Service Planned For Westport's Riley Fritz, 29, Who Died In Warehouse Fire

The service will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 17, at the First Unitarian Church, 10 Lyons Plains Road, Westport. Friends are invited to pay their respects until 3:30 p.m. at the church.

Fritz, who also used the name Feral Pines, was the daughter of Bruce and Nancye Fritz of Westport.

Born at Norwalk Hospital, Fritz was active in youth hockey and in Boy Scouts, achieving the rank of Eagle Scout. She was a musician who played multiple instruments, including bass guitar. 

She graduated from Staples High School in 2005 and earned a bachelor of fine arts degree from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. 

She lived in Brooklyn, North Carolina, Ohio and Indiana before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in September. Since moving to California, she had been planning to start playing in at least two new bands.

She was frequently involved in creative projects and owned a dog named Grimma. 

According to the Connecticut Post, Bruce Fritz of Newtown Turnpike said his child was attending an electronic music show at the warehouse on Dec. 2 when the blaze broke out.

The warehouse, known as Ghost Ship, had been converted into an artist collective and into unpermitted dwelling units in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland, Calif.

At the time of the fire, the warehouse was hosting a concert without a permit promoted by the house music record label 100% Silk.

A total of 36 people were killed in the fire, the deadliest in the history of Oakland. It was also the deadliest building fire in the United States since The Station nightclub fire in 2003 in Rhode Island.

In addition to her parents, Fritz is survived by her brother, Ben Fritz of Los Angeles; sister Amanda Seagaard Parry of Stamford; sister-in-law Alicia Kirk; brother-in-law Steven Parry; nephew Hudson Fritz; nieces Charlotte and Caroline Parry; and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Trevor Project or The Connecticut Humane Society. 

The Harding Funeral Home in Westport is assisting the family with the arrangements. Condolences for the Fritz family may be left online by clicking here.

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