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36 Confirmed Dead in Oakland Warehouse Fire; Fire Chief: Building Too Unstable to Keep Working; At Least 36 Dead In Oakland Warehouse Fire; Trump Unleashes Twitter Tirade Against China. Aired 9- 9:30a ET

Aired December 05, 2016 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[09:00:12] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I couldn't have said it better myself. You guys have a great day. NEWSROOM starts now.

And good morning, I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

Any moment now, we'll go live to a news conference in Oakland, California. Officials there will update us on that horrific fire that raced through a converted warehouse during an electronic music show.

At least 33 people died, but only a handful of bodies have been identified. They include 32-year-old Donna Kellogg and 35-year-old Travis Hough. And just a few minutes ago, we received this photo of another victim, 23-year-old Cash Askew. The musician was in a band that released its debut album just last year.

Investigators expect the death toll to climb as they painstakingly sift through the charred ruins of this building. A criminal investigation is now under way. CNN's Stephanie Elam live in Oakland with more.

Good morning.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. The Oakland Fire Department battalion chief telling me that they had to cease operations last night around 10:00 p.m. local time for fear that the building could further collapse. So they've been working to shore up the building so that they could get back in there, something they plan to do today to continue the recovery efforts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM (voice-over): Officials launching a criminal investigation team and an arson task force to inspect the deadly fire that engulfed this Oakland warehouse hosting a party over the weekend.

ANNEKA HIATT, HAS FRIENDS MISSING IN FIRE: It just doesn't seem that that's a fire that's survivable, so the reality, I think, for all of us is beginning to set in.

ELAM (voice-over): Of the confirmed dead, a teenager and an Oakland deputy's son.

SGT. RAY KELLY, ALAMEDA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: This tragedy has hit very close to home.

ELAM (voice-over): But with less than half of the two-story warehouse searched, authorities fear the worst.

KELLY: We anticipate that the number of victims will rise.

ELAM (voice-over): Officials say firefighters with shovels are methodically removing debris, bucket by bucket.

MAYOR LIBBY SCHAAF, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA: Our first priority is the humane and compassionate removal of the victims of this tragedy.

ELAM (voice-over): The warehouse, known as the Ghost Ship, was an illegal residence home to some artists, now currently under investigation for city code violations, for hazardous trash and debris, and an illegal interior building structure. Friday night's electronic dance party, one of many held in the space, operating without a permit when the building quickly erupted in flames.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said I broke my ankle. I need you to pull me out.

ELAM (voice-over): One survivor, an artist who used the space, describes the horrifying moment he had to leave his friend behind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was just like pull him out and the fire was just getting too hot and the smoke was just getting too bad, and I had to -- I had to -- I had to leave him there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM: Horrifying stories. And now we have a live presser right now where they're updating us on the proceedings overnight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OFFICER JOHNNA WATSON, OAKLAND POLICE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: Maybe not everyone has watched or has information about what has transpired since last Friday. Last Friday, December 2nd, at about 11:32 p.m., a fire broke out in the 1300 block of 31st Avenue here in Oakland. Last evening, the victim loss was 33. That's 33 families who have lost a loved one. That's 33 of our loved ones who, here in the city of Oakland, we have lost as a community.

This morning we'd like to update you regarding additional information regarding our losses, not only to families but to our community. We have Deputy Sheriff Modeste who is going to provide you additional information regarding victims lost and families that have been notified. We also have Battalion Chief Drayton who will be able to update you regarding the work that the Fire Department has done, along with other agencies who have been assisting.

I'd like to turn it over to Deputy Modest. Thank you.

DEPUTY SHERIFF TYA MODESTE, ALAMEDA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: Good morning, my name is Tya Modeste, T-Y-A M-O-D-E-S-T-E, spokesperson for the Alameda County Sheriff's Office.

Since our last update, we have located and recovered 36 victims.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could you (inaudible)? Could you speak up, please?

