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Firefighters challenged with cannabis grow-op inspections

Firefighters described difficulties they’ve encountered inspecting grow-ops at the Sunshine Coast Regional District’s (SCRD) Oct.
Rob Michael
Gibsons Fire Chief Rob Michael and fire prevention officer Rick Ruth described challenges related to fire inspections at grow-ops on the Sunshine Coast.

Firefighters described difficulties they’ve encountered inspecting grow-ops at the Sunshine Coast Regional District’s (SCRD) Oct. 17 public safety committee meeting, leading directors to start a fact-finding mission to establish what tools they have at their disposal to solve the issue. 

Gibsons Fire Chief Rob Michael attended the meeting with fire prevention officer Rick Ruth, who described the main fire risks associated with growing and processing cannabis, including the use of chemicals in fumigation and certain processing methods.

Ruth said there have been “very few fires with grow-ops” and no recorded issues with processing or retail on the Sunshine Coast.

Their concern lies with barriers to performing safety inspections. “The fire department is really advocating for the zoning, the legislation, the regulation surrounding the grow-ops so that we can inspect [them], we know where they are,” said Michael.

Ruth asked for bylaws “that give us the power to go in and make sure it’s done correctly.”

“Right now we hope they’re going to let us in. We haven’t forced our way in yet,” he said, adding, “We go in, we look, we make sure it’s relatively safe and we walk out. What we’re hoping to do with the RCMP is come to a relationship where we can bring the unlicensed ones to their attention and they can pressure them to get licensed so we can go in and do our regular inspections.”

The BC Fire Code is still being updated to address fire risks associated with cannabis. The National Fire Protection Association does contain some strategies.

Sechelt director Darnelda Siegers asked whether the fire departments “turn a blind eye” to the unlicensed grow-ops they suspect aren’t safe.

Ruth said some grow-ops have allowed them to perform inspections, but “a number of residential locations” have large grow-ops and they cannot enter those properties without a “strong belief there’s a fire risk.”

Firefighter safety is a primary concern, said Michael. “We have a volunteer firefighting force. If we can get in there and do an inspection and realize that it’s not safe to send our members in … we can record that and have that on file,” he said.

Complicating matters are the various categories and sizes of grow-ops and licences. Area E director Donna McMahon noted that medical licences, for example, fall “outside the entire system and there doesn’t seem to be any sign that the government’s going to change that. It’s a wildcard.”

The RCMP are also limited in performing inspections on some residences that have medical licences, said Sgt. Michael Hacker of the Sunshine Coast detachment.

“If you have a medical licence to produce on a property it makes it more difficult for us to get in there and determine compliance with regards to the medical licence. The enforcement agency that’s responsible for that really doesn’t have an enforcement capacity to do that,” he said, adding, “In terms of the Cannabis Act and provincial legislation … you would think it would be fairly clear cut – if you have anything more than four plants you need a licence to produce. It’s not necessarily as straightforward as that.”

To get to the bottom of the ambiguity, directors voted unanimously to make a request that staff find out what gaps exist in federal and provincial legislation, and where local government – with a focus on the SCRD – has the regulatory jurisdiction to fill them, including with regards to fire safety. Staff is also expected to look at other communities’ bylaws.

Sechelt has recently adopted zoning amendments for cannabis production, processing and sales, and Gibsons council is expected to consider a cannabis bylaw in the near future. Last year the SCRD amended its zoning bylaw to prohibit the production and sale of non-medical cannabis in residential and rural zones.