francis memorial hospital where sam maxwell is recovering. ella? >> reporter:it was supposed to be a three day stay here at st francis hospital for sam but in his parents words it's been a 6 week marathon from hell as they are still here waiting for him to be able to speak a full sentence again let alone walk. sam maxwell sent an unusually alarming text message to his mom on december second. wendi maxwell, sam's mother "it said, i'm alive i'm out. and i had no idea what he was talking about." the message was sent moments after he narrowly escaped the ghostship warehouse fire. she responded but he didn't reply. so she took to twitter for answers. "which had live footage of a warehouse with flames shooting up into the sky." the 32-year-old now lies in a critical care unit at st. francis memorial hospital in san francisco. he was supposed to be there for 3 days - but six weeks later his parents are still commuting from almost two hours away in stockton to visit their son. sam is recovering from a medical coma and complications from severe smoke inhalat

. >>> it's been a slow recovery for sam maxwell, a survivor from the go ship warehouse fire. he is still in the hospital after a medical coma and severe smoke inhalation. it claimed 36 lives. his parents say it is tough to say who should be accountable. a you caring page is set up. kron4news. >>> in washington d.c. an inauguration swearing in dress rehearsal. a stand in for president elect trump. , melania trump, and mike pence. the ceremony is friday, january 20th at noon, a day before the inauguration. there will be a wreath laying ceremony at arlington cemetery. >>> rain hitting the bay area. we are back with details on when it will hit your neighborhood. what you gone do? lift up your head and keep moving or let the paranoia haunt you? everybody lack confidence, everybody lack confidence i keep my fee-fi-fo-fum i keep my heart undone the strong in me, i still smile. >>> we are joined with our merlings. meteorologist. >> let's get right to it. it will be a nice martin luther king around the bay area. things change in a hurry. we have a series of storms. it is getting chill

sam maxwell managed to send out a text to his mom saying she had survived but little did he know his fight for survival was just beginning. kpix5's suzy stimel joining us from outside the hospital where he just spoke to maxwell's parents. >> reporter: he is out of his medical induced coma but he can't talk yet so they are telling him story. >> reporter: every day they wake up and live the same nightmare over and over again. >> i woke up at 2:00 in the morning. and i want to either punch somebody or just cry. >> it's like a ground hog feeling, you wake up and it's the same story. you keep wanting it to have a different ending and you wake up the next day and it's still the same story. >> reporter: their son, sam maxwell was the last to escape the warehouse fire. >> he texted me sometime in the middled of the night. and it said i'm alive, i'm out. >> reporter: he suffered physical burns but had so much smoke inhalation that he was taken in. two weeks ago he woke up. >> i am fully convinced that if he had not been transferred here if he had been some where else, he would have died. and

the mother of fire survivor sam maxwell found out today she will be getting a check from gray area. >frustration with time is not as much a problem with me because sam is someplace safe. if i was trying to use the money right now i would be horribly frustrated and i would probably be pretty ticked off. >> reporter: maxwell is still in the hospital in a san francisco burn unit recovering from injuries he suffered in the fire. the red cross tells "abc 7 news" it will send out its final relief checks from the $800,000 it collected. >>> the city of san francisco is trying a new tactic to cut down on car break-ins. it is a huge problem. new signs are going up in high traffic tourist areas like this one on front and vallejo streets. they remind people to remove valuables and lock your car. the city installed 30 of them around the city so far at a cost of $3,000. a spokesman for supervisor mark farrell says he hopes the signs will help prevent a known san francisco problem. >>> well, when thieves do make it into cars, there's usually shattered glass, missing possessions, of course often it i

sam maxwell's parents have set up accounts on go fund me to pay for the mountain of expenses they have to cover while he recovers. now, it could take months, even years, but they he say they are confident that sam will fully recover. we certainly hope that he does. >> happening today, oakland leaders will meet to fast track new safety measures and tenant protections in the wake of last december's deadly ghost ship warehouse fire. mayor libby schaaf announced a new executive order for all nonpermitted industrial buildings which include new inspection protocols. >> today city council meeting, chris, is going to focus on an emergency ordinance that is doubling relocation fees for tenants who were evicted by landlords facing repair code violations. that should in turn speed up enforcement of the new safety measures. coming up next, counting down right now to the inauguration. we have a couple days left until president-elect donald trump becomes president trump. a look at the preparations and a fight between the incoming commander in chief and the outgoing cia chief. as the nation's 45th pr

