HOUSE WILL BE BULLDOZED FOLLOWING GROW-OP BLAST

Explosion Sends Man To Hospital

A million-dollar house in West Vancouver's exclusive British
Properties is to be bulldozed today following a massive explosion in
a marijuana grow operation.

The propane-fuelled explosion sent pot plants and debris flying
through the air, broke windows in neighbouring houses, injured one
man and terrified the neighbours.

"I was working out in the yard here and suddenly there was an
enormous boom and all the trees swayed," said neighbour Norm Metz.

"It was strong enough that it blew me sideways. It was scary. It was
intense. It was heavy.

"Scared me, I'll tell ya."

A man was found lying in the street with extensive burns shortly
after the explosion at 4:30 p.m. on Monday.

"Neighbourhood witnesses advised us that they had seen this man after
the explosion running out of this home," said West Vancouver police
Const. Jeff Palmer.

The 34-year-old Vancouver man was in hospital in stable condition
with non-life-threatening injuries last night.

Palmer estimated there were between 500 and 1,000 marijuana plants in
the rented two-storey, wood-frame house in the 700-block Andover Crescent.

"In the explosion a lot of debris was cast out of the house,
including plants," he said.

Cpl. Fred Harding said damage to the house is substantial.

"It's likely that the house will be bulldozed [today]," he said.
"It's a strong possibility that the house will be taken down. It's
completely unstable. The damage is substantial."

Investigators believe a propane tank caused the explosion, which blew
out the back portion of the house.

"There's a lot of propane tanks in the house," said Capt. Martin
Ernst, a fire prevention officer with the West Vancouver Fire and
Rescue Department.

"Apparently they use them in grow operations for creating carbon
monoxide and carbon dioxide. And for some heat factor, I guess, too.

"Sections of the house could collapse. It's been that much undermined
by the explosion."

Chris Noble, who lives a block away, said it was a huge explosion.

"Our whole house shook," he said. "And the windows shook.

"It's a little disconcerting because this kind of stuff doesn't
really happen around here."