trying to reach derick almena today. we went out to one of the hotels we heard he was staying out but we could not find him but we reached out to one of his family members. his mother-in-law told us that she is not a fan of derick almena. she says that derick almena and his wife myca allison are estranged from the family because the family suspects drug use and concern over what they see as the couple's abnormal behavior. >>> the ghost ship warehouse was not only derick almena's home. he also ran two businesses inside. the first floor of the warehouse was where people lived. confirmed fire survivors and tenants said they paid to live in the warehouse. >> i live there. i wasn't -- the party was on the second floor. i wasn't at the party. i lived in the back and i was sleeping when the fire broke out. >> carmen burrito paid her rent in cash. but paid another resident to collect the rent. a source wishing to remain anonymous provided a rental agreement and these receipts from rents collected from three different ghost ship

derick almena has a criminal record. a mugshot following his arrest in 2015 in oakland for suspicion of felony possession of stolen property. he pleaded no contest in this case and is currently on probation until the year 2019. >>> ktvu news' lee martinez has been looking into derick almena his past. >> the ghost host was not only derick almena's home, he ran two businesses inside and we have been looking to the business and how he ran them. the first floor of the warehouse was where people lived and that's confirmed by people that paid to live in the warehouse. we spoke with a fire survivor name carmen burrito. she lived in the back room on the first floor of the ghost ship warehouse. she paid in cash but not him directly but paid another resident that collected the rent. he wishes to remain anonymous. a rental agreement from rent collected on three different tenants. a rental agreement is for a month-to-month lease. the manager is leased as sacka uga given to artists and musicians that lived there. all residents agreed

se llama derick almena, es padre de familia y tiene historial criminal.. aqu est la entrevista que le otorg a nuestra cadena hermana nbc visiblemente dolidos... la pareja almena dice que lo sienten... y que estn pasando por un momento difcil... derick era quien manejaba el depsito donde se realiz la fiesta del viernes en oakland y que acab con la vida de hasta el momento... 36 personas pero ese lugar tambin sirvi de hogar para algunos - algo que las autoridades afirmaron era ilegal, pues los permisos que la ciudad expidi eran solo para que funcionar como almacn shelly vivi all hace unos cuantos meses ... shelly mack/vivi en el depsito dice que descubri que la vivienda era ilegal cuando un transformador explot y se pregunto por qu no llamaron a pg&e? tambien afirm que las condiciones eran deplorables... con orina en las alfombras y que adems... sot shelly la policia fue all en diversas oportunidades porque haba peleas y orgias... sot derick alama/ gerenaba el almacn pero almena de que que all van enar sego... un ambiente creavo... doptimism ronddo el sitio

sot-derick ion almena 7:50 "i lay my body down there every night. we put our children bed there every night. there, we made music, we created art. we opened our home. --yo me acostaba alli cada noche, aseguro almeda. dijo que sus niÑos se dormian alli cada noche donde habian creado arte y un hogar abierto a todos. .y cuando se le cuestiono sobre lo que se ganaba por lo que recolectaba en renta, contest con una pregunta. sot-derick ion almena 9:35 "profit? this is not profit, this is a loss, and this is a mass grave. i'm only here to say, i'm only here to say i'm sorry and that everything that i did was to make this a beautiful stronger togetherpeople didn't' lk throh those drs because itwas a" almena.pregun ..gananciano hay nancia. es una rdida y a sa comun. solestoy aqu pardeciro lo que queria era hacer una hermosa y fuerte comunidad que abraza a la gente, afirmo ademas, que quienes entraban por las puertas del barco fantasma no lo hacian pensando que era un lugar horrible. sot-derick ion almena 10:30 "i didn't do anything in my life that would le

and local artists. >> i am incredibly sorry. >> reporter: almena called the ghost ship his dream, a place that brought people together. he defended the space, telling nbc his own family lived there. >> should i be held accountable? i can barely stand here right now. >> reporter: almena and his family were not in the building at the time of the fire. the ghost ship was the subject of numerous code complaints. former tenants like shelley mack say she lived here because it was cheap, but there were no fire alarms, sprinklers or proper electricity. >> this is all illegal. there's no heat. it's filthy. >> reporter: court records show almena was on probation after pleading no contest in january to receiving stolen property. danielle boudreaux was close to the family. >> these children were living in squalor and i called everyone i could and their families to get those children out of that environment. >> reporter: just hours after the fire ripped through this oakland warehouse, almena posted on his facebook page: boudreaux boudreaux blames almena. >> he didn't take the time to put sprinkl

