OAKLAND, CA – After a six-month investigation, two people have been charged with involuntary manslaughter for the death of 36 people within the 10,000-square-foot Ghost Ship warehouse in Oakland, CA. Most of the victims were attending an impromptu concert event held within the warehouse on Dec. 2, 2016.
The two people charged include Derick Almena, 47, the concert promoter who turned the space into an artists’ collective and underground concert venue, and Max Harris, a.k.a. Max Ohr, identified in reports as the creative director and scenic designer of the space, who had served as doorman the night of the fire.
Both Almena and Harris were living at the warehouse at the time of the blaze, which had not been approved for use as either a place of residence or an entertainment venue. Almena had reportedly turned the space, which had only been approved for use as warehouse space, into a quirky attraction for aficionados of the underground arts scene, but also a deadly firetrap cluttered with mannequins, pianos, stacks of wooden pallets and extension cords snaking through the space.
Both Almena and Harris were arrested without incident on June 5. The arrests took place after investigators interviewed 75 people linked with the venue, according to reports. The investigation also included 12 search warrants, 6,000 documents or pages of reports and 300 items held for evidence.
Despite the months-long investigation, no definitive cause for the fire has been announced. But the investigation shows that, despite the fact that the warehouse was stacked “floor to ceiling” with flammable materials, there were no approved sprinkler systems or other fire suppression equipment in the building.
Almena, who is listed as the primary leaseholder for the space, was renting it from the warehouse’s owner, Chor N. Ng. Along with the charges of manslaughter, survivors of the 36 victims filed civil lawsuits against those linked with the warehouse space, including Almena, Harris (a.k.a. “Max Ohr”), Ng and Almena’s girlfriend, Micah Allison, who was living at the warehouse with Almena and their three children but who was not home the night of the fire, according to reports.
