Man who lived at Ghost Ship missed tragic fire, recounts ‘traumatizing’ visit

OAKLAND — A man who lived at the Ghost Ship collective repeatedly broke down on the stand as he recalled his “traumatizing” visit after the fatal fire that claimed 36 lives on Dec. 2, 2016.

David “Dragon” Calvera, 29, who now lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, and his girlfriend Leah “Swan” Vega were residents at the Ghost Ship, but both missed the blaze late that night because they were working. Calvera was a bartender for a private party at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and he learned about the warehouse fire via text four hours later.

Calvera, on several occasions, broke down as he described seeing the ruins and spoke about the “emotional turmoil” and the series of funerals that followed.

Calvera testified in the second week of the Alameda County Superior Court trial against Derick Almena, 49, and Max Harris, 29, who are each charged with 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter stemming from the blaze at the warehouse in East Oakland’s Fruitvale neighborhood.

Alameda County Assistant District Attorney Casey Bates alleged in his opening statement two weeks ago that Almena and Harris are criminally liable for the fire because there was no time and no way for the people at a dance party being held at the Ghost Ship to escape since the warehouse didn’t have important safeguards, such as fire extinguishers, smoke alarms and exit signs. Bates also said Almena and Harris violated the terms of the warehouse’s lease by turning it into a living space and hosting music parties there.

Defense attorneys repeatedly have described Almena and Harris as “scapegoats” in efforts to blame someone for the fire, and have suggested the city of Oakland and its fire and police departments are culpable for the deadly blaze.

Most of the 36 victims were trapped on the second floor where the dance party took place, unable to escape from either the staircase in the front of the warehouse facing 31st Avenue or the back staircase.

Calvera said he paid about $1,400 in rent money to Harris and lived at the Ghost Ship collective with Vega for eight months before the fatal fire.

He described the interior as a cross between “Swiss Family Robinson” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “really cool” with an eclectic collection of artwork, including Indian mythological figures.

“It was a dream come true,” Calvera recalled about his time at the Ghost Ship because it represented the first time he had ever really moved away from his home in Southern California. He said he and Vega lived with about 25 other people and there was a “family atmosphere.”

“Everyone was really nice,” he said. Calvera also said he “bonded” with Almena and his family.

Earlier in the morning, visiting musician Aaron Marin described how he jumped from a second-story kitchen window as the warehouse went up in flames.

Marin was on the stand Monday and was under cross-examination Tuesday, recounting how he first smelled smoke and then escaped through a kitchen window past a large projector that blocked the warehouse’s second floor.

Tony Serra, Almena’s attorney, asked Marin how much time elapsed from the time he first smelled smoke to when the lights went out.

“I think about that every day of my life — it was a matter of minutes, maybe two, three minutes,” Marin responded.

Marin, who lived at the Ghost Ship for a few weeks before the fire at Almeda’s invitation, said he saw people going up and down the two staircases, bringing three guitars, speakers, a keyboard and other musical equipment on Dec. 2, 2016. He said there was “no problem with the stairs” and he found them to be sturdy.

He also described the Ghost Ship interior as “like a museum to me.”

“I think it was awesome,” Marin said, with “beautiful things to look at, spiritual things.” including what he described as multicultural art, with Indian lanterns and Indonesian masks and street art.

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