---pero que fue lo que le irrit a almena? qu tanto saban las autoridades sobre estos tipos de alquileres ? hoy a la 5:30 le traeremos un reporte completo y revelador.

and local artists. >> i am incredibly sorry. >> reporter: almena called the ghost ship his dream, a place that brought people together. he defended the space, telling nbc his own family lived there. >> should i be held accountable? i can barely stand here right now. >> reporter: almena and his family were not in the building at the time of the fire. the ghost ship was the subject of numerous code complaints. former tenants like shelley mack say she lived here because it was cheap but there were no fire alarms, sprinklers or proper electricity. >> this is all illegal. there's no heat. it's filthy. >> reporter: court records show almena was on probation after pleading no contest in january after receiving stolen property. danielle boudreaux was close to the family. >> these children were living in squalor and i called everyone i could and their families to get those children out of that environment. >> reporter: just hours after the fire ripped through this oakland warehouse, almena posted on his facebook page. confirmed, everything i worked so hard for is gone, it's a dream that i wo

dropped the case. >> derick ion almena paid $4,57 to rent the warehouse and charged pennant $1,500 to saying he was not in it for the money. >> the sharks honor those impacted by the tragedy and they will hold a moment of silence before the game at s.a.p. center the on top of that half of the shark foundation 50/50 raffle tonight and saturday will be donated to the men red cross. fans will be able to make donateses at both games. >> foam nfl stars and oakland latives raising money for fire victims and their families, and began fares family foundation is accepting online donations with a link on abc7news.com. you can also make dough making -- donations in broadway. coverage conditions on our website and we will continue to send alerts through the newsup when new information is released. >> your accweather forecast with meteorologist mike nicco. >> we will talk temperatures, and start in san francisco where it is the same if not milder, remember this time yesterday, west portal and revideo were 35 and now they are in the my 40s with everyone else but for lake merritt at 42 and the finan

derick almena and his wife spoke calmly with nbc exclusively last night. again this morning he was set to talk calmly about the situation here, but when the questions turned to building codes, property rights and responsibilities, things got very passionate. >> i didn't do anything ever in my life that would lead me up to this moment. i'm an honorable man, a proud man. no, i'm not going to answer these questions on this level. i'd rather get on the floor and with trampled by the parents, rather let them tear at my flesh than answer these ridiculous questions. i'm so sorry, i'm incredibly sorry. what do you want me to say? i'm not going to answer these questions. >> reporter: now, in that exclusive interview with nbc both this morning and last night, derick almena and his wife micah allison talked about renting this space three years ago and he thought it was up to code at that point. it was never intended to be residential space. he spoke clearly that he and his wife lived here at the ghost ship warehouse with their three children, put them to bed every ni

almena. obviously there were some conditions in that building that may have led to a dangerous situation and led to what happened there. >> i laid my body down there every night. we laid our bodies down there. we put our children to bed there every night. we made music. we've created art. we opened our home. what became our home. it didn't start off as our home. it started off as an initial dream, an idea that we would would host. everything from at-risk youth to the gay community. to artists that couldn't perform anywhere. to performance art and alternative arts. and eventually, when you can't pay your rent because your dream is bigger than your pocketbook, when the need for housing and the need for people to be able to sit down and be warm and make food and take a shower and take so we created something together. you know. this stopped being me, this wasn't about me. i signed a lease. and i got a building that was to city standard, supposedly. i was lured into something that i had to consta

