The city of Oakland, California will pay more than $ 32 million to settle lawsuits filed on behalf of victims of the 2016 deadly “Ghost Ship” fire in which 36 people died, authorities announced.
“This was a horrible tragedy that deeply impacted every corner of our community,” said a statement from the city attorney’s office.
The fire occurred in a warehouse that had been converted without permission into an artist’s residence. There were no fire sprinklers or alarms.
When the fire broke out on December 2, 2016, there was an electronic music party on the second floor.
Firefighters and former residents described the first floor of the building as a “maze” and a fire trap, and one survivor stated that people who were unable to escape climbed a flight of stairs shaking their heads and saying “No.” The stairs were built with wooden pallets.
The settlement announced Friday allocates $ 23.5 million for the families of the deceased, as well as $ 9.2 million for someone who survived, Sam Maxwell, according to the city statement.
Maxwell “will live with serious life-long injuries and major medical expenses,” the statement said. The settlement authorized Thursday by the city council resolves lawsuits filed on behalf of 32 of the 36 people who died, the city said.
Paul Matiasic, an attorney for five of the families who lost loved ones, told the East Bay Times newspaper that the lawsuit was not about the money, but about what he said was the city’s inaction when the building had been converted. illegally.
“The amount does not approximate the loss of loved ones for my clients; the money is insignificant. There is not an amount of money in the world that can bring your loved ones back,” said Matiasic.
Two people were charged: Derick Almena, the man who rented the space, and Max Harris, who prosecutors described as a tenant whom Almena called “creative director” and who was in charge if you were afraid of rent.
A jury acquitted Harris of 36 counts of manslaughter in September. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on Almena, and a judge declared a trial invalid.
Almena is awaiting a new trial that is scheduled to start in October, the city said.
Prosecutors alleged that Almena, called the main tenant, acted with criminal negligence by failing to install security measures such as smoke detectors or sprinklers, and that Almena resisted requests to thwart inspectors.
Almena’s attorneys argued that the city workers were guilty of raising no concerns about the fire risks in the warehouse. A city official said in 2016 that no Oakland building code compliance inspector had examined the interior of the building in three decades. When inspectors visited the site in November 2016, they were unable to enter to investigate an illegal construction report, city officials said.
Authorities have said that the fire that engulfed the warehouse was already raging on the ground floor before the victims upstairs realized something was wrong, and that smoke spilled down the two stairs and partiers. trapped who were defeated.
The official cause of the fire was never found. Some lawsuits said there were serious electrical problems with the building, The Associated Press reported. The owner of the building was not charged.
The City of Oakland said in a statement it continues to assert under the agreement that it is not responsible for what it called the tragic losses of the fire. The city said it agreed to settle the claims “due to the cost-benefit analysis” and that its insurance coverage is $ 22 million.
“This was a horrible tragedy that deeply impacted every corner of our community,” the city said in a statement. “Mayor Schaaf, the city council, the city attorney, and the city manager express their condolences to Mr. Maxwell and the families, whose losses are unimaginable.”
The Associated Press contributed
