Building manager expresses regret, won’t say whether he’s accountable for 36 Oakland fire deaths

The investigation into a warehouse fire that claimed at least 36 lives in Oakland intensified Tuesday as the building manager offered an apology for the blaze but said he could not say whether he should be held accountable.

"Can I just say I'm sorry?" a distraught Derick Almena told the "Today" show in front of the fire-gutted building early Tuesday. "The only reason I'm here is to put my face and body in front."

Asked whether he should be held accountable for the fire that erupted at an electronic music event late Friday, Almena responded, 'What am I gonna say to that? Am I gonna be held accountable? I can barely stand here right now.'

more bodies unlikely

With 85 percent of the building searched, authorities said they don't expect to find more victims, but said the death toll could rise higher than 36.

'We haven't found any ... recently,' said Jim Call, division chief for the Alameda County Fire Department. 'We don't expect to. Certainly, we hope that we don't find any more. ... More than anything, we would like to clear the building and say that it is clear.'

The remains of one victim haven't been identified, and several people who are thought to have visited the warehouse remain missing, said Alameda County Sheriff Deputy Tya Modeste.

Alameda County Sheriff's Sgt. Ray Kelly told KTVU-TV some of victims texted their family members, saying they loved them and that they were going to die. Kelly said rescue crews found some of the victims 'protecting each other, holding each other,' the Associated Press reported.

'We are going to continue the search. We are going to continue the investigation. We are going to continue the process until absolutely every piece of debris is removed from this building,' Oakland police officer Johnna Watson said.

Potential murder charges

If the fire is determined to be an arson, prosecutors could bring murder or aggravated arson charges — with one count for each person killed.

As the search for bodies progressed, pressure has mounted on city officials to explain how they dealt with numerous complaints concerning conditions in the warehouse.

Neighbors said they had complained about piles of trash and illegal construction at the warehouse. A steady stream of young artists came and went, they said, giving every indication that the building was their home, yet the property's owner had only a permit for a warehouse, not a residence. Officials began an investigation into possible code violations, and an inspector had visited the warehouse but never went inside.

Finding fault with city

'The administration has to tell us, well, what happened to the code inspector. Why did he just knock on the door and not pursue?' said City Councilman Noel Gallo, whose district includes the Fruitvale neighborhood where the warehouse was located. 'This thing has been going on for 2 1/2 years.'

The city of Oakland has yet to release a full accounting of all city building or fire code inspections and investigations of the warehouse, but city records available online show at least five complaints had been investigated since June 2014.

A few homemade repairs

Officials said they have found no evidence of sprinklers or fire alarms in the structure, known as the Ghost Ship. And, according to the man who oversaw the building, it also was outfitted with his homemade electrical repairs, for which he did not obtain permits.

Almena told NBC News on Monday that he made those repairs because the landlord refused.

Chor N. Ng, the warehouse owner, could not be reached for comment. Her daughter, Eva Ng, has said the family was unaware people were living there.