it paid a flat rate rent directly to derick almena and it was up to the business to run the event. any money collected or sales made inside went directly to the business and nothing else was shared with sacka uga. in oakland ktvu fox 2 news. >>> u caring has a place to donate money to the victims and the public has dug deep to help. it has brought in more than $830,000 the last time we checked. the oakland athletics and the raiders joined forces to raise $150,000 of that total. the president of u caring says most of those donations are smaller. >> it is incredible to see everybody rallying together and we are trying to use grassroots philanthropy and help individuals in need. >> unlike some other sites u caring does not take a percentage of the money raised but there is a credit card fee. the website is supported through donations. >> the lead city for the bay area band green bay posted this. billy joe armstrong posted this picture of candles and flowers. he said he lived in places like the ghost ship and he said this tragedy hits close to all of our hearts. an please do what you c

almena founded and ran the ghost ship. that's the artist collective located inside the warehouse that burned down. you can see what the space looked like in these before pictures. people familiar with the ghost ship said it was full of wooden art projects which might explain why the fire grew so big and so fast. within the past 45 minutes, we spoke with one of the survivors who barely made it out himself. >> we lost a lot of really great people in our community, a lot of bright souls. i think this has a lot to do with the gender issue in this city and we're forced to live in these spaces. we do it because we have nothing else affordable to create. we need more help. we need more of a voice in this city. >> reporter: that was bob mule who lost at least one friend in friday's fire. the death toll right now stands at 36. authorities this morning say they absolutely believe that number will increase. reporting live here in oakland, bob riddell, nbc bay area news. >>> our investigative team has pulled city records about the his

we reached out to derick ion almena but he has not returned our messages. as of tonight. he also hasn't responded to comments on facebook. >> steve:coming up at eight. community outrage about the warehouse and how it was operated. we're hearing from city officials about who should be held accountable. 33 people have been confirmed dead tonight in a massive warehouse fire in oakland. that number is expected to rise as crews continue to sift through the debris looking for bodies. today we learned this tragedy has hit especially close to home for the alameda county sheriff's department. ".yes that is true." today officials were able to identify 7 of the victims who died in the fire. their names have not been released. more community outrage about the warehouse and how it was operated. kron four's terisa estacio spoke with one city leader who wants answers, he also believes the owner of the building must be held accountable. we're learning much more about the victims who died inside the artist collective. alameda county sheriff's sgt. ray kelly spoke out today during a news c

>> reporter: eric and kristen, derek almena and his wife are staying here. we spotted them as they came out of the elevator about 10:45 this evening. they were surprised to see us and tried to walk away from us. almena is the man who ran the illegal artist enclave at the ghost ship warehouse. since the fire stories have been surfacing about how he allegedly ignored repeated warnings that his articlist enclave was a death trap. he was criticized for a facebook post soon after the fire many thought to be insensitive saying how upset he was about losing his furniture and art collection. tonight we asked him what he would like to say to the 33 families who lost their loved ones. >> people have been wondering if you have anything to say to them. >> they were my children. they're my friends. they're my families. they're my loves. they're my future. what else do i have to say? >> reporter: that was all he would say before walking away with his wife micah allison. it's unclear how long they would be staying here at the marriott. they did not check in under their nam

. >> derick almena holds the lease to the converted warehouse. he says about 20 people lived inside the building. "today in the bay's" kris sanchez joins us live from the scene of the fire that show more of the exclusive interview. the tone of that interview changed from start to finish. >> reporter: you heard him say he needed a good night's sleep and wanted to help his children with homework. he was outraged by the question about whether he and his wife were profiting from this illegal living situation that clearly became deadly over the weekend. he nearly broke down as he talked about whether or not he was profiting. >> i didn't do anything ever in my life that would lead me up to this moment. i'm an honorable man, a proud man. no, i'm not going to answer these questions on this level. i'd rather get on the floor and be trampled by the parents, rather let them tear after my flesh than answer these ridiculous questions. i'm so sorry, incredibly sorry. what do you want me to say? i'm not going to answer these questions. >> reporter: in that excl

