Survivors Describe Harrowing Scene As Oakland Ghost Ship Went Up In Flames
OAKLAND (KPIX 5) -- Two women who barely escaped with their lives from the Oakland warehouse known as the Ghose Ship described the harrowing scene.
"I was asleep in the back. And I woke up to smoke and an entire wall on fire," Carmen Brito, who lived at the warehouse said.
She escaped only with only the clothes on her back.
"I was dreaming when I put on my coat and all of that smoke, and I feel like I woke up on the sidewalk. Seeing this, orange wall of fire. It was, I don't know. It felt like seeing a monster," Brito said.
"Fifteen feet of flames. Literally, just getting into my loft and just being hit in the face with black smoke that I was immediately blinded by," she said.
Continuing Coverage: Deadly Oakland Warehouse Fire
Nikki Kelber also lived inside and also escaped the flames. She says she and other residents immediately began giving instructions to help people who were trapped.
"Everybody get down. You know, get down low the ground. Get below the smoke. And trying to get people out. And then getting outside and realizing that there are no fire trucks here yet. There was nobody here," Kelber said.
Nikki says she sprinted to the firehouse a block away. Meanwhile, Carmen says overwhelmed residents tried their best to tame the flames.
"There were people trying to put it out with fire extinguishers. We had smoke alarms. We had fire extinguishers. It would have been like trying to put out a bonfire with a water pistol. Like, we tried. And then at some point, we were just trying to get people out of the space," Brito said.
"It's awful. It's awful anytime there's a tragedy like this. And we should honor those lives that are lost. I don't think it's about placing blame on anybody who was there. It's tragic," Kelber said.