the mother of fire survivor sam maxwell found out today she will be getting a check from gray area. >ustration with time is not as much a problem with me because sam is someplace safe. if i was trying to use the money right now i would be horribly frustrated and i would probably be pretty ticked off. >> reporter: maxwell is still in the hospital in a san francisco burn unit recovering from injuries he suffered in the fire. the red cross tells "abc 7 news" it will send out its final relief checks from the $800,000 it collected. >>> the city of san francisco is trying a new tactic to cut down on car break-ins. it is a huge problem. new signs are going up in high traffic tourist areas like this one on front and vallejo streets. they remind people to remove valuables and lock your car. the city installed 30 of them around the city so far at a cost of $3,000. a spokesman for supervisor mark farrell says he hopes the signs will help prevent a known san francisco problem. >>> well, when thieves do make it into cars, there's usually shattered glass, missing possessions, of course often it is

fran stis memorial hospital where the survivor sam maxwell has been. he's been there for six weeks, tom? >> reporter: that's right. nervous a medically induced coma for five weeks over the past week, he's been slowly coming out of that, but sam still capital talk. so his parents tell his story through the memories of friends and others who made it out of the ghost ship warehouse alive. >> they were frightened. they said it went up in about 60 seconds. you know, he had to climb down a ramp and stop at a landing. and drop down a foot and a half and go down some stairs. go into a room that was full of furniture and full of smoke and no light. and find the correct door. he came out low and fast and strong and hard. and that's just who he is he said call my roommate and have them take me to highlands. >> at the hospital he was diagnosed with severe smoke inhalation. after a few hours his throat and lungs started to swell shut. and doctors said he would have to be sedated. possibly three days in a coma. but then there were complications two, bouts with pneumo

the mother of fire survivor sam maxwell just found out that she is going to be getting a check from gray area. >> the frustration with time is not as much a problem for me because sam is some place safe. if i was trying to use the money right now, i would be horribly frustrated and i would probably be pretty ticked off. >> her son is still in the hospital in a san francisco burn unit recovering from injuries suffered during the that fire. the red cross tells abc7 news, it's going to send out its final relief checks from the additional $800,000 it collected. >>> well, a bill has been introduced to establish a new gender option in california for people who don't identify as male or female. state senator scott wiener was one of two democrats to introduce the bill. it would all residents to get a state i.d. that reflects how they describe themselves. it would make it easier for people to change their gender on state identification documents. >>> despite enormous opposition campus, milo yeens is going to speak on berkeley's campus. they say they're defending the right of free expression. the

nearly six weeks after the oakland warehouse fire, sam maxwell remains in the hospital relearning how to breathe. he feels in a comament tonight, his parents describe to us how he escaped the flames. >> go into a room that was full of furniture and full of smoke and no light and find the correct door. >> he had severe smoke inhalation, smoke and lungs started to swell shut and was seda sedated. he had had blood infections, pneumonia, and poisoning from all the chemicals he inhaled, and now the difficult rehabilitati rehabilitation. >> he has to relearn how to use his vocal cords, how to get, you know, how to use his mouth, how to use all the muscles. >> his parents say it could take months or years to fully recover, but they are so grateful to the staff, the nurses, and doctors, and everyone else at st. francis hospital. >>> following a rash of shootings on the i-80 corridor, the city of san pablo leans on technology for help. three cameras working next week along i-80. cameras cost $25,000, an investment they hope pays off after the shootings. the latest just last night when someone

sam maxwell still in the hospital right now. he is learning how to breathe after being in a coma. >> go into a room that was full of furniture and full of smoke and no light and find the correct door. >>> maxwell suffered severe smoke inhalation as he fought his way out of the warehouse. doctors said he would have to be put into a medically induced coma. he suffered two bouts of pneumonia, blood infection, and chemical poisoning from all the chemicals he inhaled. >> he has to the learn how to use his vocal chords, all his muscles. >> maxwell's parents say it could take months, even years to recover. >>> fast tracking new safety measures in the wake of the deadly ghost ship warehouse fire. it includes new inspection protocol. the city council will focus on an emergency ordinance doubling relocation fees for tenants. >> a shooting near martin luther king jr. in florida. seven people were shot. one of the victims was hospitalized in critical condition. two people have already been released. two people are being questioned about the

sam maxwell is still relearning how to breathe after being in a coma. >> go into a room that was fullfurniture and smoke and no light and find the correct door. >> yet he was able to the get out. he suffered severe smoke inhalation. his throat and lungs started to swell shut. doctors said he would have to be sedated just to survive. he had two bouts of pneumonia, poisoning from all the chemicals he inhaled. >> he has to the relearn how to use his vocal chords. how to use his mouth, all his muscles. >> maxwell's parents say it could take months, even years, for him to fully recover. >>> 5:16. meantime, happening today, oakland leaders will need to fast track safety measures in the deadly ghost ship warehouse fire. they will double relocation victims for tenants evicted by landlords who are facing code violations. >>> today facebook ceo mark zuckerberg will take the stand in an ongoing lawsuit filed against oculs. they claim the social media giant knew the headset maker was using stolen technology. facebook denied the claim. >>> you heard about brexit. >> this really is a breakdown betw

