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The Oakville Beaver, W e d n e s d a y M a y 1, 2002 - A 3 Marijuana-growing operations pose dangers to firefighters (Continued from page A 1 ) bare family room, whose sole decor was a large metallic air duct that snaked up through a hole cut in the floor to the boarded up hearth, from which fumes from the basement garden were vented. "That's to get the odour out as far as possible so it isn't detected from the neighbourhood," said Bums. Some pot growers show no such restraint and simply cut openings through the floors, ceilings and the roof itself to expel suspicious smells. Bums also pointed out new. heavy-duty locks to keep out the landlord adding that some such houses are "heavily barri caded." Downstairs is where the real damage is done and where the pungent smelling marijuana plants are grown and tended. To accomplish this, a series of 1.000watt, sodium-filled bulbs hooded by large reflectors are suspended from the ceiling to immerse the plants in power ful light for as long as 18 hours a day. " It's so intense ... the windows in the basement need to be sealed," said Bums. "That's why they try to make the house look as normal as possible." In order to hide the electricity need ed to pull this off -- 50 to 70 times that used in a regular family home -- the growers at Parklane excavated the base ment foundation just below the breaker panel through to the soil and installed a bypass to allow unregulated power to flow to a second panel installed by the growers. This contained breakers for each of the powerful light bulbs and fans bolted to the beams, which vented fumes upstairs and out the chimney. Lighting ballasts were also required at Parklane to handle the enormous power, said Bums, who has seen them get so hot they've left scorch marks on their wooden supports. The Parklane basement also contained plastic drums of chemicals such as pesticides and growing enhancers. In some cases, the stairs to the base ment have been removed and a simple ladder positioned to create even more room for growing. Parklane's farming Gutted homes compromise structure was restricted to the cellar level, but Bums explained how, in some opera tions, virtually every room in the house is used, multiplying the damage. Witnessing these extensive "renova tions" to this particular house, it's easy to see how these operations create the risk of fire and compound the dangers faced by firefighters who might respond only to face a situation far more haz ardous than that offered by a regular home. Because of the sometimes radical alterations done to these buildings, in order to steal electricity and vent sus pect fumes, the structural integrity can be so compromised that fire crews can encounter unstable walls, higher tem peratures and electrocution. "The potential for fire is very real," said Bums, who explained that water leakage coupled with jury-rigged wiring has disaster written all over it. That's why technicians from Oakville Hydro are invaluable assets to the police and help in making the hous es safe for officers. " We've always received good assis tance from Oakville Hydro," said Bums. "They've been great." People living in the grow houses are also at risk from fire and vapours from chemicals and. in some cases, children have lived inside breathing the fumes. The end results of all this time, effort and illegal activity are the marijuana plants which, at the Parklane house, took the form of " clones," or cuttings, plus plants at the potted stage and those nearing maturity. Some were only about a month away from harvest, said Bums. These plants could have produced a pound of pot each. "They also have a higher level of TH C (the active ingredient in marijua na) than ever before," said Bums. In order to help police, residents are encouraged to be aware of "abnormal behaviour," such as houses whose resi dents only sporadically attend, appear vacant most of the time and are allowed to become unkempt. Unusual smells may sometimes be detected emanating from a grow house while some or all of the windows may be covered. Bright lights may occasion ally be seen in the home. "W e want the public to know what's going on," said Halton Media Relations Officer Sgt. Val Hay. Anyone with information is encour aged to call police at 905-825-4777 or Crime Stoppers at I -800-222-TIPS. Yet. simply knowing about a grow operation (34 of them in Halton have been closed down since last M ay) is not enough to carry out seizures and arrests, said Bums. In order to make officers' efforts pay off in court, every T in their investigations must be crossed and every I in their search warrants -- which can take up to 12 hours each to prepare -- must be doited. In the meantime, police are working toward closing down the grow houses that they already know about and many more they will undoubtedly uncover in the future. " There's a lot out there," said Bums. The marijuana-growing operation raided last week by Halton Regional Police contained plants at the potting stage as well as more mature versions that were a month away from harvesting. To accomplish this, the interior was vandalized, as seen by the vent cut through the floor to the chim ney and the many lighting fixtures. Power was diverted from the meter through a bypass cut right into the home's foundation. Photos by Peter C. McCusker F to S r i d a y , M a y 3"° u n d a y , M ay 5 W E R E C E L E B R A T IN G W IT H O P E N IN G FA BU LO U S S P E C IA L S ! I M O R R IS O N I IO U S E In s p ir in g id e a s fo r YOUR HOME DECOR D is c o v e r h o m e a c c e s s o r ie s R EFLECTIN G CHIC DESIGN AND CLASSIC ELEGANCE THAT W ILL MAKE A HOUSE YOUR HOME 283 l.akeshore Kd. IOakville. 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