we have a team of reporters of their tonight starting with jessica florez. >> reporter: the devastation here is unbearable. 33 confirmed dead and right now, fire officials say they have two priorities: reaching all of the victims, and preserving the evidence. bucket by bucket, fire crews dug through a maze of debris, recalling dozens of bodies. >> we do have children around 17 years old, possibly younger. >> we have delivered to the unacceptable and horrific news of losing a loved one to seven our families. >> reporter: among those notified, a first responder. >> this has very -- hit very close to home for our agency. one of our deputies that we work with, he lost his son in this fire. >> reporter: at least 33 bodies left behind. crews and covering bodies in every section of the warehouse. when they reached the middle, they found a group of 10 bodies within feet of each other. the weight of the devastation, overwhelming. >> it was quiet. it was heartbreaking. >> reporter: the focus now, recovering bodies but investigators say attention will shift to how and why the building wasn't permi

here is what jessica florez found out. >> reporter: before the deadly fire, there were signs somethingasn't right inside the oakland warehouse. visitors say the upper floor contained a stay tuned event space. two levels of rickety stairs led to the bottom level, which was used for illegal residents. >> it was a fire marshals nightmare. >> reporter: we have been looking for the building owner to ask about conditions inside the warehouse. no answers. according to open city records, building inspectors went to the warehouse at least five times in the past three years. in 2014, there were two complaints about construction debris and a third complaint about construction without permits. the city's finding, non- actionable. most recently on november 13, 2016, the city received complaints about garbage piled on the sidewalk and sent a notice of violation. the day after, another complaint about an a legal interior building structure. according to city records, that investigation is pending and investigators couldn't get inside. >> all that i know is we were not able to gain access to the inter

kpix 5, jessica florez shows us the house near 580 and san miguel avenue was just steps from the fire station. the fire broke out in a townhome behind we just after 6 am. this is all less than 100 feet from an alameda county fire station.>> when we opened the door to respond, we could smell the smoke. >> reporter: within a minute of getting the call, firefighters were battling back heavy smoke and flames. working feverishly to reach the woman inside. >> we found david them on the second floor. the rescue company pulled the victim out and we tried to revive the victim but we were unsuccessful. >> reporter: the tragic outcomes at castro valley boulevard and san miguel avenue comes after another deadly fire and castro valley less than a week ago. last week's fire is being investigated as arson. the cause of today's fire is still unknown.>> it's hard on the firefighters because our job is to protect the citizens and so when we go in and try to rescue someone, and we are not successful, it's tough. >> reporter: the property owners stopped by but did not want to be interviewed for this repo

we have a team of reporters of their tonight starting with jessica florez. >> reporter: the devastationre is unbearable. 33 confirmed dead and right now, fire officials say they have two priorities: reaching all of the victims, and preserving the evidence. bucket by bucket, fire crews dug through a maze of debris, recalling dozens of bodies. >> we do have children around 17 years old, possibly younger. >> we have delivered to the unacceptable and horrific news of losing a loved one to seven our families. >> reporter: among those notified, a first responder. >> this has very -- hit very close to home