Search for
Search for
Search forNormanton blaze is proof of cannabis factory fire risks
Wednesday, August 20, 2008, 15:35
The combination of being evacuated in the early hours of the morning and finding the house in Sutherland Road, Normanton, was home to an illegal drugs farm was shocking.
But Derbyshire police say it is far from uncommon for the growing equipment of the Class C drug to cause fires.
Steve Holme, manager of the Derbyshire Drug Market Project, said there were "half-a-dozen" of these fires in the county every year.
In 2007, Derbyshire officers uncovered 121 cannabis factories and this year between 80 and 90 have been closed.
In many cases, growers illegally tap into mains or meter electricity to avoid paying bills or overloaded power sockets to run their hydroponic and ventilation systems.
Mr Holme, a retired police officer, suspected yesterday's blaze, which started in the attic of the house at 3am and spread to two other houses, was caused by one of these actions.
He said: "We haven't been able to get into the building yet, but I think it's a fair guess. It's a very dangerous procedure.
"The electricity is used for high-powered lights to speed up plant growth and ventilation systems to get rid of the smell.
"They also use fans to reduce the heat in the building, otherwise they worry the heat haze generated will be picked up by our helicopters' sensors."
Mr Holme said it was not unusual for firefighters to come across such farms and gave an example of a house in Codnor, which burnt down in 2004.
He said: "That time, the growers had dug a hole in their back-garden down to the mains.
"With that kind of attitude it's no surprise it burnt down. The landlord couldn't claim the insurance as they refused to pay out."
Mr Holme said cannabis growing was probably on the rise nationwide and an increasing number of farms were run by organised gangs from Vietnam and China.
He said: "About 10 to 20% of the farms we find in Derbyshire are run by these gangs, with the rest mostly by locals. The gangs who run it pack houses with plants and then have two or three illegal immigrants tending to them."
"There are lots of ways to spot them, such as cannabis has an obvious sweet smell.
"There may be blacked-out windows or people visiting for only short periods of time and often these houses have no actual residents."
He said the plan for stopping cannabis farming in Derbyshire was to act on intelligence as quickly as possible and educate people.
But news that police are doing their best will come as cold comfort to residents of 11 homes in Sutherland Road, evacuated at 3am yesterday.
Most were allowed back in at 5.30am but those living on either side of the factory were not so lucky.
The tenants in the housing association property on the left of the building have been temporarily rehoused. It is not known what happened to those on the right side.
One of those evacuated was 72-year-old Peter Springer.
He said: "I think the cannabis factory is disgusting.
"We've been tenants in the road for 32 years here and we've never seen a fire."
The father of the landlord whose house contained the factory would not be named but said the news was devastating.
He said: "There was one tenant in the house. We collected the rent every month but had no idea the factory was there."
Police have not yet traced the occupants of the house.
Firefighters struggled to reach the scene because cars were parked either side of the narrow road.
Former Derby City Council leader Chris Williamson said the authority would have to look at the parking situation in Normanton in light of the difficulties crews faced.
DRUGS FACTORY: The scene in Sutherland Road, Normanton, following yesterday's fire, which began in the roof of the terraced house.
Be the first to comment