Investigation Of Grow House Explosion Underway
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBS4) – Fire inspectors are still trying to determine the chain of events which led an explosion in a Ft. Lauderdale home which took out a room and part of the roof.
It happened Sunday evening in the 22 hundred block of SW 44th Avenue. Arriving firefighters were a bit surprised when they arrived at the residence and discovered it was being used to grow marijuana. Ten marijuana plants, each about 3 feet tall, were found inside the home.
"Whatever set up they had they were using a propane tank. It caused an explosion that busted the room open," said Broward Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Keyla Concepcion..
The fire started after a transformer blew, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office. Neighbors described the sound as like a plane crash.
"I ran inside, I opened the door and I screamed, 'is anybody in there?' There was no response," sais neighbor Wendy Bonilla.
The house had three dogs in the backyard, and Bonilla took one while animal control took the other two. The person living in the house vowed to return for the dogs, but according to Bonilla, hasn't come back yet.
The owner of the home didn't want to talk about what happened. Monday, investigators allowed her and her family to pull what they could from the damaged remains.
Neighbors said they were told that the room where the explosion occurred had been rented out. Still, they said they're a bit unsettled that somebody was growing marijuana only four blocks from a school.
"The kind of people who would grow pot so near a school shows what kind of people they are and what they think of children," said Christina Christmas.
For Bonilla, she's still stunned over the entire incident.
"You think it's a quiet neighborhood and then something like this happens," Bonilla said.
The sheriff's department said the damage to the home is so extensive, it may have to be leveled.
