Pubdate: Fri, 27 Jul 2012
Source: Petaluma Argus-Courier (CA)
Copyright: 2012 PressDemocrat.com
Contact:  http://www.petaluma360.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/741
Author: Janelle Wetzstein

INDOOR POT FARMS POSE RISKS

Despite indoor marijuana-growing operations having been the source of
numerous local fires in recent years, city efforts to create an
ordinance regulating these gardens have died due to the ongoing
conflict between state and federal law.

While the state of California allows the use of medicinal marijuana
and the cultivation of the plant, the federal government still
classifies marijuana as an illegal drug. Because of this, public
safety officials have realized that regulating marijuana cultivation
is not currently possible.

Petaluma firefighters responded Saturday to a fire at an eastside home
that officials say stemmed from faulty electrical wiring to an indoor
pot garden. To prevent such fires, which have become more prevalent in
recent years, the police and fire departments last year began jointly
developing a safety ordinance aimed at regulating indoor medical
marijuana growing operations, but ran into conflicts with federal law
that prohibits growing marijuana at all.

"The ordinance was put aside because we realized that we cannot have
an official fire ordinance that contradicts federal law," Petaluma
Fire Marshal Cary Fergus said. "So we had to stop working on it."

Petaluma Police Lt. Tim Lyons said last year that the number of indoor
marijuana garden-related fires had increased steadily over the past
five years. He added this week that the ordinance the department had
been developing is completed and sitting on the police chief's desk,
but that due to the federal conflicts, they have been told to shelve
it for the time being.

Saturday morning's 1525 Yarberry Drive fire, reported at 5:48 a.m.,
was caused by an electrical short circuit in the corner of the garage,
officials said. Electrical fires are common at indoor marijuana
gardens where electricity is often siphoned illegally to avoid the
electrical usage and costs. When the makeshift circuiting fails, it
can cause electrical fires that spread easily throughout surrounding
structures.

Fergus said Saturday's fire at the home of Reyes Mendoza displayed the
dangers indoor marijuana gardens pose, since firefighters had to wait
for PG&E crews to arrive and fully shut off electrical service to the
home. This was needed because the short circuit had caused dangerous
electrical arcing -- during which electricity jumps back and forth
between wires and metal surfaces -- to occur underground.

Once PG&E had shut off power, fire crews were able to extinguish the
blaze. The fire caused approximately $15,000 worth of damage to the
home, according to officials. Fergus said that the department will be
billing Mendoza for several broken chainsaws and the man-hours used to
combat his fire if it is discovered it was the result of an illegal
growing operation or electrical theft.

Petaluma Police Lt. Dave Sears said officers will be investigating the
possible electric services theft and whether the grow house was an
illegal operation. "There is some indication that it may have been a
medical grow, but collectives don't usually steal utilities," he added.

In May of 2011, a fire related to a suspected marijuana-growing
operation destroyed a duplex on Alma Court, while just four days later
another indoor pot farm fire caused $80,000 in damage at a Cotati home.

Fergus added that police officers and firefighters must exercise
extreme caution when entering an indoor marijuana-growing operation.
He said that firefighters can be electrocuted if electrical arcing is
occurring from stolen and makeshift electrical panels. "Because we
don't know where the power source is coming from, it is also nearly
impossible for firefighters to ensure that power has been shut off
completely," he said.

Firefighters also do not know what they are dealing with when it comes
to indoor growing operations that are almost never in compliance with
safety standards, said Sears, who is leading the investigation on the
Mendoza house fire. "Operations can cause structural hazards from high
humidity and excessive mold growth that weakens walls and frames," he
said.

Mayor David Glass said that in light of the recent fire it would be
prudent to put some sort of ordinance in place, but acknowledged that
it would be up to the fire and police department to find a way to make
it legal.

"It probably needs to happen, but if and when is another story," Glass
said.
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