The firefighters at Brooklyn, New York, made a discovery of an illegal pot factory inside a vacant building in Cypress Hills while responding to a fire on Oct. 17, Saturday.
According to the FDNY officials, the fire broke at around 10:25 AM on Fulton Street, near the Chestnut Street in Cypress Hills. The fire grew to two alarms but was controlled at 12 noon. The firefighters brought bags from the building containing cannabis plants. These were carried to the police van for further investigation.
Officers claim that they need to make several trips to collect all the bags from the scene. While no one was injured, the discovery caused alarm to the authorities for the illegal cultivation of the plant in the state.
Upon entry to the building, firefighters immediately know what they’re dealing with. According to the FDNY, the marshals on the scene are investigating the building as it appeared to be a marijuana growing house.
About 30 marijuana plants were found lying on the first floor of the building, and 40 more on the second floor. The firefighters said the fire started on the first floor, causing extensive damage to its structure. The basement was also damaged in addition to the second floor, while the neighboring building was also affected.
The second alarm brought alert to the fire department, which brought about 25 pieces of apparatus and around 100 firefighters on the scene. “The smoke just kept getting worse and worse, but that’s about it. Until I asked to come out because I couldn’t breathe anymore,” said a resident from the neighboring building.
Abandoned Building
Residents from the neighbor building claim they sometimes smell marijuana but never expected that the abandoned building was a growing house. They also claim that no one can see anyone coming in and out of the place, so they never suspected anything.
The incident is under investigation and no suspects were brought to the authorities since Saturday. An unidentified substance in a tank was also discovered, which can help lead the investigation. In addition to the tanks and unidentified substances, firefighters also discovered heat lamps, lights, and chemicals used to grow the cannabis plant.
The neighbors called 911 to report the fire. Based on the initial investigation after the fire was out, the building is used to grow and store the marijuana plant. “It looks like the building was used solely for the grow operation. No one was living there,” said a source.
Since neighbors don’t see anyone coming in and out of the building, the authorities claim that suspects enter through the window at the back.
Marijuana grow houses exist in the state despite its illegal nature. In previous years, the FDNY faced consequences following the response to fires in suspected marijuana grow houses.
In 2018, a firefighter was hospitalized after falling out of the latter while responding to a fire in Pelham Bay in the Bronx. The most tragic fire response tragedy is in 2016, when FDNY Deputy Chief Michael Fahy died after the gas explosion in Bronx marijuana grow house.
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