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| Oakland Fire Victims Included Performers and Educators | Oakland Fire Victims Included Performers and Educators |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| They were musicians and music lovers, a teacher and a barista. At least 36 people were killed in a fire at an electronic dance party at a warehouse in Oakland, Calif., over the weekend, and the coroner’s bureau in Alameda County is releasing their names. It was one of the worst structure fires in the United States in over a decade. | |
| Alex Ghassan, 35, Oakland | |
| Mr. Ghassan planted a kiss on the cheek of his younger sister, Francesca, pulling her close with his right arm around her neck. The smile on her face, turned directly to the camera, could not have been broader. That was the image she posted on Facebook Tuesday morning under the words “RIP big brother.” | |
| Mr. Ghassan, a director and producer, was the father of twin daughters, according to a biography on a fund-raising page set up by his mother, Emilie Grandchamps. He moved to Oakland from Jersey City, N.J., two years ago. “He was family man and loved spending quality and creative time with his daughters. His love and adoration for his mother was so warm and humbling,” it said. It said he was visiting the Ghost Ship warehouse to support other artists there that night. He died from smoke inhalation, the page said. | |
| “I loved how he brought my words to life and how he made music films for all the artists he worked with,” a fellow artist, Hasan Salaam, was quoted as saying on the memorial fund-raising page. | |
| David Cline, 24, Oakland | |
| Friends described Mr. Cline, an alumnus of the University of California, Berkeley, as someone with a fun personality and a penchant for bear hugs. On Facebook, his former clarinet teacher posted an autobiography that Mr. Cline wrote before his senior recital, in which he called himself a “devoted volleyball player” and member of the All-State Band. | Friends described Mr. Cline, an alumnus of the University of California, Berkeley, as someone with a fun personality and a penchant for bear hugs. On Facebook, his former clarinet teacher posted an autobiography that Mr. Cline wrote before his senior recital, in which he called himself a “devoted volleyball player” and member of the All-State Band. |
| “This summer he looks forward to spending time at the beach, enjoying the sunshine with his friends and observing a variety of aquatic animals,” Mr. Cline wrote. | “This summer he looks forward to spending time at the beach, enjoying the sunshine with his friends and observing a variety of aquatic animals,” Mr. Cline wrote. |
| Mr. Cline recently graduated with a double major in cognitive science and computer science, and was a “ferociously brilliant student and impossibly bright mind,” his brother, Neil Cline, said in a statement. “To David, we love you,” he wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday. “You will be with us always.” | Mr. Cline recently graduated with a double major in cognitive science and computer science, and was a “ferociously brilliant student and impossibly bright mind,” his brother, Neil Cline, said in a statement. “To David, we love you,” he wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday. “You will be with us always.” |
| Donna Kellogg, 32, Oakland | Donna Kellogg, 32, Oakland |
| Ms. Kellogg worked as a barista at Highwire Coffee Roasters in Berkeley, a person who answered the telephone there said on Monday. An article in The San Francisco Chronicle described her as a “freewheeling and free-spirited” person who loved cooking and played the drums. “She liked avant-garde music,” said her father, Hugh Slocum. A recent graduate of San Francisco State University, Ms. Kellogg was studying for a degree in culinary arts at Laney College in Oakland. | Ms. Kellogg worked as a barista at Highwire Coffee Roasters in Berkeley, a person who answered the telephone there said on Monday. An article in The San Francisco Chronicle described her as a “freewheeling and free-spirited” person who loved cooking and played the drums. “She liked avant-garde music,” said her father, Hugh Slocum. A recent graduate of San Francisco State University, Ms. Kellogg was studying for a degree in culinary arts at Laney College in Oakland. |
| Travis Hough, 35, Oakland | Travis Hough, 35, Oakland |
| Mr. Hough was an educator at two elementary schools, focusing on psychological counseling, according to Demetrio Gonzalez, the president of a local teachers union. He was an alumnus of California College of the Arts, according to a post on its Twitter account. He was also an art therapist and a musician. He and his band, Ghost of Lightning, played in November at Oakland.Secret, a performance and art space, Zoe Ceja, a founder of the site, said in an interview. | Mr. Hough was an educator at two elementary schools, focusing on psychological counseling, according to Demetrio Gonzalez, the president of a local teachers union. He was an alumnus of California College of the Arts, according to a post on its Twitter account. He was also an art therapist and a musician. He and his band, Ghost of Lightning, played in November at Oakland.Secret, a performance and art space, Zoe Ceja, a founder of the site, said in an interview. |
