File – In this Dec. 3, 2016 file image from video provided by KGO-TV shows the Ghost Ship Warehouse after a fire swept through the Oakland, Calif., building. A source close to the investigation tells The Associated Press Monday, June 5, 2017, that two men have been arrested and will be charged with involuntary manslaughter in the Ghost Ship warehouse fire that killed 36 partygoers.
(KGO-TV via AP, File) (Associated Press)OAKLAND, Calif. — A man who authorities say illegally rented out space in an Oakland warehouse that caught fire, killing 36 partygoers, and another man who organized the event were each charged Monday with three dozen counts of involuntary manslaughter.
Derick Almena and Max Harris “knowingly created a fire trap with inadequate means of escape” when they hosted the dance party Dec. 2 in the Ghost Ship warehouse, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley said.
Authorities say the site contained flammable materials, faulty wiring and a blocked exit.
“Their actions amount to disregard for human life,” O’Malley said.
Both men were arrested earlier in the day.
Prosecutors also said Monday that the cause of the deadly blaze will likely never be known because so much evidence was destroyed.
Court documents show Almena was the primary tenant and rented space to as many as 25 people to live and work in the building licensed only as a warehouse.
Almena allowed Harris to live there, calling him the “creative director,” who was in charge of collecting rent,…
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