FIREFIGHTERS DOUSE BASEMENT GRASS FIRE

The fragrance of marijuana smoke hung over a fire in a vacant Bedford house
Wednesday afternoon.

A neighbour called 911 when he noticed smoke coming from the 820 Bedford
Hwy. bungalow at 4:15 p.m.

Firefighters noticed the smell but waited to call police until they had the
fire under control about an hour later. They discovered a marijuana growing
operation in the basement of the house that they thought was vacant.

"You could smell it more after you went out and came back in. You could
tell that there was marijuana there somewhere," said Halifax fire Chief Tim
Bookholt.

The fire started in the basement and burned up through the living room,
causing extensive damage, Bookholt said. Fire officials have yet to
determine the cause.

Halifax Regional Police provided security at the house overnight Wednesday
and seized evidence at the scene yesterday.

A Bedford numbered company owns the house; Taleb Abidali is listed as the
company's president. Police said it has been used as a rental property.

Abidali did not return phone calls yesterday.

"We know who the owner of the house is and who rented it, and right now,
it's a matter of interviewing those involved," said police spokesman Sgt.
Don Spicer.

"Nobody was living there, but obviously the power was hooked up."

The fire interrupted rush-hour traffic when emergency vehicles shut down
one lane of the Bedford Highway for about an hour.