Manila Fire Reveals Two–Room Cannabis Grow – August 18, 2012
1718 Raineri Road, Manila after Arcata Fire broke in through the garage. Photo courtesy Arcata Fire
Eye Staff Report
Arcata Fire District personnel responded to 1718 Raineri Road in Manila after receiving a report of smoke coming from a house on Wednesday, Aug. 8 at 7:47 p.m.
Firefighters arrived and found black smoke coming from the eaves and windows of the house.
An attack crew deployed hose lines and entered the structure to search for occupants and extinguish the fire.
Additional personnel positioned ladders and used a chainsaw to open the roof of the house and vent the heat and smoke.
Interior attack crews reported no visibility due to the large volume of black smoke throughout the house.
Despite this, they quickly searched the two-story structure and located and extinguished the fire in the garage.
There was no one home at the time of the fire and there were no injuries. Investigators from the Fire District have not been able to contact the owner or resident.
That might be because of the two-room cannabis grow inside the house. Following the fire, neighbors later reported, the front yard was littered with singed grow lights and burned pot plants.
The house recently underwent extensive remodeling, according to a neighbor.
The value of the house saved by firefighters is estimated at $150,000 with loss limited to $10,000.
The incident occurred as volunteer and career personnel were completing a training assignment at Humboldt State University.
According to Assistant Chief Desmond Cowan, “Having our volunteer and career firefighters on the engines and immediately available allowed us to concentrate a large number of personnel at the fire scene in a very short time and contributed to the great outcome.”
Eighteen firefighters responded with 4 engines and a ladder truck. One engine and two officers from Humboldt Bay Fire also responded under the automatic aid agreement between the agencies.
Firefighters were on scene for about three hours.
The cause of the fire is under investigation by Arcata Fire District personnel and the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office.
