Another lawsuit is filed for another victim of the Oakland fire

In the latest legal action against the owner and operators of Oakland’s Ghost Ship, lawyers for the family of one of the 36 people who perished in a fire at the warehouse in December invoked the two words that have become all too familiar to the loved ones of the dead: “death trap.” An Oakland resident, Lapine, 34, was grooving at a music event inside the Ghost Ship warehouse, with its exposed wiring, jury-rigged electrical system and handmade rickety wooden staircase, when the fire broke out late in the evening. Like more than half a dozen others, the complaint alleges that Derick Ion Almena and his wife, Micah Allison, as well as building owner Chor Ng, were well aware of the fire hazards inside the Ghost Ship and did nothing about them. The suit also names an event promoter, the performer playing at the warehouse the night of the blaze and representatives of a business next door that shared electricity with occupants of the Ghost Ship. The 10,000-square-foot interior of the Ghost Ship, which “contained a maze of makeshift rooms, alcoves and partitions,” lacked adequate prevention mechanisms like overheard sprinklers and sufficient smoke alarms, the lawsuit alleges.