Medical marijuana house up in smoke

By ERICA BULMAN, 24 hOURS
A two-alarm fire on Wednesday ripped through a tidy two-storey East Vancouver duplex that housed a sanctioned marijuana grow operation, unbeknownst to the fire department.

No one was injured.

The fire on the 2800 block of St. George Street appeared to be accidental in nature, apparently caused by an electrical malfunction in the wiring in the wall, Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services said.
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When firefighters arrived, the attic and first floor were engulfed in flames. The blaze was burning so intensely, firefighters were forced to take a defensive mode, spraying water and foam on the outside of the building and on neighbouring houses.

It was only once they were able to enter the building that they discovered a “Legal Health Canada Sanctioned Medical Marijuana Product Site” in half of the duplex.

“When they attended this fire, Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services were not aware that it was a sanctioned marijuana grow operation nor do they know of any others in the city,” Vancouver Fire Capt. Gabe Roder told 24 hours.

Health Canada releases the number of sanctioned grow-ops in Canada. However it doesn’t specify their locations.

Grow-ops are notorious fire and explosion hazards. Electrical systems are often tampered with to accommodate high intensity lighting used to grow the plant. That in turn can create excessive heat and the risk of fire.

“The best scenario for the fire department would be for us to identify every single one of these sanctioned marijuana grow operations so that if and when we need to go in, our members are attacking these fires in the utmost safest manner possible,” Roder said, adding that both illegal and sanctioned operations present the same types of fire dangers for firefighters.

A next-door neighbour reported the fire at about 1:40 p.m.

http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/local/2011/10/26/pf-18884241.html