Page 86 - Occupancy News Today

A fire inspector. robert, thank you for being here. 30 years. is that as stunning to you as it is to so many people watching or is that more common than we realize? >> its quite a stretch on years but there were a lot of buildings that go uninspected for some time. based on the fact construction doesnt occur within buildings and permits arent pulled for certain changes of the occupancy. so some cases may not be inspected by the building department for some time. >> tell me about what an inspecti...

Occupancy which would have required sprinklers and alarm systems. and then on top of that. there was a use of an ablssembl use that occurred on the night of the fire. so as you can see theres been changes made to the building outside of the eye of the local building department which turned into the perfect storm and here we have now a large loss of life. >> in the early part of the week it was clear people in this community knew people were living there, they knew people were performing, they we...

>> you will get that the families will get, that this city will get the answers to every question about this incident. >> reporter: partygoers came to what had been advertised as a dance party with live music. dozens have already been confirmed dead, including at least three foreign nationals. >> i expected it to be shut down a long time ago. i called the police three times myself. >> reporter: former residents and friends are saying it was only a matter of time before disaster. >> there were fi...

A long time ago. i called the police three times myself. >> reporter: former residents and friends are saying it was only a matter of time before disaster. >> there were fires that were started from electrical cords and transformers. there was intermittent heat and electricity. >> reporter: now investigators are looking closely at previous code violations and complaints, ranging from illegal occupancy to trash and debris. authorities have set up a tipline for help to determine what happened. >> ...

>> correct. thats my opinion with the information i have at hand right now, is they werent aware the potential for life loss that was given what they saw at the time. however, it was used as a residence and residences are a lot different where people live and sleep as opposed to just a warehouse. that is a far more restrictive occupancy as well. >> so this -- i mean, rain is coming today. maybe that will help firefighters put out the hot spots in the building, i dont know, but this whole process...

Especially folks living there. that becomes a residential occupancy then. >> and the owner of this building needs to explain what was happening there and what he thought. but, jose, how do you think the fire started? >> i have no idea. i know it started in an area where people were not allowed to go. there wasnt that many people back there aside from people that had studio spaces there. >> yeah. >> it is possible that people could have gone back there, but i dont really know what could have star...

They thought was suspicious. >> well, its my understanding -- >> hold on one second, jose, let me go to mr. mcmullen. >> its my understanding that what the investigation was consisting of was illegal occupancy and trash and debris. and trash and debris is a violation of the california fire code and i understand that they were cited for that. additionally, its my understanding that the occupancy was illegal apthere were no permits from the city. the city issues permits to occupancies and occupanc...

Occupying, living there. thats what the news accounts so far have said. and it wasnt clear that it was a residential occupancy. >> it sounds like they had a lot going on there in that building. at the news conference earlier today, heres what the battalion chief had to say. take a listen. and i would like you to weigh in. >> our goal was to work collaboratively with public works to breach the b side, the left side of the warehouse building, the fire building, in order to gain access for our fire...

From the second floor down. thats where a number of the victims were found, on the second floor. what can you tell us about the building? >> its a sort of live/work art space with a lot of old decorations and furniture. it is true there is only one stairwell between the first and second story. it was sort of an improvised stairwell. it was built by the people who live there. i can imagine that it wasnt built to withstand a fire or something like this. >> do you know about the party last night? w...

Of the update. >> i want to add one thing. our local hospitals have been getting a lot of phone calls. it is really bombarding their system. it appears people either made it out or they didnt make it out. there are not a lot of other injuries that have been reported to us at this time. i would direct all those calls not to the hospital but the family assistance number. 510-382-3,000. >> what is that? >> 510-382-3000. we have personnel answering those calls. we would ask that you not tie up the p...