Indoor Pot Farms A Threat To Firefighters, Public Safety

In Lee County, Florida, The News Press reports:

• Grow house operators often rewire homes to steal electricity to run high intensity lights, pumps and air conditioning. "Anytime you're messing with the meter it could kill you," said Karen Ryan, spokeswoman for the Lee County Electric Cooperative. There are 14,000 volts in the wires at the pole, Ryan said. Transformers reduce that to 220 or 110 volts at the meter.

• Rewiring the house creates risks for firefighters, too. "Generally they don't catch fire," said Lehigh assistant fire chief Solon Duncan. "The main thing is we have no way to shut the power off," Duncan said. Growers bypass the electric meter to conceal their thefts. They might alter the box where the meter plugs in or run wiring underground from a nearby house, Duncan said. Growers also will block windows, which eliminates escape routes for firefighters who might have to fight a fire inside the building. "They do booby trap these places to hurt anyone trying to get in there," Duncan said. An example would be wiring a door to shock anyone trying to enter the house.

For more, see Grow houses can impact utility bills, public safety.

In Lee County, Florida, Lehigh Acres has apparently been a busy place for recent marijuana grow house busts. Go here for an interactive map of the location of 33 grow house busts in Lehigh Acres from Oct. 1, 2007 - March 31, 2008.

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