. >>> his name is sam maxwell, he was the last person to make it out of the deadly oakland warehouse fire alive. next his parents talk to ktvu fox news about the challenges he faces now. >> the latest on a sinkhole in pacifica. >>> a dry weekend coming up but we have stubborn fog. i will let you know about the morning forecast. also significant rain is back in the forecast over the next few days. >> we have more coming up on ktvu news after the break ?q afoot and light-hearted i take to the open road. healthy, free, the world before me, the long brown path before me leading wherever i choose. the east and the west are mine. the north and the south are mine. all seems beautiful to me. life. you never really know what's coming. life just... happens. just when you think you know where it's going, sfx: (ambulance sirens) it takes you someplace else. and that's why covered california is here. to help californians who need health insurance get it. so you'll be ready next time life happens. because it's more than just health care. it's life care. . >>> the last person to make it out of the

. >> the survivor, sam maxwell continues to fight the same way he did when he willed himself out of thaturning ghost ship. tom jenson joins us at st. francis memorial hospital. how is he doing first and foremost and what are his parents saying? >> reporter: he's recovering slowly. he was in a medically induced coma for five weeks. started coming out of that slowly for the past week. he's still unable to talk. his parents tell his story through eyewitnesses about his courageous escape from the flames and the smoke that nearly killed him. >> they were freightened. they said it went up in about 60 seconds. he had to climb down a ramp and stop at a landing. and drop down a foot and a half and go down some stairs. go into a room that was full of furniture and full of smoke and no light and find the correct door. he came out low and fast and strong and hard. and that's just who he is. he's fierce. he said call my roommate and have them take me to high lands. >> reporter: at the hospital sam was diagnosed with severe smoke inhalation. after a few hours his throat and lungs started to swell shut

." >> reporter:it's been a slow recovery for 32-year-old sam maxwell who was one of the only survivors that barely escaped the oakland ghost ship warehouse fire. 6 weeks later he still lies in the burn unit of st. francis memorial hospital after a medical coma and complications from severe smoke inhalation. william maxwell, sam's father "it's terrible for a parent in this coma and he's lying him- there motionless with his eyes half open." - although many are trying to find someone to blame for a fire that claimed 36 lives and injured sam his parents say it's tough to say who should be held accountable. "you don't want to start pointing the blame on anyone but there's a lot of parties that are culpable down the line." with many wondering why the building wasn't thoroughly inspected. "it's sad but i know how thin city services are stretched." the maxwell's are also worried marginalized communities will be pushed out of their homes as we've seen with burnt ramen warehouse in richmond. "just hope that people support not just sam but the whole arts community and those who suffered as a resu

the mother of fire survivor sam maxwell just found out that she is going to be getting a check from grayrea. >> the frustration with time is not as much a problem for me because sam is some place safe. if i was trying to use the money right now, i would be horribly frustrated and i would probably be pretty ticked off. >> now, her son is still in the hospital in a san francisco burn unit recovering from his injuries that were suffered during the fire. the red cross tells abc7 news that it will send out their final relief checks from the additional $800,000 it collected. >>> a bill has been introduced to establish a new gender option in california for people who do not identify as male or female. state senator scott wiener was one of two democrats to introduce the bill. the new marker is called non nonbinary and it would allow transgender residents to apply to change their gender on state identification documents. >>> despite enormous opposition on campus, breitbart editor milo yiannopoulos will speak on berkeley's campus on wenlz. in a letter to students, the school said it is defending t

the mother of fire survivor sam maxwell just found out she's going to be getting a check from gray area. >> the frustration for time is not so much an issue for me because sam is somewhere safe. if i was trying to use the money right now, i would be horribly frustrated and pretty ticked off. >> her son is still in the hospital in a san francisco burn unit. recovering from injuries suffered in the fire. the red cross tells abc7 news that it will send out its final relief checks from the additional $800,000 it collected. >>> a bill has been introduced to establish a new gender option in california for people who dodd do not identify as male or female. state senator scott wiener was one of two democrats to introduce the bill. the marker is called nonbinary and it will allow residents to get a state i.d. that reflects how they describe themselves. >>> despite enormous opposition on campus, the breitbart editor will speak on campus as planned. in a letter to students, the school says it's defending the right of free expression at a historic moment for our nation. he is quite controversial an

