Ghost Ship building owners knew of electrical issues prior to lethal fire

  • Published
    Mon, Mar 27, 2017, 19:02
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  • They ignored serious warnings from tenants and contractors, and now may face manslaughter or even murder charges.
  • Ghost Ship building owners knew of electrical issues prior to lethal fire image
  • The owners of the Ghost Ship building, where 36 people died in a fire in December, were warned of serious electrical problems more than two years before the incident. According to emails obtained by The Mercury News, the building's owners refused to fix problems with electrical wiring that may have caused the fire. In one email from February of 2015, a tenant named Derick Almena, who also ran the artists' cooperative in the converted space, complained that the electrical system was "ancient and violated lines of distribution," explaining that it was "in dire need of a total and immediate upgrade." Kai Ng, son of building owner Chor Ng, responded to the email dismissively, saying, "The lack of electrical infrastructure was made very clear before your lease began." The Ng family was warned about these issues on another occasion, when a small electrical fire broke out in the adjacent auto body shop in 2014. An unlicensed contractor (and Ghost Ship tenant) who was in charge of the repairs explained the need for upgrades in an email following the incident: "We need a second transformer because the building is split in half power wise. I’ve already replaced that first transformer (we had no power when it went up in flames), but the second one is too small for the loads on it as well." The second transformer was never replaced, residents say. These are only two of the numerous warnings that the owners ignored, according to The Mercury News's report. Given that the Alameda County District Attorney is considering criminal charges against them, it may strengthen involuntary manslaughter or second-degree murder chargers.
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