MODESTE: Yes. Since our last update, we have located and recovered 36 victims. Of the 36, 11 have been positively identified and their family members have been appropriately notified. That number is inclusive of the eight that were -- the number eight that was given last night.

[09:05:14] At this time, we won't be updating this morning the list of names of the located and identified victims. We are giving the family members an opportunity to update other family members, to notify them, and give them an opportunity to grieve together before we release those additional names.

MELINDA DRAYTON, BATTALION CHIEF, OAKLAND FIRE DEPARTMENT: Hi, good morning once again. Can you hear me?

The Fire Department last night at approximately 10:00 was asked by ATF and our local investigators to stop our recovery work in the back of the building based on the fact that we now feel, very strongly, that we have the section of the building that was the area of origin of where the fire started. The investigators will be here in just a few hours to start building out their team and really getting deeper into that area of the building.

Again, it's the back of the building. So when we enter and go straight back to the back wall, center of the building, we've got a square footage area that has been quarantined off for additional investigation. And just after midnight, we had some crews doing some surveilling and reconnaissance on the next door roof, and noticed a slight lean in the parapet on the "A" side of the building. That's the front of the warehouse.

At the very top of the exterior wall, we have about a three-inch lean going into the center of the building. For us, as firefighters, working under a wobbly, potentially collapsing exterior wall is extremely dangerous. We will not put our firefighters in danger at this point, and we will not put Alameda County Sheriff in that precarious situation with us. So we did a full work stoppage at approximately 12:18 last night and have not been continuing with body recovery since.

All of the structural engineers and contract workers will be here at approximately 8:00 a.m. to develop a game plan. We hope that we'll be back in the building between 12:00 and 2:00 today to continue the recovery effort.

WATSON: We know you'll have some questions, so go ahead and we'll start over here and we'll work our way to the left.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you describe what a parapet is? DRAYTON: So at the top of the exterior building, if you imagine where

the roof meets the wall, there's about a five-foot unreinforced section of the exterior wall. It's leaning in three inches. It should be straight. We're concerned that that unreinforced area potentially could collapse.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And how much of the building has been searched? Is it 70 percent now, or where are we at? Or is it still 40 percent?

DRAYTON: Absolutely. At this point, we are using the number 70 percent as the area of the building that we had searched and efficiently and effectively done recovery on. Again, this small area in the back, so the area of origin, and the front area based on this safety concern, has not been searched yet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. So do you believe that there's still more victims, and also are you any closer to finding a cause for this fire?

DRAYTON: We are no closer to finding a cause and we absolutely believe that the number of fire fatalities will increase.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We see. At 70 percent, when you get to 100 percent, will you then conclusively say there are no more victims in there or will it more aftermath to go through the remains of this building to say for sure? If you get to 100 today or tomorrow, will the search be over at that point?

DRAYTON: I don't (inaudible).

WATSON: Yes. Can you speak up a little bit louder? We had a hard time hearing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you get to 100 percent, the search, once it's done at that point, will the search for remains be over at that point, or are they going to have to sift through the remains of this building looking for more? Will it be completely done, the search, at 100 percent, for bodies?

WATSON: Once the search is completed, the primary focus has been on the location and recovery. That's what we've been talking about for the last three days. We're going actually now on day four. We started last Friday, December 2nd, so we're really on our fourth day. Primary focus, to answer your question, sir, has always been on the search and recovery. Once that is completed, then we'll start having the conversations in shifting this investigation to whichever direction is appropriate. Right now, it's a little bit too early.

[09:10:04] Again, as Battalion Chief said, ATF has been here. They need to do investigative work to determine which direction this investigation is going to go. Very good question. We'll certainly keep everybody informed.

Again, we have right now 36 families, not only grieving for their lost ones but also they want to have answers. And we, as a city collectively, are working to find those answers. We want to provide answers not only for the family but for our community, and also what can we learn from this in our attempts to prevent this happening again, if there are lessons learned, absolutely. I'm going to go -- Amy (ph), go ahead.

