Transcripts For KTVU KTVU Fox 2 News At 4pm 20161206 : vimar

They head to halt the operations last night because of the Structural Integrity problem. It did not appear safe for firefighters to go back in there. They said that they will be resuming the search again tonight. They anticipate that they could potentially find more victims but not another with a huge number such as 36 and will be resume that. Pg e is turning the power off and it will affect ten customers. The District Attorney general joined the press conference and launched the criminal investigation yesterday. The investigator from her District Attorneys office is from the Real Estate Division and he specializes in the use of property and he will be leading the investigation. They have their own team out there working with atf and firefighters to go over the evidence. She says this is a potential crime scene. We are looking at two things. One is whether or not there is any criminal liability attached to this fire and secondly if there is criminal liability against whom . Now she says it is too early to speculate on the potential charges and who may be involved, if anyone. She says there is that possibility we could see charges that include manslaughter to murder. Just because there is so many people that have lost their likes. We are talking to fire investigators and they provided photos and they had to use infrared heat sensitive imagery above here. Just to ensure the safety of firefighters. They say they still see a lot of hot steel in there and it is very, very hot. So they are going to be working very meticulously and very methodically to ensure the safe removal of victims and to make sure all of the teams, at p and the das office are safe. All right, lee. Very difficult job ahead for everybody involved. Joining us now is the sheriff of Alameda County. Greg a he rn. The removal and Recovery Process is continuing. How are you going about this task . Difficult. A horrific scene if you can imagine dealing with the smell and debris that is caused by the roof collapsing to the second floor and the second floor collapsing to the first floor. So moving around that is very difficult and then when you move debris you come across the deceased body and it is a very horrific thing. An what we have done is quartered off areas inside the facility and made a collection zone at one point. That collection zone where the debris is brought down and inspectors review it to make sure there is nothing of evidentiary value and they get a collection and remove it bucket by bucket. You have about 75 of the area processed. What is left . There is two main areas in the facility that are of concern to us. One is a lull on 31st which is needs to stabilized before we can search in that area and thats where people were reported to be trying to get out of a window and at that time, some of the building collapsed. The other portion is where the stage was located on the back side of the wall. And that area is also where we believe the fire originated. So that is going more methodically than other spots because we want to make sure we collect every piece of evidence before it goes to the debris pile. How are you dealing with it collectively because it is an emotional told that your men and women are enduring. I am so proud of the men and women working here at this site. They have shown a lot of hard work and dedication in this horrifying scene. They have been removing 36 different bodies from this site. And they have done so each time, a very dignified way for the respect that they want to give to the victim and to the victims family. They are doing a very professional job and it is not easy and this will leave a score on them and something that they will never forget and nothing that they can do. You are used to going in and helping people out and get them out alike and this is horrible task that you have been given but i know collectively everybody here and around the country really have thoughts with you and the victims. We appreciate that community support. We have a lot of support here from our first responders. And the local people in the Community Coming out to show their love and respect for what we do. Knowing it is a difficult job. Thank you for your time and your work. As you mentioned the victims are a major part of the equation. 36 victims and counting so far. There are those two other areas that have not been process processed at this time. There could be more victims. An there are 36, 33 have been tentatively identified and 16th of those families have been notified. Tonight there will be a vigil, christian, where many hundreds of people are expected at lake merit. Christian. Reporter that vigil set to start here at lake merit later on. Remember those that died in this terrible tragic accident. Now a picture is starting to emerge of those people deeply missed. 