we have posted the entire segment with almena on our website. to watch it, go to the top story box on our front page, nbcbayarea.com. >>> each day since the fire broke out, we have learned the identities of more victims. nbc bay area's scott budman is here with their names and more on who they were. >> we have a very brief look at a very diverse group of creative people. we just want to introduce you to a little bit of what these young people were like. for example, em bohlka transitioned to female, a friend online wishing she had more time to live as she truly wanted. mchale rah gregory, only 20. two jobs, one at a trendy clothing store, one at a mortuary. alex casten, a wonderful dad, son, friend. 32-year-old benjamin reynolds was a singer, a lot of musicians, both pop and jazz. mica danemayer, so full of life. feral pines, another person who we lost in the fire, a sinth genius, 29 years old, impeccable musical taste. and jennifer tonaway, worked at shazam and working on a documentary about pokemon. and jennifer norris, goodbye, old friend, we

derick ion almena pled guilty in january and was sentenced to 36 on probation. an investigation into what was going on inside this warehouse was open on november 13 but the city never got investigators inside access. >> thank you for that. >>> president obama released a statement a short time ago saying today our prayers go out to the people of oakland in the aftermath of this weekend's deadly warehouse fire. oakland is one of the most diverse and creative cities in our country and as families and residents pull together in the wake of this awful tragedy, they will have the unwavering support of the american people.>> there are several ways to help the victims. the gray area foundation for the arts as an online fundraising page. the amount raised tops $260,000.>>> the readers and oakland a's are matching up to $50,000 in donations on a webpage. more than $98,000 has been pledged.>>> the warriors are involved as well. the team will donate $50,000 to the unity council to help people affected by the fire. the warriors are donating proceeds from saturday night's 50-

>> derick ion almena is here moments ago. we have video of him surrounded by a few men, here to support him when he made a few statements saying that he created the artist collective to let young people do what they needed to do, that it was not about profit. this have been questions of the people would were living here, paying rent, but they were not legally given power for the electricity in the building. there have been questions about safety inside the building. >> i did not do anything ever in my life to get to this moment. [ inaudible ] i would rather get on the floor i would rather get on the floor and be trample by the sorry. >> there is still heavy equipment out here being used in the recovery of the and the power is still out here. they turned it off in case the crane they brought in being used, to hit the a power line and was a threat to the authorities. they turned off all the power and we expect it to be on at 8:00 this morning the number of fatalities here in the fire is 36. the coroner's van was brought in over

>> reporter: a rattled derick almena returned to answer tough questions on the "today" show. >> are you the man that should be held accountable? >> what should i say to that? i can barely stand here right now. >> reporter: with 36 people confirmed dead, the self-described grandfather is now in the spotlight. he acknowledges he leased the building and together with others turned it into a collective for artists. >> i'm here to say one thing that i'm incredibly sorry and that everything i did was to make it a stronger, more beautiful community. >> reporter: but as the community mourns, some say his words aren't helping. >> what was so beautiful about that building? he can say he's sorry till the cows come home. that's not going to bring the 36 lives back. >> reporter: he told us yesterday he didn't realize nor was he warned the building fill would handmaid wooden art, lights and tappestries posed any danger. and when confronted with his potential culpability again this morning, he became unglued. >> no, i'm not going to answer these questions. i would rather get on the floor and be trampl

. >> i can't >> reporter: derek almena leased the warehouse. in his first sitdown interview, he tells us, his family was not there during the fire. he's spoken to investigators and has not been charged. >> do i take blame or responsibility for this? like -- >> reporter: his home, this warehouse, is where nearly a hundred gathered for a dance party when flames exploded. a building not permitted for residential use. almena says their art collective, a group of tenants, covered the $5,000 a month rent. almena says he made repairs to the electrical system without permits, after he says, the landlord refused. >> we've done everything that we possibly could afford to do. >> reporter: known as the ghost ship, the building was cluttered with a maze of wooden furniture and art. cited multiple times. those who live he, roughly 25 people, tell us the warehouse had two access points. a main door and a make shift emergency exit. there were two sets of stairs. one made of wooden palettes. the fire began on the first floor. upstairs where the crowd listened t

