Fire at the Oakland Ghost Ship Warehouse: A disaster life cycle-based analysis

Authors

  • Frederick Tolle, MPH
  • Allison P. Chen
  • Edbert B. Hsu, MD, MPH

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/ajdm.2020.0378

Keywords:

Ghost Ship, disaster life cycle, disaster, fire, affordable housing

Abstract

Objective: Structural fires remain a prominent threat to public health and safety even in several regions of the developed world, where rising housing costs force many to reside in unsafe environments. This case report of the Ghost Ship Warehouse fire in Oakland, California, highlights deficiencies in the emergency management system in the context of similar nightclub incidents to inform recommendations that might prevent such events from occurring in the future.

Design: The characteristics of the Ghost Ship warehouse and circumstances surrounding the fire, as described in government documents and news media sources, were examined using the disaster life cycle framework. The Ghost Ship fire was also compared with two prior fire disasters at the Happy Land nightclub in New York City and Station nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island.

Results: The following risk factors were identified as common features of deadly nightclub fires: large crowd size, limited access to exits, multiple code violations, lack of required permits, inadequate fire suppression systems, and poor building maintenance. Conclusions: To prevent the recurrence of such disasters, Oakland and other cities should adopt measures to improve interdepartmental communication; streamline reporting of fire and safety hazards, and allocate sufficient resources and staff capable of identifying hazardous buildings, performing inspections, and enforcing building and fire codes. Equally importantly, the urban affordable housing crisis needs to be adequately addressed to mitigate vulnerable populations living in unsafe dwellings that place them at risk of deadly fires.

Author Biographies

Frederick Tolle, MPH

Graduate Student, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland

Allison P. Chen

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. Daniel J. Barnett, MD, MPH, Department of Environmental Health and Engineering Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland

Edbert B. Hsu, MD, MPH

Department of Emergency Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland

References

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): National Disaster Recovery Framework. Available at http://www.fema.gov/national-disaster-recovery-framework. Accessed February 2, 2020.

FEMA: Developing and maintaining emergency operations plans: Comprehensive preparedness guide 101. Available at https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1828-25045-0014/cpg_101_comprehensive_preparedness_guide_developing_and_maintaining_emergency_operations_plans_2010.pdf. Accessed February 2, 2020.

Oakland City Council: Oakland Municipal Code Chapter 15.12—Oakland Fire Code. Available at https://www.documents.dgs.ca.gov/bsc/ordinances/2016/Oakland13401.pdf. Accessed April 2, 2018.

Alameda County Grand Jury: 2013-2014 Alameda County Grand Jury Final Report. Available at https://www.acgov.org/grandjury/final2013-2014.pdf. Accessed February 2, 2020.

Veklerov K: A year after Ghost Ship, Oakland still has inspection troubles, illegal warehouses. San Francisco Chronicle. 2017. Available at https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/A-year-after-Ghost-Ship-Oakland-still-has-12397151.php.Accessed December 23, 2019.

Veklerov K: “Like a huge fireplace”: Oakland officer voiced concerns about Ghost Ship. San Francisco Chronicle. 2018. Available at https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Like-a-huge-fireplace-Oakland-officer-12563065.php. Accessed December 23, 2019.

Veklerov K: Oakland fire department software blamed for inspection lapses. San Francisco Chronicle. 2017. Available at https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Oakland-Fire-Department-softwareblamed-for-11061705.php. Accessed December 23, 2019.

Matier P, Ross A: Oakland Fire Department’s troubled building inspection effort. San Francisco Chronicle. 2016. Available at https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Oakland-Fire-Department-stroubled-building-10778749.php. Accessed December 23, 2019.

Matier P, Ross A: Ghost Ship fire exposes war between Oakland fire chief, union. San Francisco Chronicle. 2016. Available at https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/matier-ross/article/Ghost-Shipfire-exposes-war-between-Oakland-fire-10787400.php. Accessed December 23, 2019.

Oakland Fire Department: Origin and Cause Report Incident # 2016-085231. Oakland, California: Fire/Arson Investigation Unit; 2017.

