Derick Ion Almena: I’d rather ... be trampled by the parents

Derick Ion Almena: I’d rather ... be trampled by the parents “Today” show transcript of interview between hosts Matt Lauer and Tamron Hall conducted Tuesday morning with Derick Ion Almena, the leaseholder of the Oakland warehouse where at least 36 people died in a fire during a music event Friday night: Mr. Almena let me ask you a couple of questions: 36 lives were lost in that building over the weekend. The family members of those who were lost want answers. [...] there were some conditions in that building that may have led to a dangerous situation and led to what happened there. It started off as an initial dream, an idea that we would have a facility and a venue that would host everything from at-risk youth, to the gay community to artists that couldn’t perform anywhere, to performance art and alternative art. [...] eventually when you can’t pay your rent because your dream is bigger than your pocket book, when the need for housing, when the need for people to be able to sit down and be warm and make food and take a shower and take a bath and go to bed... [...] we have someone who lived there, an artist who lived there for two years, Shelley Mack, and she said she rented a space for you, that you knew it was dangerous, that you profited from this and never spent a dime on anything but partying. What did you do to ensure the safety? What can you tell me you did to ensure the safety of those people who lived there? Profit? People didn’t walk through those doors because it was a horrible place. People didn’t seek us out to perform and express themselves because it was a horrible place. Mr. Almena, no one is saying it’s a horrible place. Did I know there was going to be a fire? Did I remove my children from the space and get a hotel because I wanted to avoid this, because I wanted to cast blame on other people? No. Because I wanted to get a good night’s sleep with my children. If you have to hold my soul accountable, if you have to hold my soul accountable for believing in something and luring in other artists and other beautiful people that also believed with me.