. >> derick almena deflects the blame but expresses deep sorrow for the dozens of deaths and families left grieving. thank you nor joinifor joining sam brock. >> i'm kris sanchez. more on that interview in a moment. first, here is the latest information from a news conference we carried live on "today in the bay." 36 people are confirmed dead and investigators do not expect to find more victims. 35 people have been identified. all of the victims died of smoke inhalation according to the coroner. as of right now, news crews have gone through about 85% of the building. >> we continue with team coverage. sharon katsuda is reporting on the victims. among them, musicians, teachers and students. we begin with pete suratos with the latest on the investigation and what crews are doing at the warehouse right now. pete. >> reporter: good morning to you guys. we are expecting another operational red day. they determine it will take place sometime this afternoon. i imagine around 2:00 p.m. we're getting new information as far as what may have been the cause of death for at least half of the victi

a kron 4 crew was there as almena arrived at the site of the warehouse fire. from this video. everything appears fine. >> grant:but as the interview started and progressed. he became more and more distraught. almena had this to say about the friday night fire. >> grant:"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 sleep with my children. i wanted let the young people do what they wanted to do." >> grant:almena went on to say: "i'm only here to say one thing: i'm incredibly sorry and that everything that i did was to make this a stronger and more beautiful community and to bring people together. people didn't walk through those doors because it was a horrible place. >> reporter:according to one man who knows almena. this was not the first fire at the warehouse. >>peter veilleux/patron: "there had been another fire previous to that and right away they just started telling me about that and so -- if they knew also -- it was scary but i guess the step

the owner of the warehouse leased to an artist collective run by ghost ship founder derick ion almena who rent ready out part of the building to many other artists who worked and lived inside the structure. party program metro rented space insides the warehouse for the friday concert and he advertised friday concert and he advertised the party on social media. did you know slow internet can actually hold your business back? say goodbye to slow downloads, slow backups, slow everything. comcast business offers blazing fast and reliable internet that's 10 times faster than slow internet from the phone company. say hello to internet speeds up to 150 mbps. and add phone and tv for only $34.90 more a month. call today. comcast business. built for business. >>> we are getting new information on the oakland warehouse fire. officials updated us moments ago. crews did not fine any new victims so the number stays at 36. >> they do not specific the number to go up and cries have cleared 85% of the building. officials told us they have notified 26 families with nine tentative i.d.'s and one is uni

three years ago cps removed the children of der derick almena, also known as derick ion. the family was not there when the fire broke out. questions are being raised whether or not officials missed warning signs about the dangers at the warehouse, i visited child protective services to see if they shared their findings with other agencies. we have pieced together the conditions inside of the warehouse that led to cps involvement. issues began to surface when the couple's daughters were four years old and six and 11. there was a sexually explicit party at the warehouse. someone complained. we spoke to a woman that helped take care of the children. >> derick was in denial. i stood in front of the building and said, your kids are in danger, he said i was being hysterical. >> reporter: derick almena, also known as derick ion asked for a restraining order against this former resident, shelly mack. the children's mother said that her children are condemned by slander. the family was back together after a court heeng. family services said they cannot discuss -- hearing. family s

---pero que fue lo que le irrit a almena? qu tanto saban las autoridades sobre estos tipos de alquileres ? hoy a la 5:30 le traeremos un reporte completo y revelador. lorena --luego de la fuga de dos reclusos de la crcel del condado de santa clara, las autoridades evalan su sistema de seguridad... take vo --esta tarde la junta de supervsiores debatir la compra de 224 cmaras de vigilancia --un mes antes que se reportara esta fuga, uno de los supervisores propus aumentar estos dispositivos en la crcel por medidas de seguridad entre el personal. --la adminitracin no recomend la compra, debido a que estarn remodelando la prisin en los prximos aÑos... blanca ---esta tarde, decenas de estudiantes del colegio comunitario de san jos se reunieron para solicitar a las autoridades escolares, proteccin a los jvenes indocumentados. take vo ---esto luego que el presidente electo trump, amenazara con terminar el programa daca. ---los jvenes apoyados de sus maestros piden que la administracin educativa se comprometa por escrito a brindarles