Dillon L, Poston B, Zahniser D, et al.: Oakland warehouse was a cluttered “death trap” filled with pianos, RVs, but no fire sprinklers, former residents say. Los Angeles Times. 2016. Available at http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-oakland-warehouse-safety-20161203-story.html. Accessed December 23, 2019.

Aleaziz H, Fagan K: Search of Oakland warehouse finished as fire death toll remains 36. San Francisco Chronicle. 2016. Available at https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Search-of-Oaklandwarehouse-finshed-as-fire-death-10780261.php. Accessed December 23, 2019.

Fessenden F, Singhvi A: The Oakland fire: What happened inside the Ghost Ship? The New York Times. 2016. Available at https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/12/12/us/oakland-warehouseghost-ship-fire.html. Accessed December 23, 2019.

Fuller T, Dougherty C, Turkewitz J: Death toll in Oakland warehouse fire rises to 36 as search continues. The New York Times. 2016. Available at https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/04/us/warehouse-party-fire-oakland-search.html. Accessed December 23, 2019.

Landesman LY: Public Health Management of Disasters: The Practice Guide. Washington, DC: APHA; 2012.

Taylor Jr OR: Surviving Ghost Ship: Man learns to stand, walk and talk again. San Francisco Chronicle. 2017. Available at https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Surviving-Ghost-Ship-Manlearns-to-stand-walk-12399629.php. Accessed December 23, 2019.

City of Oakland: Ghost Ship Fire Anniversary Update & Progress Report. Available at http://www2.oaklandnet.com/groups/cityadministrator/documents/memorandum/oak067762.pdf. Accessed April 2, 2018.

Veklerov K, Fagan K: How police outside Oakland deal with Ghost Ship-style hazards. San Francisco Chronicle. 2017. Available at https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/How-police-outside-Oaklanddeal-with-Ghost-10929998.php. Accessed December 23, 2019.

NBC New York: Oakland fire grim reminder of deadly happy land blaze in 1990. 2016. Available at https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/NYC-Oakland-Fire-Grim-Reminder-of-Happy-Land-Bronx-Blaze-in-1990-405175295.html. Accessed December 23, 2019.

Egelko B: Rhode Island’s response to 2003 blaze could be model for Oakland. San Francisco Chronicle. 2016. Available at https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Rhode-Island-s-response-to-2003-blaze-could-be-10784710.php. Accessed December 23, 2019.

Swan R: Oakland warehouse fire in 2015 foretold of Ghost Ship disaster. San Francisco Chronicle. 2016. Available at https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Oakland-warehouse-fire-in-2015-foretold-of-Ghost-10807217.php. Accessed December 23, 2019.

Dougherty C, Turkewitz J: Rising prices in Oakland Push Artists into risky housing. The New York Times. 2016. Available at https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/06/us/oakland-fire-real-estate-housing.html. Accessed December 29, 2019.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: Comprehensive housing market analysis: Oakland-Hayward-Berkeley, California. Available at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/pdf/OaklandCA-comp-17.pdf. Accessed December 28, 2019.

Sulek J, Gafni M: The last hours of Oakland’s Ghost Ship warehouse. East Bay Times. 2016. Available at https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2016/12/11/oakland-fire-ghost-ship-last-hours/. Accessed December 29, 2019.

Fagan K: How Oakland can help make future Ghost Ships legal. San Francisco Chronicle. 2016. Available at https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/How-Oakland-can-help-make-future-Ghost-Ships-legal-10803651.php. Accessed December 23, 2019.

Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion: Social determinants of health. Available at https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/social-determinants-of-health. Accessed February 2, 2020.

Published

10/01/2020

How to Cite

Tolle, MPH, F., A. P. Chen, and E. B. Hsu, MD, MPH. “Fire at the Oakland Ghost Ship Warehouse: A Disaster Life Cycle-Based Analysis”. American Journal of Disaster Medicine, vol. 15, no. 4, Oct. 2020, pp. 293-02, doi:10.5055/ajdm.2020.0378.

Issue

Section

Case Studies

Most read articles by the same author(s)