FIREFIGHTERS RAISE LEGAL GROW-OP CONCERNS

Fire officials want to know which houses are running legal marijuana
grow operations.

Bob Simpson, deputy chief of operations with Nanaimo Fire Rescue, said
whether they are legal or illegal, grow-ops pose a huge risk to
firefighters if they are ever called to fight a fire.

Simpson said the amount of electrical wires, chemicals and building
alterations found in private grow-ops requires different firefighting
tactics.

The federal government does not permit information on legal growing
operations to be given to municipalities or fire departments.

A resolution calling on the federal government to reveal pot-growing
residences to municipal governments was not endorsed at the Union of
B.C. Municipalities convention in October.

Simpson said he understands why people want the information kept
private - if the public knew a house had a grow-op, that house would
likely be targeted by addicts and thieves - but there are ways to
ensure the information is protected.

He would like to see homes with legal grow-ops flagged in the fire
department's dispatch system.

More than one-quarter of the 4,728 individuals authorized to possess
marijuana for medical purposes across Canada are in B.C. - 1,293.
Nearly 800 people in B.C. are licensed to produce marijuana.

Stephen Gamble, president of the Fire Chiefs' Association of B.C.,
said he also wants private grow-ops inspected to ensure they meet
electrical and building standards.

"These legal ones don't look much different than illegal ones in terms
of public safety," he said. "It's the same wiring concerns and
building issues. There's exposed wiring, overloaded circuits, lots of
condensation."

Gamble said people often cut holes in walls or ceilings to deal with
the excess moisture produced by a grow-op. Those holes provide the air
a fire needs to spread more quickly than firefighters would expect.

"It's a danger to people living in the house and a danger to
firefighters," he said.

Nanaimo mayor John Ruttan said he would like to see the matter brought
up again, but is concerned revealing the information might constitute
an invasion of a person's privacy rights, since they are doing nothing
illegal.

"It's a concern, but then what is more important - the safety of the
firefighters or the privacy of the individual?" he said.

"I think we need to get a resolution on this issue."