Who were the victims of the Oakland warehouse fire? Here are their stories
OAKLAND - A popular sound engineer, a young attorney and a woman described as a visionary were among the people killed in a fire that engulfed a dance party inside an Oakland warehouse. The Alameda County Sheriff's Department has released the names of all 36 victims. They ranged in age from 17 to 61.
Federal officials were investigating the fire's cause.
Here's a closer look at who the victims were:
ATTORNEY WITH A DESIRE TO HELP
Nick Walrath, 31, was recently hired as an attorney with the San Francisco law firm Durie Tangri.
He texted his girlfriend, Alexis Abrams-Bourke, from inside the burning structure, saying there was a fire and that he loved her.
She spoke between sobs as she described him as a wonderful person who was open and vulnerable and goofy and generous.
"I feel like my future has been ripped from me," she said.
The two moved together from New York City several years ago after Walrath got a job as a clerk for the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He spent a year working as a judicial law clerk for the federal district court in San Francisco. District Judge Jon Tigar said in a statement that Walrath was an "exceptional" law clerk in his chambers.
His ultimate goal was to work for the American Civil Liberties Union, according to Abrams-Bourke. Helping people is what drove him.
"He could really step outside of himself and care and listen to other people and feel their struggles, and want to help," Abrams-Bourke said.
POPULAR SOUND ENGINEER
Friends of Barrett Clark, 35, say the popular sound engineer at the San Francisco club, The Bottom of the Hill, appeared to be everywhere.
Parker T. Gibbs, chief operating officer at Magnolia Media Productions, said when he'd walk into a rave full of strangers, he'd always spot Clark. "I knew where I'd be for the rest of the night," Gibbs said. "Right next to him."
Friends say the Santa Rosa native was also a DJ and "standup guy" - always ready to help musicians and fellow DJs.
Lynn Schwarz, co-owner of The Bottom of the Hill, said Clark was the engineer she hired to impress popular bands.
"You couldn't shock the guy," Schwarz said. "He had all kinds of friends."
LIKE A BROTHER
Peter Wadsworth, 38, was like family to his friend Tammy Tasoff.
Wadsworth looked out for her, doing little things that made her life easier. He would organize her messy files, give her advice and fix her computer if she needed help, said Tasoff, a dental student.
He bought video games because he knew she loved them, and he would often watch her play, she said.
"Usually he'd say, 'Let's play video games,' and then he'd say, 'No, I just want to watch you play,'" she said, sobbing. "He'd make me food. He took really good care of me. He was like my big brother."
'WORLD LESS COLORFUL WITHOUT THEM'
Michele Sylvan, 37, and Wolfgang Renner, 61, were described as warm and creative, by a friend.
Robert Janca said Renner made friends feel celebrated and he called Sylvan "his lovely, wildly creative partner."
"The world is a decidedly less colorful one without them," he said in a statement to KRON-TV. "So long dear souls. Thank you for the treasures you shared. We will see you in Valhalla and in the interim we will celebrate your rich lives as you would undoubtedly have wanted us to."
Renner was the oldest victim of the fire.
"Wolfgang was about as free of an individual as anyone is likely to ever meet," Janca said. "When we were close, it was a joy to go and visit him as he was a capable host who made all of his friends feel welcome and celebrated."
INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN VISUAL PROJECTION ARTIST
Jonathan Bernbaum, 34, was a well-known visual projection artist whose dramatic light and video shows enhanced the performances of musicians in California and around the world.
He worked editing films before becoming disillusioned with the corporate film industry and discovered a way to apply his film skills to multi-media video art, according to an obituary posted online.
He toured the globe with groups like electronic house music duo Knife Party and VSquared Labmong others.
"At the time of his death, Jonathan was widely considered one of the world's foremost artists working in his field," according to the obituary.
Born in Berkeley, Bernbaum graduated from Berkeley High School in 2000 and from Brandeis University in 2004, earning highest honors as a history major and minoring in film studies. He went on to earn his masters of fine arts degree from the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts in 2008, focusing on film editing.
Loved ones remember his "love of social justice, his razor sharp mind, his debating skills and his creativity as a visual performer," the obituary said.
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