Authorities prepared for up to 40 deaths in Oakland warehouse fire
At least nine people are dead and 25 people are unaccounted for after a fire broke out late Friday at an Oakland warehouse, according to fire department officials.
Alameda County Sheriff's Office officials say they are prepared to deal with up to 40 deaths at the warehouse in the city's Fruitvale district, even as they've only confirmed that nine people were killed in the blaze. The fire broke out during an electronic music party at the warehouse, which is the home of an artists collective.
Oakland Fire Chief Teresa Deloach Reed told reporters that most of the dead were found on the second floor of the building, but she feared the death toll could rise. She said it took about five hours to put out the blaze in the building, which did not appear to have sprinklers.
On Saturday morning, fire officials' search of the building was stymied when the roof of the warehouse collapsed. Officials with the coroner’s office haven’t recovered any bodies from the fire because the building is still deemed unsafe.
"One of the issues was that leading up to the second floor there was only one way up and down," Reed told reporters. "It was my understanding that the stairwell was kind of makeshift, that they put it together with pallets."
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/12/03/least-9-dead-oakland-warehouse-party-fire/94881696/
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