30yearold sarah hogga and started to work at the urban Montessori School and the community was devastated to learn about her loss and say they have grief counseling available and have discussed the loss with her students. She was a very gentle, a very kind, a very child centered individual. Almost perfectly matched the profile of the urban montessori teacher and she will definitely be missed by her students. We are also learning more about donna kellogg. We talked to her family today. They are here in the bay area in oakland from salinas ta gather belongings and they tell People Magazine that kellogg was there to dance. She will be laid to rest close to her brother that she loss some years ago when he was 18 years old. We are learning more about a pair of musicians that died. Ben reynolds that went by the name of charlie prower and nicole sea crest. They performed in unique sounds. That was a sampling of those that we have lost. Bright, young talented creative people. Many say they represented the best that oakland and the bay area has to offer. That candlelight vigil set to start here at around lake merit at 8 00, guys. Okay. Christian, thank you. Everyone of those 36 people of course has a story and they have families, some have been notified. Others have not. A lot of information is being consumed on social media and a lot of tributes to those lost. Joining us now with more on that is Paul Chambers in the newsroom. Many social media pages created to honor the victims and the city has identified 33 of the 36 victims, all of their names is not officially released. We have a look at the victims missing and many identified them as dying in friday nights fire. According to his Facebook Page, Barrett Clark is an oakland resident that went to santa ana and worked as a sound engineer. Friends held a wake last night in San Francisco in his honor. A close friend saying barrett was there and did die in the fire. Another friend, dan owens, says goodbye to a dear friend that lost his house in the oakland fire. We will miss you Barrett Clark. We were blessed to have known you. Rest in peace my dear friend. You were one of a kind. Oakland resident jonathan birdbomb graduated from Oakland High School and worked as a dj according to a facebook there will be a candlelight vigil for the us c alummist. A Facebook Page says he graduated in 2008 and he was performing friday as a dj mixing light and video for electronic music. Michael danny was from massachusetts there will be a vigil held thursday night. It said danmeyers parents was able to five his body last night. Elanna cane is the friend of danmeyer. A post on facebook stated my heart is truly broken and i cant stop crying. Please pray for my close friend. Now three of the victims are outside of the United States. At this time their names are not released but we know they are from finland, guatemala and korea. Log onto kutv. Com. We have a slideshow there under top stories. Okay. Thank, paul. Now we are joined by johna watson with the Oakland Police department. One of the agencies tasked with processing the scene and right now we have a crane coming in and that will allow them to move some large areas of debris and gives us a sense of the logistics. Thats correct. We continue to work with all of the city services, the agency and the alameda fire department. It is imperative that the process continues. And because we gather as an organization in different divisions and need to keep moving forward with the investigation and a lot of the heavy equipment is moved in such as the crane and we understand it is in the neighborhood and we have reached out to groups and organizations that have been working. Imperative, the crane because it will help with a large scale of debris where human strength would not be able to access or lift. So it is paramount and we understand and thank the community for the patience this area has been significantly impacted and each day goes on, the impact grows larger and larger to the point that we have additional services. We want to keep the footprint as small as possible and effective as we can as we process this investigation. This may be well it is a criminal investigation. Some of this could be potential evidence. How are you working with Alameda County investigators in preserving evidence and processing evidence. The Alameda County District Attorneys office is the lead. The Oakland Police Department Works in unison with them. We are a Team Organization with our team city services. As we continue the investigation. We will see which direction it is going to go and what ends up as the result of the investigation but we collectively as a teamwork together. As a city, as a community, there are people that want answers. How could this happen . How important is it from the Oakland Police standpoint to come up with those answers during this investigation . This is a tragedy. And the tragedy is so large scale with significant impact. Families deserve answers rightfully so. A community deserves answers and the city is looking at what happened and how we can process this to make changes in the future, a positive impact for our city. We are very diverse in oakland and we have artists and we have a lot of different communities and the city collectively as a team is looking at that and right now we are very, very focused. Working together with our organization with the location and recovery of the victims. This search is not over. We want to be very sensitive on the impact to families and our community. We will continue this investigation and going to see what comes as a result and the Alameda County District Attorneys office is the lead and we are going to do everything we can as a city to support the Alameda County District Attorneys office. Thank you for everything and, of course, there are 36 and maybe more victims. At this point 75 of the building has been cleared. However, theres the possibility that there will be more victims as they continue the work. When we come back, we will talk about the criminal investigation going on. As we go to break. We remember some of the victims lost. Stay with us. This afternoon the District Attorney of Alameda County. Nancy omalley took part in a press conference outside the warehouse and announced a criminal investigation has been launched. No stone will be unturned. They will preserve all of the evidence coming out of the warehouse and they have already interviewed many people as part of this criminal investigation. They are not sure where it will go. She says charges, it is too early to talk about them but