Sechelt Fire chief Bill Higgs is pushing for stiffer penalties for clandestine grow operations, saying the hazard they pose to firefighters is extremely serious and potentially deadly. The move comes after Sechelt firefighters responded to a fire at a grow-op on Binnacle Avenue on May 28.
Higgs said the grow-op was cleverly disguised as a family home, complete with children's toys in the driveway and garbage in the garbage cans, causing the fire department to rush in to try to save the family they thought was trapped inside. Once they entered the home, however, they found a sophisticated grow-op with more than 800 marijuana plants.
Higgs was concerned about potential booby traps when the grow-op was discovered, but more disturbing, he said, was the unfused electricity that was surging throughout the house, causing a potentially deadly situation for firefighters who were spraying water to douse the flames.
"What I was hoping to do was have Crown [counsel] consider a charge like reckless endangerment to whoever is the owner of this grow-op once it finally gets to court," Higgs said. "But in speaking briefly with Crown counsel, as much as they're extremely supportive of any effort we can make to increase the seriousness of the charge, a charge like that doesn't exist in Canada. It's a United States thing, so that was disappointing."
Upset but undeterred, Higgs said he decided to write up a victim impact statement on behalf of the fire department to hopefully sway the judge to hand out a stiffer penalty once someone is charged in the case and it heads to court.
"I've put that together and laid it out just summarizing that although grow-ops and marijuana are seen as a victimless crime, it doesn't hurt anyone or whatever, we have a real issue with it because we have to respond to these houses when they start on fire," he said.
"It's bloody dangerous for the simple fact there's a fire there, for one, but then we have to deal with all the unfused electricity. So I go into all of that in the impact statement to lay that out, so that a layman who might not understand the fire-fighting service, like a judge or a Crown counsel, will maybe have a better appreciation for the danger this puts us in."
Higgs said he'd like to see the owners of these grow-op houses have their property seized and sold, with the profits going to the RCMP in an effort to deter the crime.
Sunshine Coast RCMP Cpl. Kris Josephson said the detachment may look at a possible civil forfeiture of property in the case.
"It's still on the go and there are no charges as of yet," he said.
Higgs said that although the majority of people "probably don't care about grow-ops because they don't affect them," cases like this do affect the general population where the fire department is concerned.
"The way it affects the public is because the fire service, when we show up to fires, we know it could be a legitimate fire. But if we have any inkling that it's a grow-op or a meth lab, we're not going in there. And if for some reason it's not that, and you're stuck in your house, guess what? We've got a delayed response or we've got a real standoffish approach, and that could have a real impact on the rest of the people in the community," he said.
Higgs said he plans to work with the District of Sechelt when they start drafting a bylaw to deal with grow ops, and he will express his concerns at the July 4 policing committee meeting.
He said he doesn't want to cast judgment on people who grow marijuana or get into a debate about the merits of legalizing it, he just doesn't want to see it grown indoors where it can potentially cause a serious problem for the fire department.
"Grow it somewhere else. I'm not naïve. I know people are going to grow pot and smoke it and whatever they want to do with it, it's fine. I don't care. There's no hazard at all if it's grown outside. It grows outside naturally," he said.
