Santa Rosa apartment fire linked to pot garden
Two friends of the resident whose Farmers Lane apartment was burned after apparent electrical problems from an indoor marijuana garden use a tarp to cover some of the equipment on Monday. The two men did not give their names, police did not identify the resident.
BETH SCHLANKER/The Press DemocratPublished: Monday, February 14, 2011 at 7:24 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, February 14, 2011 at 3:54 p.m.
A fire apparently started by electrical work connected to an indoor marijuana garden burned an east Santa Rosa apartment Monday morning.
It was the second fire related to marijuana-growing in Santa Rosa in less than a week.
At 7 a.m. Monday, several people began calling 911 to report heavy smoke coming from a Farmers Lane apartment.
The fire gutted one apartment and caused smoke and water damage to three others in the fourplex, said Battalion Chief Mark Basque.
The fire was accidental and apparently started in the attic from electrical wiring, he said.
The male resident, who was growing medical marijuana in a bedroom of the apartment, was not identified.
Such indoor gardens often use strong lights and a ventilation system, which typically are too much for the electrical capacity of a standard home, Basque said.
Such fires are fairly common, said Mark Pedroia, senior fire inspector for Santa Rosa Fire Department.
Some growers don't realize the power of the lamps and ventilation systems they're using, often in small bedrooms, he said.
He said firefighters aren't called to places where legitimate medical marijuana growers have hired a licensed electrician to set up the equipment.
“We only see the ones who don't do it right because those are the ones that catch fire,” Pedroia said. “It's the legitimate medical marijuana grower...who did it on his own or used a buddy. We see those.”
Basque said 17 firefighters went to the fire and had it under control in 20 minutes. Seven fire vehicles responded, including four engines and a ladder truck.
The apartment was in a complex that is several decades old across Farmers Lane from St. Eugene's Elementary School.
Basque estimated the fire caused about $20,000 damage to the contents of the apartment and $50,000 to the structure.
The local Red Cross chapter is providing the occupant with temporary shelter.
Last Wednesday, the fire in a Barnett Street duplex was caused by an electrical overload from a medical marijuana garden, this one in a second-floor bedroom.
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