"Profit?" Almena asked host Matt Lauer rhetorically. He was asked about charging for concerts and subleasing space. "Everything I worked for is gone," Almena posted.Īlmena later said he didn't know people had died when he posted the comment.įour days after the fire, Almena gave a brief, rambling interview with NBC's Today show. Hours after the fire, Almena posted a comment to his Facebook page that stoked the anger. Visitors described the structure as a warren of scrap wood, sofas, old pianos and snaking electrical cables. Past residents of the warehouse accused Almena of ignoring hazardous living conditions and putting profits over safety. The lawsuits also name Pacific Gas & Electric, alleging the utility should have known the warehouse was wired hazardously.Īlmena quickly became the focal point of widespread anger and criticism after the fire. Relatives of half the victims who died in the fire have filed wrongful death lawsuits against Chor Nar Siu Ng, the building's owner, and Almena, who held the lease. It's not known if Harris is represented by an attorney. Kyndra Miller and Jeffrey Krasnoff, attorneys who represent Almena, did not immediately return phone messages Monday. (KGO-TV via AP, File)īetween November 2013 and December 2016, police showed up at the warehouse multiple times to check on complaints but Almena and Harris often met police outside the warehouse and told officers that no one lived there, records show. For those who survived, it was largely a matter of luck that when the first cries of “fire” were heard, they were able to find their way through smoke and darkness or were near enough to a door or already outside.
The fire killed dozens of people during a electronic dance party as it raced through the building, in the deadliest structure fire in the U.S.
3, 2016 file image from video provided by KGO-TV shows the Ghost Ship warehouse after a deadly fire that started late Friday swept through the Oakland, Calif., building. Harris is accused of renting the upstairs to a dance party promoter on the night of the fire. Prosecutors also said Monday that the cause of the deadly blaze will likely never be known because so much evidence was destroyed.Ĭourt documents show Almena was the primary tenant and rented space to as many as 25 people to live and work in the building licensed only as a warehouse.Īlmena allowed Harris to live there, calling him the "creative director," who was in charge of collecting rent, mediating disputes and dealing with the building owner. "Their actions amount to disregard for human life," O'Malley said.īoth men were arrested earlier in the day. 2 in the Ghost Ship warehouse, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley said.Īuthorities say the site contained flammable materials, faulty wiring and a blocked exit. A man who authorities say illegally rented out space in an Oakland warehouse that caught fire, killing 36 partygoers, and another man who organized the event were each charged Monday with three dozen counts of involuntary manslaughter.ĭerick Almena and Max Harris "knowingly created a fire trap with inadequate means of escape" when they hosted the dance party Dec.
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