The Times-Herald
VALLEJO, Calif. — Vallejo firefighters found a large marijuana grow Thursday night inside a burning commercial building at 615 Florida St.
Fire crews responded to the blaze at about 6:45 p.m. to find smoke coming out of all sides of the building as well as the roof, Vallejo Fire Battalion Chief Cliff Campbell said. As crews entered they came across tripwires attached to pepper spray burglar devices and smoke bombs as well as a large number of marijuana plants and indoor-growing equipment, Campbell said.
A bomb squad was called to the scene to investigate the tripwires after crews knocked down the fire.
Campbell said crews found documents inside the building indicating that the grow belonged to a medical marijuana cooperative. He said he didn’t know which cooperative was involved and the documents had been turned over to the Vallejo police for further investigation.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
“Typically when you deal with grow houses, the way they run the electrical ... it causes a lot of draw from the electrical system,” Campbell said. “Our suspicions are in that direction, but I can’t really say one way or another.”
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(c)2014 Times-Herald (Vallejo, Calif.)
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