she did say if there are charges, it could run the gamut. The range of charges could be murder, all the way to Involuntary Manslaughter and until we know what the evidence shows us, there may be other charges if the evidence presents that. That is District Attorney Nancy Omalley talking about the investigation under way. One of the people brought out to the forefront because of this fire is the man that seemed to be in charge of the warehouse that was possibly renting out spaces to artists in this area and even had rvs parked inside. A man by the name of derrick ion. Henry lee joins us with more on mr. Ion and joins us from oakland. Henry. Yeah, ted. Take a look behind me. We are at the oakland marriott. Right here this minivan with the make shift rack that belongs to derrick iin and his wife. There is no shortage of people upset with him over issues with the warehouse where 36 people have died. Derrick ion is on probation for stealing an airstream trailer. He denied stealing it but she found it near the warehouse and placed him under citizens arrest. As part of a deal. Io nspent two days in jail and named in restraining orders by two men saying he attacked them as they tried to get equipment and this man says he got into an argument with ion. He says he suffered a bruised rib when ion slammed a door on his hand. A warehouseman says he beat him as he tried to on record a conversation between ion and lewis. I had my phone taken from me. Ion requested a restraining order against shelly mack that ktvu interviewed after fire. Mack says she rented an rv in the warehouse from ion and when she tried to leave he tried to to steal her stuff. She says she called cps about his children. So far ion has spoken out on social media. A post to Facebook Says confirmed, everything i worked so hard for is gone. We are at a hotel safe and sound. It is has awoke from a dream of hope to now no self worth. This is not the first fire at the warehouse. There was a fire at the same building in 2014. Investigators said it was arson. An old couch was used as kindling. We have been outside the hotel all day and ion has not seen. He has negotiated a deal with another network. People deserve better. Derrick if you are watching this, we want to hear from you. Henry lee, ktvu news. Okay. Henry, thank you. Michael cardoza joins us. This building was not zoned for for residential. Who is looking at criminal prosecution. The District Attorneys office is looking into any criminal prosecution. And then individually if you jump to the civil side, you are going to have lawyers that represent the family in wrongful death cases which then brings up was the building covered for insurance and will the Insurance Company be responsible for these deaths. Clearly nobody wanted this to happen by any stretch. There is no way that would factor in but culpably from a criminal standpoint, does negligence get to the level of Involuntary Manslaughter or lesser murder charges. They may rise to the level of the seconddegree murder when you look at this and you hear and i dont know for sure but i have heard that they have pallets that was a stairway up to the second floor. So you do that type of thing, you have got to think you know inherently if a fire does start, it is going to be tragic as it is for the people that were inside of this. It might rise to the level of murder and they could be going after the owner of the building. A promoter. They will be looking at whoever has put this on and who owned the building. What about insurance . We were talking earlier, the activity going on in the building was not supposed to be going on and was illegal. Does an Insurance Company have the right to fight that and say we are not paying out wrongful death claims on a case like this . A good analogy. The oakland fire down the road they took responsibility but they did it with certain amounts of money and the Insurance Company came down on them and in this case an Insurance Company says we insured a building that was supposed to be residential and was not supposed to have functions like this. We are not responsible. They are going to have good legal grounds to stand on. If they go to court i dont think the public will be upset because if the insurance was paid for a nonresidential, nonfunction building. You know Nancy Omalley, you have gone up against her office and have worked with her there. What do you think they will do in terms of an agency. They have come out and say there is no stone unturned, you expect a vigorous investigation . I expect a very, very vigorous investigation. And i would imagine that they would look to Involuntary Manslaughter, the negligence part of this. Criminal type negligence. Seconddegree murder might be a stretch but i will tell you they will look into it and seconddegree murder carries 15 to life. They will be looking at the owner and they will be looking at the promoter. Ill tell you what the sad thing is, ted. I talked to a lot of people in San Francisco and the Police Department in the city and they said you know, there are a lot of buildings in San Francisco like this. There is still a lot of buildings in Alameda County like this and the police cant do anything about it because it is private property. They cant go in. It is the Code Enforcement people that have to get in and take care of these types of buildings and there is so many of them. This will get their attention. All right. Michael cardoza. Thank you. You are welcome. You are right in terms of the buildings behind us. There is a lot of activity around the bay and part of that because of the housing situation and part because there are artists lofts where people have gotten together. I am sure in the aftermath of this, all of