MEN HURT IN ALLEGED DRUG-RELATED FIRE

Two men allegedly using butane to extract hash oil from marijuana suffered
severe burns Monday when the gas exploded and set their living room on fire.

[Name redacted], 27, and [Name redacted], 26, were flown to the Oregon Burn
Center at Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center in Portland. Both men
were in serious condition Monday night.

Neighbors heard an explosion and saw flames shoot about 10 feet into the
air behind the house [Name redacted], owns at [address redacted], in the
Churchill neighborhood south of West 18th Avenue in Eugene. [Name
redacted] reportedly lives at the house as well.

Firefighters who entered the house to fight the blaze found a pile of
marijuana on the floor of the basement living room and canisters of liquid
butane.

The two men suffered severe burns to their arms and legs, witnesses said.
They stumbled from the house and lay on the front lawn while someone
sprayed them with water from a garden hose until paramedics arrived,
neighbors said.

Fernando Garcia and another man were installing an appliance on the upper
floor of the house when they heard the explosion at about 12:15 p.m.

"We looked inside through the sliding door and saw a lot of smoke," Garcia
said. "We heard guys screaming downstairs. I called 911."

A 24-year-old woman, [Name redacted], and her 5-year-old daughter were
visiting the house at the time. They escaped unharmed, Eugene police
spokeswoman Kerry Delf said.

Police believe the men were using liquid butane as a solvent to extract the
psychoactive substance in marijuana to make hash oil, a highly concentrated
form of cannabis extract. The oil is added to marijuana or wiped on a joint
to intensify the drug's effects. It also can be smoked alone in a water
pipe or spread on cigarette papers.

Investigators believe the chemical fumes in the air ignited during the
manufacturing process and started the fire that injured the two men.

One of the residents holds a medical marijuana card, Delf said. But
Oregon's medical marijuana statute does not allow the manufacture of hash oil.

The Lane County District Attorney's Office will decide whether to file
criminal charges against the three adults, Delf said.

Of the three, [Name redacted] is the only one with a criminal history in
Oregon. She was convicted in 2002 of felony identity theft, court records
showed.

According to county land records, [Name redacted] bought
the three-bedroom, 1 1/2 -bathroom house in June for $259,000.

Neighbor Don Stoll said [Name redacted] had been remodeling the house and
was almost done.

Stoll was mowing his lawn Monday when he heard the commotion across the
street.

"I saw a big ball of flame at the back of the house," he said. "It blew
the front door open and fire was coming up the stairs."

Firefighters went door-to-door and evacuated neighbors who waited behind
red and yellow police tape until they were allowed to return to their homes.

District Chief Mark Grover of the Eugene fire department said firefighters
were able to knock the fire down quickly. The damage was largely confined
to the living room, he said.