Bad Wiring From Pot Growing Operation Suspected In Fatal Fairfax Fire
FAIRFAX (CBS SF) - Electrical wiring configured to power a marijuana-growing operation is suspected of sparking a fire that killed the male occupant of a small cabin in Fairfax early Friday morning, fire officials said Tuesday morning.
The Marin County coroner's office is using dental records and DNA to determine the victim's identity in the fire at 40 Meadow Way.
It is believed that winds from Friday's storm caused the electrical wiring—which had been set up to illegally divert power to a nearby shed—to arc and start the fire in the cabin, Marin County Fire Marshal Scott Alber said.
"There was evidence of shorting and arcing of the wiring," Alber said.
However, Alber said, investigators have not ruled out the possibility that the blaze was sparked by a wood-burning stove inside the cabin, which was built in 1943.
The shed, which contained the marijuana grow, did not catch fire, Alber said.
"The cause is undetermined, but the most likely cause is the illegal use of the wiring to support the grow operation," Alber said.
The person who died in the blaze is believed to have been the owner of the cabin, Alber said.
Marin County fire Interim Chief Jason Weber said PG&E wiring was illegally tapped to support six grow lights in the shed. The majority of the cabin was destroyed by the fire before firefighters arrived, Weber said.
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