AMY: Chief, I'm wondering with -- I know you've been methodical and slow, but you've also got rain coming. So can you tell us how you're grappling to balance those two factors?

DRAYTON: Right. So we anticipate based on the weather reports that rain will start on Wednesday and increase by Friday. The Fire Department feels very reticent in getting in too quickly today. Obviously, the natural desire for firefighters and anyone in public service is to quickly get in, mitigate a situation, mitigate an emergency, and effect, you know, rescue. In this case, recovery.

We will not be going faster to get ahead of the rain. So we're going to be just as comprehensive, just as methodical, and just as analytical to make sure that we are successful in a full recovery in the next few days.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Battalion Chief, I know you're still going through the building. Do we know where the bulk of the victims were found? Were they near the door, meaning almost out of the building, or are they all over the warehouse?

DRAYTON: So as we stated for the last few days, the majority over the last two days, since I've been on scene, were in the center of the building.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How many more victims do you have (inaudible)?

WATSON: (Inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

WATSON: We'll be right back to you. Go ahead, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a question for you, Johnna. We know there's been a lot of talk about how inspectors had not been able to gain access to the building, but we know police had been in that building at some point, even this year. Would they have been required, if they saw something in there, to let the city know, that looked like people are living in here, maybe you guys can go check that? What would be the policy in that sort of case?

WATSON: That's a very good question and we anticipate a lot of those answers to come in the next days, next weeks, and maybe in next months --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But this is more about policy question. What's the policy --

WATSON: And I'm going to answer your question.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The policy --

WATSON: So -- UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

WATSON: So any time law enforcement, such as the Oakland Police Department, first responders, go in to any situation, if they should notice any type of violations, if they should notice any criminal activity, we record it, we document it, we forward it.

I also want to share with you, the Oakland Police Department was one of the first law enforcement agencies in the country to have body-worn cameras, so a lot of activity that we do is often recorded. So let's say we came to this location and there were some concerns, whether it's a criminal concern or whether it's a violation, we may have captured that on our own body-worn camera footage.

Again, this is a very large, not only incident but a tragedy. And so we immediately, working with other city services, collectively, everyone has been working through the weekend and rightfully so, we have a lot of answers to provide to families and to provide to our community. And --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So suffice to say, you're looking in --

WATSON: And as we're looking at those answers, we're looking at everything from our body-worn camera footage, how many calls we at the Oakland Police Department have gone to, what types of calls, documentation. We're working with our planning and building department, with our Alameda County District Attorney, so we have a lot of moving parts to this, and we'll certainly find answers to all of these questions.

We do request patience, time. We want to do a very thorough investigation, whichever direction that takes us, whether it's criminal or remains, right now, as an investigation. We want to be factual with our information.

And yes, you have a question.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Can you tell us more about the potential points of origin that is being investigated by the ATF?

DRAYTON: I think her question was, more information about the potential point of origin?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

DRAYTON: Is that correct?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

DRAYTON: Based on the significant charring and damage in the building, we've got some areas where the steel is actually twisted and wrapped in the back of the building. We can see fire spread. ATF and our local investigators feel very strongly that they have identified the section of the building that is the area of origin. And with it --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And is that some sort of kitchen or anything that we know of that could give us a clue?

DRAYTON: It appears to be the back of the building where we can imagine the artists' collective was on the first floor and potentially during the concert the dance floor was just above.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Any idea what kind of fire could make the steel do that? Does it have to burn at an especially high temperature?

DRAYTON: Hot.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is it an electrical fire --

DRAYTON: Extremely hot fire.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can an electrical fire cause that?

DRAYTON: An extremely hot fire. No way of telling the cause.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't have any (inaudible) victim yet? And also just to clarify, you had stopped (inaudible).

DRAYTON: That's correct. A couple of folks are having a hard time hearing your question. Yes, work stoppage, absolutely concern for the structure and the safety of the workers that and additionally, I know we want to get in to a lot of the questions about cause of fire, where it started, I think that the fire department is doing an excellent job of facilitating a lot of complicated situations.