. >> reporter: it's been a slow recovery for sam maxwell, one of the only survivors that barely escapedma and complications from severe smoke inhalation. >> it's terrible for a parent to see their child, especially when they've got him basically in this coma and he is lying there motionless with his eyes half open. >> although many are trying to find someone to blame for a fire, claiming 36 lives, his parents say it's tough to say who should be held accountable. >> with many wondering why the building wasn't thoroughly inspected. >> it's sad, but i know how sin services are stretched. >> they are also worried marginalized communities will be pushed out of their homes as we have recently seen with the burnt warehouse in richmond. >> just helping people support not just sam but the whole arts community and the people who have, you know, suffered as a result of this. >> for now a page has been set up online to help pay for the expenses of sam's recovery. >> in other bay area news, the central marin police authority has a new top cop. interim police chief michael norton is going to be appoi

francis burn unit visiting their son sam peaches maxwell. they agreed to meet us at a cafe near the hospital. >> he texted me and said i'm out, i'm alive. i had no clue what he was talking about. >> sam apparently felt his way along the wall and along the floor and got down. he had friends taken to highland hospital, but was transported to st. francis because of the smoke inhalation. when he made it to the st. francis burn unit, his situation was much more serious. that he would have to be induced into a coma. >> they put me through to his doctors immediately. i said i have not seen him or talked to him. she said i'm sorry i can't wait that long. >> sam spent the next five weeks in medically induced coma breathing through a ventilator. >> apparently because of the different toxins and all the different materials that were in the fire in the warehouse. whatever he inhaled affected his ability to process oxygen. >> sam is now awake, but still cannot move or talk. >> they put a tube and that is what he's on now. >> his recovery will be long, so

. >> reporter: bill and wendy maxwell left their home two days after the ware house fire and spend everyday at the burn unit visiting their son sams maxwell. they agreed to met us. >> he texted me and said i'm out and alive. i had no idea what he was talking about. >> their son and oakland book seller has been to the party several times before the party on december 2nd and smelled the smoke and helping the dj look for any problems when the lights went out and flames came up through the floor board. >> he felt his way along the wall and floor and got down and new his way well enough around to be able to find his way back to the front door. >> sam was said to be the last person to make it out alive. he had friends take him to the hospital and transferred to st. francis because of the smoke inhalation. >> when he went to the burn unit, he found that the situation was serious and that he would have to be induced into a comma. >> he put me to his doctor immediately. she talked to me on what was going on and said that they had the intubate him because the throat was swelling. i said i have not seen him. i have not talked to him. she sa

. >> sam was in a coma, a medically induced coma for five weeks. >> reporter: wendy maxwell's 32-year-old son sam was badly hurt and remains in a san francisco burn unit. she has received several checks for her son from the red cross. after weeks of waiting just found out today an allocation for gray area is on its way. >> the frustration with time is not as much a problem for me because sam is someplace safe. if i was trying to use the money right now i would be horribly frustrated and i would probably be pretty ticked off. i also understand that the gray area fund in particular, out of the goodness of their hearts took this task on. >> reporter: sam's family has also set up a separate fund, knowing his recovery and rehabilitation could take a very long time. >> we're determined for our son to get his life back. >> reporter: in oakland, laura anthony, "abc 7 news." >>> tonight san francisco's mayor and police chief held an emergency meeting in ponce to an ice raid at a family resource center in the city. ice tells us this morning's raid was part of routine enforcement activities. agents

reporter: will and wendy maxwell left their home in stockton two days after the ghost ship warehouse fire, and now spend every day at the saint francis burn unit, visiting their son, sam agreed to meet up with us at a cafe near the hospital. >> he texted me and said i'm out, i'm alive, and i had no idea what he was talking about. >> reporter: their son had been to a ghost ship party several times before the fire on december 2nd. he smelled the smoke, and was helping the d.j. look for any electrical problems when the lights went out, and flames came up up there the floorboard. >> sam apparently felt his way along the wall and along the floor, and got down, and knew his way well enough around to to be a able to find his way pack to the front tour. >> reporter: sam was set to be the last person to make it out alive. he had friends take him to highland hospital, but he was transferred to saint francis because of his smoke inhalation. he found out that his situation was much more serious, and that he would have to be indeuced into a coma. >> they put me through to his doctor immediately, and she talked to me about what was going on with him, and said that they needed to in