well developed.
 
   She says smoke went up the stairwells to the second floor.
 
   The fire broke out at the warehouse during a dance party Friday night.
 
   ------
 
   12:30 p.m.
 
   The owner of a restaurant in Oakland has come under criticism from artists after voicing concerns that an artists' warehouse next door could pose a public safety hazard.
 
   Dorothy King called a news conference Wednesday to say, "I'm concerned they could burn down my business."
 
   She says the neighboring warehouse, known as "The Salt Lick," had regular parties and just one exit.
 
   Several artists attended the news conference and criticized her, accusing King of launching a "witch hunt" against the art world that could result in artist collectives being shut down. The artists said they did not live or work at the warehouse but were speaking on behalf of those who did.
 
   King responded that wants the city to take steps to make the warehouse safe and doesn't want it shut down.
 
   ------
 
   8:25 a.m.
 
   Recovery efforts at an Oakland warehouse fire have ended and the death toll stands at 36.
 
   The fire broke out at the warehouse during a dance party Friday night.
 
   The news comes a day after Oakland officials declared a local state of emergency due. The Oakland City Council is slated to ratify the state of emergency on Thursday. This will begin the process for state and federal aid.
 
   Officials say a refrigerator was a potential source of the fire, but it  was too soon to say for sure.
 
   --------
 
   6:35 a.m.
 
   Investigators zeroed in on a refrigerator and other electrical appliances as possible causes of the fire at a warehouse in Oakland that killed 36 people, as crews were set to finish their search for bodies.
 
   The death toll in the most lethal building fire in the U.S. in more than a decade was not expected to go higher.
 
   A refrigerator was a potential source of the fire, but it was too soon to say for sure, said Jill Snyder, special agent in charge of the San Francisco office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
 
   Snyder says investigators were looking at "anything electrical" on the first floor of the warehouse near the origin of the blaze.