But we also want to talk with ATF, and have them have their opportunity come in and do a full inspection where we can provide you more information. One last -- I'm going to take one last question. Sir, go ahead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible) fire officials here, you just said something, did you indicate that this area that they're looking at that the origin would have been on the first floor more likely than the second floor?

DRAYTON: It's hard to determine based on the fact that we have fire damage all the way through to the roof on the back wall, in the rafters, on the steel beams, and until we have an absolute, I don't even want to speculate on whether it was the first or second floor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible).

DRAYTON: No.

OFFICER JOHNNA WATSON, OAKLAND POLICE SPOKESWOMAN: So again we'll certainly provide more information, but we would like to really have ATF on board, and have that opportunity to determine causes, areas, things like that. We're going to conclude this portion of our media briefing. Throughout the day, we will continue to provide information to you. We'll send out a media availability for the next time and location.

Right now, because of the work stoppage, because we have other crews that will be coming back and joining us, it's very difficult for us to set that time. We want to come back to you with more information, again, as the Alameda County Sheriff's Office has stated, we'll provide names of the lost loved ones later today. We'll make sure that you do have that information. Thank you very much for your patience.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: All right. So we're going to step away from Oakland. As you heard, 36 people now confirmed dead inside that warehouse fire and the fire department had to stop working because the building is so unstable.

You know, that, that Oakland fire bears haunting similarities to the 2003 night club disaster in Warwick, Rhode Island. A massive fire during a rock concert there ignited a fire that killed 100 people and just like in Oakland investigators soon focused on overcrowding, too few exits and a lack of sprinklers.

John Barylick is an attorney who represented victims of the Rhode Island tragedy. He also wrote "Killer Show The Station Night Club Fire America's Deadliest Rock Concert." Welcome, sir.

JOHN BARYLICK, AUTHOR, "KILLER SHOW: THE STATION NIGHTCLUB FIRE": Good morning.

COSTELLO: Could you hear that news conference from Oakland?

BARYLICK: Yes, I did. I did.

COSTELLO: So I -- I think what struck me is you could hear the frustration in the fire chief's voice that they had to stop looking for the bodies of victims inside that warehouse because the building was so unstable. This -- this sort of tragedy has an effect on the psyche of everyone involved, right?

BARYLICK: It really does. Particularly in a state as small as Rhode Island where there are two degrees of separation, it -- there was a ripple effect. And right now, the families in Oakland are going through the same terrible waiting and anxious period for recovery and identification that the families did here in Rhode Island.

COSTELLO: We understand a criminal investigation has been opened. What specifically are they looking for?

BARYLICK: As with any fire and mass disaster of this type, one has to look at whether fire codes were willfully violated. Whether things were overlooked by inspectors. It usually takes more than ordinary negligence to give rise to criminal charges. But in cases as in Rhode Island, where there was stunning negligence, it gave rise to criminal manslaughter charges.

[09:20:04]COSTELLO: OK. So, so the fire in Oakland we understand a city building inspector just visited the property on November 17th. Not so long ago. There have been persistent complaints about this property. So, what does -- what does that tell you about this ensuing tragedy? BARYLICK: Well, I can't speculate about the specifics, as your press conference noted, the particular source and origin of the fire has not been identified as yet. But the same factors of negligence and grief that held forth in Rhode Island appear to contribute here.

COSTELLO: There are a number of complicating factors to this. The building is owned by one person, but it's managed by another person. We understand some people might have been living inside that building illegally. So who ultimately is responsible for things like, you know, making sure there's enough exits, proper stairways to escape a fire like this and fire sprinklers installed in the building?

BARYLICK: I think in this case, responsibility could lie both with the ultimate owner of the building, and with any master tenants. It has been reported that there were two master tenants who subleased to various artists for studios. It's also been reported that those studios were used for illegal residences. Party was not permitted, as well. So anyone who had a hand in permitting those illegally activities potentially has criminal and certainly civil exposure.

