Rash of Suspected Pot Grow Fires Concern SJFD
The explosion of medical marijuana clubs in San Jose is sparking some concerns at the fire department, as more pot is being grown inside homes to keep up with the demand.
The growth of residential pot growing operations is turning out to be a hazard as a result of the increased demand for electricity, which has resulted in a number of fires.
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"In the last seven days the San Jose Fire Department has responded to three structure fires, where all signs indicated that the most amount of charring happened by these service panels in the electrical drops of the PG&E service to the house," said San Jose Fire Captain Chuck Rangel.
He says the problem is that most homes aren't wired to handle the additional load of grow lights.
"Typically your house is set up to receive 220 volts into your service panel, but once that is tampered with you have no guarantees, and no matter how much expertise you believe you may have, it could lead to electrical fires and people being harmed," said Rangel.
Police meanwhile, have launched a criminal investigation into the three home fires.