| Sara Hoda, 30, Walnut Creek, Calif. | Sara Hoda, 30, Walnut Creek, Calif. |
| Ms. Hoda was a teacher at a Montessori school who loved gardening, according to her former housemate Carol Crewdson, who helped her start a communal house in Oakland, hoping to help combat the housing crisis. “We sort of tried to make community work in a small space,” Ms. Crewdson said. “We would make gardens, and she would teach kids about gardens.” Ms. Crewdson said Ms. Hoda was an “honorable” person. Ms. Hoda was previously a representative for a local union assisting teachers. | Ms. Hoda was a teacher at a Montessori school who loved gardening, according to her former housemate Carol Crewdson, who helped her start a communal house in Oakland, hoping to help combat the housing crisis. “We sort of tried to make community work in a small space,” Ms. Crewdson said. “We would make gardens, and she would teach kids about gardens.” Ms. Crewdson said Ms. Hoda was an “honorable” person. Ms. Hoda was previously a representative for a local union assisting teachers. |
| Brandon Chase Wittenauer, 32, Hayward, Calif. | Brandon Chase Wittenauer, 32, Hayward, Calif. |
| Mr. Wittenauer was the vocalist in the music duo Symbiotix Fungi, who went by the name Nex Iuguolo, according to his Facebook page. | Mr. Wittenauer was the vocalist in the music duo Symbiotix Fungi, who went by the name Nex Iuguolo, according to his Facebook page. |
| Cash Askew, 22, Oakland | Cash Askew, 22, Oakland |
| Ms. Askew was a musician who performed with the band Them Are Us Too. “Completely heartbroken to lose such an incredible soul,” the group’s label, Dais Records, said on Twitter. “We love you Cash.” | Ms. Askew was a musician who performed with the band Them Are Us Too. “Completely heartbroken to lose such an incredible soul,” the group’s label, Dais Records, said on Twitter. “We love you Cash.” |
| Nick Gomez-Hall, 25, Coronado, Calif. | Nick Gomez-Hall, 25, Coronado, Calif. |
| Mr. Gomez-Hall worked at Counterpoint Press, a publisher based in Berkeley. “From the second Nick started at Counterpoint, he became part of our family,” the publisher wrote on Facebook. “Whether he was recommending new music to listen to (and it was always so good), regaling us with tales of the bowling alley, offering his beloved truck for a ride if anyone needed it, or sharing his much appreciated opinions about a book jacket or manuscript, he made everyone feel like they were his friend. He was kind, considerate, hilarious... In short, he was an essential part of our team.” | Mr. Gomez-Hall worked at Counterpoint Press, a publisher based in Berkeley. “From the second Nick started at Counterpoint, he became part of our family,” the publisher wrote on Facebook. “Whether he was recommending new music to listen to (and it was always so good), regaling us with tales of the bowling alley, offering his beloved truck for a ride if anyone needed it, or sharing his much appreciated opinions about a book jacket or manuscript, he made everyone feel like they were his friend. He was kind, considerate, hilarious... In short, he was an essential part of our team.” |
| Riley Fritz, 29, Oakland | Riley Fritz, 29, Oakland |
| Ms. Fritz, a musician, artist and transgender woman, had been in Oakland only a few months, but she was already enjoying her life there, said her brother, Ben Fritz, a newspaper reporter in Los Angeles. | Ms. Fritz, a musician, artist and transgender woman, had been in Oakland only a few months, but she was already enjoying her life there, said her brother, Ben Fritz, a newspaper reporter in Los Angeles. |
| “She came down here for Thanksgiving and she seemed to me to be the happiest that I’ve seen her in quite a while,” he said. | “She came down here for Thanksgiving and she seemed to me to be the happiest that I’ve seen her in quite a while,” he said. |
| After graduating from high school in Westport, Conn., where she grew up, Ms. Fritz studied printmaking at the School for the Visual Arts in Manhattan. She later lived with friends in North Carolina and Indiana, where she worked odd jobs to support her art. But ultimately Oakland, with its supportive artist and transgender communities, beckoned. | After graduating from high school in Westport, Conn., where she grew up, Ms. Fritz studied printmaking at the School for the Visual Arts in Manhattan. She later lived with friends in North Carolina and Indiana, where she worked odd jobs to support her art. But ultimately Oakland, with its supportive artist and transgender communities, beckoned. |
| Ms. Fritz had many passions: She played the bass guitar, experimented with other music and had plans to start a band. | Ms. Fritz had many passions: She played the bass guitar, experimented with other music and had plans to start a band. |
| She was an artist, a supporter of animal rights, and a voracious reader. | She was an artist, a supporter of animal rights, and a voracious reader. |
| “She’s the only person I’ve ever known who read David Foster Wallace’s ‘Infinite Jest,’” Mr. Fritz said. | “She’s the only person I’ve ever known who read David Foster Wallace’s ‘Infinite Jest,’” Mr. Fritz said. |
| Ms. Fritz, who also went by the name Feral Pines, adopted the name Riley as a woman in her 20s. She exhibited a strength that her brother admired. “I think she was very brave to follow her truth and be who she felt she was,” he said. |