COSTELLO: But I want to go back out to Oakland and bring in Stephanie Elam. So Stephanie, have we heard at all from the person who managed this warehouse, this building?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No. We have not heard from them. We -- we know about the fact that they've been cited, but the fact that this building was allotted as a warehouse. But yet to actually hear, we've reached out to them, but we have yet to hear back from them at this point.

COSTELLO: What about the people who owned the buildings? Do they live in Oakland?

ELAM: That I don't know yet, either. I think that's a big question that a lot people have is it seems very evident to a lot of people that people were living inside this building and it was structured as a warehouse. That is what people are trying to find out.

Even in the presser they're staying away from actually calling that but saying that they're investigating this fully to get more information on why there could have been as one of our guests said on the air today, that there were some 25 people that were actually residing in there and also using that as a creative space.

COSTELLO: So John, the Rhode Island case, it dragged on for three or four years, right? We might not have answers in what caused this horrible tragedy in Oakland for many years or at least some sort of justice.

BARYLICK: That's correct, Carol. I think even though you may not have specifics, though, we have the once again general theme of running an operation on the cheap, running a business on the cheap and trying to maximize profits at the expense of safety.

COSTELLO: All right, I have to leave it there. John Barylick, Stephanie Elam, thanks to both of you. I'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:27:13]

COSTELLO: So Trump makes another big hire tapping former rival, Dr. Ben Carson, for housing secretary at the same time the secretary of state search expands. It now includes the former presidential candidate, Jon Huntsman.

Huntsman also happens to be a former ambassador to Trump's latest Twitter target China. The president-elect now facing heat for unleashing an online tirade and breaking with decades of international protocol.

More now from CNN's Jessica Schneider outside the Trump Tower. Good morning.

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. You know, the uncertainty continues to mount as to Donald Trump's stance on China especially after his tweet storm this weekend and the phone call with Taiwan on Friday.

In terms of the tweet storm, Donald Trump criticized China for what he says manipulation of its currency, also criticizing military action in the South China Sea.

When it comes to China, though, the foreign minister there says it refuses to speculate on Donald Trump's actions or whether or not this could be a break in policy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER (voice-over): The president-elect lashing out at China. Only two days after his unprecedented phone call with the leader of Taiwan. Donald Trump accusing China of keeping its currency artificially low. Monetary experts say it's fairly valued and decrying their military presence in the South China Sea. Trump stepping up some of the tough talk from the campaign trail.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: They've taken our money and our jobs, our manufacturing -- they've taken everything. China is responsible for nearly half of our entire trade deficit.

SCHNEIDER: But the timing of his tweets indicate those campaign promises could potentially become policy. Over the weekend, China launching a formal complaint about Trump's call with Taiwan's president.

MIKE PENCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT: That was nothing more than taking a courtesy call and congratulations.

SCHNEIDER: But "The Washington Post" reports that the call had been planned for weeks. Experts warn the call carried major diplomatic risks citing the U.S.' one-China policy which considers Taiwan to be a part of China. This is the first known communication between the U.S. and Taiwan since 1979. Trump also taking to Twitter this weekend to threaten any business that leaves our country. Warning of a whopping 35 percent tax on products shipped back into the country as, quote, "retribution."

Trump tweeting he would keep jobs in the country by lowering taxes for companies and slashing regulations. All this playing out as the president-elect is widening his list of contenders to be secretary of state, a process starting to look more like a reality show.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP SENIOR ADVISER: We have additional entities, but other candidates for secretary of state and other cabinet positions.

SCHNEIDER: Former Republican governor of Utah, Jon Huntsman, President Barack Obama's first ambassador to China, now in the running, and disgraced former General David Petraeus making a public case for the top post.

GENERAL DAVID PETRAEUS (RETIRED), FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: Five years ago I made a serious mistake. I acknowledged it. I apologized for it.

SCHNEIDER: Arguing that his guilty plea for revealing classified information to his former mistress should not disqualify him --