cannabisnews.com: Firefighters, Battling Blaze, Uncover MJ Factory





Firefighters, Battling Blaze, Uncover MJ Factory
Posted by FoM on July 23, 2000 at 13:15:20 PT
By Ryan Kim of The Examiner Staff
Source: San Francisco Examiner 
Firefighters battling a three-alarm fire at a Bayview warehouse Saturday morning uncovered a large marijuana-growing operation which may have started the blaze. Authorities found evidence of more than 1,000 young marijuana plants at the warehouse at 1601 Donner Ave. The operation appeared to be a hydroponic nursery, said San Francisco police narcotics Inspector Martin Halloran.
"This is an advanced, sophisticated system," said Halloran.Halloran said a large portion of the marijuana plants was burned in the fire. He would not elaborate on what specific equipment was recovered from the site, but typically, hydroponic operations include tiered planters, water pumps, ultraviolet lamps and fans. The operation had been going on for at least several months, said Halloran. He said the tenants of the unit, whom he did not identify, are being sought for questioning.Fire officials indicated the fire was accidentally sparked by electrical equipment at the warehouse. It's unknown if the equipment was connected to the marijuana operation.Smoke was first reported coming from the building shortly before 10 a.m. Approximately 100 firefighters, investigators and paramedics descended on the two-story commercial warehouse, part of a larger warehouse district near Third Street, several blocks from Candlestick Park.No one was injured in the fire, but the blaze caused about $100,000 damage to the building. Halloran did not have an estimate on the street value of the seized pot plants.The blaze began in the back portion of the commercial unit and worked its way up to the roof. The roof eventually collapsed, forcing firefighters to retreat to safety."We had to get our fighters off the roof and onto the next roof because it was too dangerous," said Battalion Chief Bob Serrano.Firefighters were hampered in their efforts because of the concrete construction of the building. Normally, they break holes open in a building to get at the fire."You can't chop holes in this, so you go through the corrugated doors and the roof," said Serrano.The fire was brought under control by 11:13 a.m. Afterward, fire investigators notified the narcotics division when they came across the marijuana growing equipment.The Cover Story: Jin Lee, who owns an electrical contracting company next door, said he had no idea of the marijuana nursery. Lee, who has operated at that location for four years, said he was told earlier by an unknown employee at the now burned-out unit that his company repaired refrigerators and freezers. Lee said he had no reason to suspect otherwise."They were really nice people," said Lee. "We didn't have any conversations, just 'hi' and ' 'bye'."Lee said there were two males and one female who worked out of the space next door. He said they had been there when he first moved in.About the only odd thing Lee recalled was hearing fans whirring next door 24 hours a day. He assumed it was testing equipment."I think those guys were pretty careful to hide it from us," said Lee.Later in the day, firefighters began removing the debris from the warehouse, including the remnants of the marijuana nursery. They brought out numerous white planters, some still holding the wilting marijuana plants. They also brought bags of fertilizer and other equipment.Halloran said marijuana growers tend to use warehouses because they don't arouse much suspicion. But he said he's seen marijuana nurseries set up in garages, attics and lofts as well. Takes The Cake: Saturday's nursery was the largest marijuana operation he's seen all year."Its appears to be a sophisticated operation, but I've seen larger," he said.E-mail: sfexaminer examiner.comBy Ryan Kim of The Examiner StaffJuly 23, 2000 ©2000 San Francisco Examiner  CannabisNews Articles On Indoor Growing:http://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=indoor+growing
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