Deadly warehouse fire in CA difficult to prevent

Despite inspectors’ best efforts, a deadly warehouse fire like that which claimed more than 36 people in Oakland, California, could happen in Toledo.

The reason is simple: it is not easy finding buildings that are being misused.

Tim Bohland, a fire inspector in Toledo says, “Unless we stumble on them or get a tip, it’s hard to know exactly what is out there.”

In California, the warehouse building permitted for commercial use was illegally converted into a business and assembly space. That made it attractive to artists.

Aimee Reid understands why such a tragedy as a fire and dozens of deaths could occur. She runs a children’s theatre workshop. Her group rents space at the Collingwood Arts Center.

But Aimee says artists like those in Oakland have trouble finding space to create. So she says, some simply overlook basic safety.

“Like heat. Is it adequately heated? who cares? I’ll wear a scarf, if I have to,” she says. “The plumbing isn’t so great or it’s not as clean as it should be.”

But David Golis, a building inspector with the City of Toledo says that type of thinking is “unacceptable”.

Golis told 13abc reporter Bill Hormann, “You have to have heat, plumbing, be able to wash your hands, that kind of thing. You want to be able to get out of the building safely.”

Proper exiting was a major issue in Oakland. Stacked wooden pallets were the only fire escape. That should have brought quick action.

Inspector Bohland says he “probably would have shut them down.”

Yet artists struggle to find space to create.

Reid admits, “Almost every space I’ve ever worked in is in dire need of upgrades.”

But as we found out this weekend, overlooking basic code requirements can be deadly.