derick ion almena gateses more questions as officials identify more victims of the fire. >> i am regular. >> i am kristen sze. all the investigation into the cause continues crews working around the clock report more progress. 85% of the rubble has new been searched. our reporter, amy hollyfield, is at the scene in check's fruitvale district. >> the death toll stands 36 victims have been found. lock behind me. can you see the crane. they still removing debris from the building. we have seen buckets of debris being hauled out of there and the power is still out to 12 customers. the sergeant said as long as you see the crane will you know the power is turned off because of the power lines. there is still a corner of the building they cannot go into unil it is shored up. crews stood around waiting for the all-clear from inside the ghost ship building. a corner of the building still needs to be searched but is considered too unstable right now. and at risk for first responders. who want to work and understand why they can't. >> this was the right call. the rue distant call. we are glad they

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almena said they were inspecting after the state had taken custody of his three children. a former investigator says fire safety is supposed to be an important part of their assessment. the city also received multiple complaints in the last two years about the property. housing officials say an investigation was ongoing. but residents say no contact was ever made with them. tonight the mayor's office will release the full record of the housing department investigation. the worst fire in oakland's history, many wondering tonight if officials missed possible warnings. stephanie gosk, nbc news, oakland. >> reporter: this is gadi schwartz in oakland, california. tonight, video from inside the ghost ship, posted online by a director and filmmaker just an hour before it went up in flames. the man who rented the space on the "today" show this morning, lashing out after questions over whether he was responsible. >> i'm an honorable man, i'm a proud man. no, i'm not going to answer these questions on this level. i woulthraer get on the floor and be trampled by the parents. i'm so s

al mean a said when he sign -- almena said when he signed the lease three years ago, he believed the building was up to city of standard. as for the building owner, no sign or statement from the owner who also owns several other buildings in the area. >> our legal analyst tells us the d.a. would have to prove criminal negligence. >> did he have a duty of care to maintain the premises in a safe condition? and was it allowed under law with his contract with the owner to even sublet the warehouse? >> he could get one count for each of the 36 people who died and each count of involuntary manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of four years behind bars. alameda can. has activated its -- county has activated its disaster relief fund for the warehouse fire victims. in allows employees to donate their vacation time. we've posted a link on our website www.cbssf.com if you would like to make a donation. >>> also in the news tonight investigators trying to figure out why a car slammed into an east oakland home while a family was inside. kpix5's devin fehely has more on the close call and the s

vo cesar -- "derrick ion almena", el hombre que administraba el almacen siniestrado, reaccion contra la prensa ante las preguntas si se senta responsable por la tragedia. -- almena afirma que solo quiso crear un lugar para artistas donde ellos pudieran prosperar y que en ningun momento intentaba ganar dinero ya que el lugar generaba perdidas economicas. vo lorena -- en noticiero telemundo 48 somos primeros con la noticia. -- un fuerte terremoto caus la muerte de, al menos, 25 personas en indonesia. -- el sismo provoc el desplome de decenas de construcciones en un poblado cercano al epicentro, en la provincia de aceh. cont vo cesar -- las autoridades confirmaron que ocho de las victimas eran niÑos y que se han reportado cientos de heridos. -- en diciembre de 2004, un poderoso terremoto ocasion un "tsunami" que dej un total de 230 mil muertos en una decena de pases de esa regin. lorena -- el comit de obras pblicas de oakland aprob de forma unnime el alquiler de un camion recolector de basura take vo --que servir para remover la gran cantidad de objetos que son arrojados en las calles

and another man says that derick almena threatened to get his gun against him after a dispute. we have not got a response from the city department over complaints but not knowing if they are aware of everything. the tragedy raises questions about what the city could have done differently. >> are we staffed appropriately for these complaints? it is different. there are buildings that may be housing people legally that foster this and encourage the underground community and others are breaking the law. >> it is about the failure of local government to see a dangerous situation and take action upon it. back now to the scene of the fire. it is just beginning. johnny watson is talking and this is the fire chief now. >> good evening. i am teresa and i am the fire chief in the city of oakland. at this time we have proclaimed a local state of emergency. and this is scheduled to be ratified by our city council on december 8th. so some of you may be asking what does that mean? once the local state of emergency has been been proclaimed, it allows the city to be eligible for possible state

