Oakland artists are afraid of a crackdown on converted warehouses after the Ghost Ship fire

[FarCenter]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The Ghost Ship is now gone. But there's The Salt Lick, the ominously named Deathtrap and other converted warehouses where artists are holding emergency meetings behind locked metal doors.

Oakland has long been hospitable to an underground art scene that flourished in its abandoned industrial warehouses and helped put this gritty city on the world's art map. But now its art and music underground is panicking and bracing for a crackdown.

Painters, musicians and struggling artists of all types came to live and work, to perform and dance late into the night and to be surrounded by creativity.

They tolerated the exposed wiring, spotty electricity and other dangers or inconveniences of often unregulated warehouses, as a trade-off for affordable housing and studio space in one of the country's priciest housing markets.

http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-oakland-artists-fear-crackdown-after-ghost-ship-fire-2016-12

Rather than expensive upgrades like installing sprinklers, a good first step would be to require clear pathways to multiple, unblocked exits.

The problem is not so much that it catches on fire and burns as that the people are trapped inside.

[pintobean]

1. Occupancy standards should be enforced everywhere.

It's about safety, and there shouldn't be exceptions for certain occupations. There should be no exceptions.

[SticksnStones]

2. I'm an artist who works out of an 1880's barn

No excuse for exposed wiring, no exit plan or regular fire extinguisher checks.

You treat your space like gold if you want to keep it.

That's part of the job as a working artist.

[jberryhill]

3. I doubt the Ghost Ship circumstances were typical

By all accounts of the way that asshole ran the place, and from photographs and descriptions of the electrical and physical arrangements, I find it hard to believe it was "typical" of these arrangements, and it is a surprise it didn't burn down sooner than it did.

Rather than "fearing a crackdown", it would be a good idea to have a set of experienced eyes have a look at the various arrangements for electricity and safe exits.