Fire at Santa Rosa storage facility linked to suspected hash oil production

Santa Rosa police arrested a homeless man in connection with a small fire Saturday afternoon at a Santa Rosa storage facility, where officials believe the man had fashioned a makeshift hash oil production space out of the building’s passageway.

Eric Alexander Chait, who police said lives at the homeless encampment behind the Dollar Tree on Sebastopol Road, was arrested on suspicion of unintentionally setting fire to a building and manufacturing a controlled substance.

At about 2:06 p.m., witnesses reported smoke billowing from the roof of one of the 30 storage units at Budget Self Storage at 555 Roseland Ave. The fire was extinguished just before 2:30 p.m. and the Santa Rosa Police Department arrived during that time with its property crimes team to investigate, according to Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Kyle Philp.

Officers found evidence that someone was manufacturing “butane honey oil,” an extremely potent marijuana extract made by blasting cannabis with butane to get highly concentrated THC. Police said Chait was smoking a cigarette while using the butane, and apparently dropped the cigarette and accidentally started the fire.

Six units appeared to be a total loss, with the two dozen others receiving smoke damage, according to Santa Rosa Fire Battalion Chief Mark Basque. He estimated the damage amounted to approximately $200,000.