>> derick ion almena is here moments ago. we have video of him surrounded by a few men, here to support him when he made a few statements saying that he created the artist collective to let young people do what they

might be unstable and claimed almena threatened to get his gun. no charges were ever filed. >> i am incredibly sorry, and that everything that i did was to make this a stronger, more beautiful community. >> reporter: and what about the building owner? how did the ghost ship turn into a packed living space, and remain off the grid for at least three years? >> we spoke with the daughter and the son-in-law of the own. >> reporter: we found records showing the city cited the owner at the lot next to the ghost ship warehouse. >> the city notified ng of, quote, substandard conditions on the property. at least four times over the past decade. >> reporter: the city also filed liens against the property to cover the costs of the cleanup and more than a dozen others since the 1980s. no one from the ng family would speak on camera but told us our condolences go out to the family and friends of those injured and those who lost their lives. we found another space nicknamed the death trap, records show past complaints about the lack of smoke detectors and a com

dan noyes went through court records from deck derrick -- from derick ion almena the founder. after an argument with a promoter and a friend in january of 2015 the men filed restraining orders against derick ion almena saying they suffered injuries but did not appear in court and it was denied. the same month, derick ion almenas with arrested at a warehouse on possession of stolen property. he was on probation at time of the weekend fire. a federal tenant said people lived in the trailers parked on the first floor and small areas throughout the warehouse and up to 18 to 20 people at a time. >> if you are choosing to live in a space like that, you are not choosing it based on safety. you are choosing it based on the people you choose, based on the community. >> derrick $paid $4,500 a month to rent the warehouse and would charge denants $400 to $1,500 for rent. we up to 20 people at a time, and he was not in it for the money. >> we spoke with the alameda county sheriff about the last several days and how they have been for the department's tireless team of workers. >> tough to d

almena -- >> i'm so sorry. i'm incredibly sorry. what do you want me to say? i'm not going to answer these questions. >> then we will call this -- >> i just want to say that i am sorry. >> then we'll end the interview there, mr. almena. >> soul accountable, yet to hold my soul accountable for believing in something. >> reporter: the manager of this place they called ghost ship. where was he the night of the fire? they decided to stay in a hotel because of concerns about that, the electronic dance party getting too loud for the children. back to you, brianna. >> all right, paul vercammen, thank you so much for that report. >>> as the recovery operations wind down, the focus is shifting to the investigation. i want to bring in matthew horace, special agent in charge of a national response team for the atf. matthew, this is the kind of incident, maybe not specifically this one, but somewhat similar, that it was your job to investigate at the atf. what's the first thing that investigators are doing when they get to the scene of this kind of tragedy and here in the

city officials say derick ion almena needed a special permit for the friday night party which he did not have. >> the alameda county sheriff is asking families with loved ones stilt unaccounted for so save items for possible d.n.a. identification if it is needed. >> any family members or friends of the victims if preserve d.n.a.-type items, combs, brushes, security them in a background paperback. >> the sheriff said not to send the items until the coroner's bureau asks. >> this fire has touched extremely close to home for the sheriff's office, we have fund out that one of their deputies has been affected. here is how. >> the tragedy has hit very close to home for our agency. one of our deputies that we work with lost his son in this fire. >> it is unclear at this point in the deputy's son is among those who already have been publicly identified. >> a large candlelight vigil planned tonight at 9:00 p.m. at lake merritt to honor those lost in the fire, you can see on facebook 2,400 people have said they will attend. >> in san francisco, residents have an opportunity to honor the victim