FIRE CHIEF PUSHES FOR STRONGER PENALTIES

Sechelt Fire chief Bill Higgs is pushing for stiffer penalties for
clandestine grow operations, saying the hazard they pose to
firefighters is extremely serious and potentially deadly. The move
comes after Sechelt firefighters responded to a fire at a grow-op on
Binnacle Avenue on May 28.

Higgs said the grow-op was cleverly disguised as a family home,
complete with children's toys in the driveway and garbage in the
garbage cans, causing the fire department to rush in to try to save
the family they thought was trapped inside. Once they entered the
home, however, they found a sophisticated grow-op with more than 800
marijuana plants.

Higgs was concerned about potential booby traps when the grow-op was
discovered, but more disturbing, he said, was the unfused electricity
that was surging throughout the house, causing a potentially deadly
situation for firefighters who were spraying water to douse the flames.

"What I was hoping to do was have Crown [counsel] consider a charge
like reckless endangerment to whoever is the owner of this grow-op
once it finally gets to court," Higgs said. "But in speaking briefly
with Crown counsel, as much as they're extremely supportive of any
effort we can make to increase the seriousness of the charge, a charge
like that doesn't exist in Canada. It's a United States thing, so that
was disappointing."

Upset but undeterred, Higgs said he decided to write up a victim
impact statement on behalf of the fire department to hopefully sway
the judge to hand out a stiffer penalty once someone is charged in the
case and it heads to court.

"I've put that together and laid it out just summarizing that although
grow-ops and marijuana are seen as a victimless crime, it doesn't hurt
anyone or whatever, we have a real issue with it because we have to
respond to these houses when they start on fire," he said.

"It's bloody dangerous for the simple fact there's a fire there, for
one, but then we have to deal with all the unfused electricity. So I
go into all of that in the impact statement to lay that out, so that a
layman who might not understand the fire-fighting service, like a
judge or a Crown counsel, will maybe have a better appreciation for
the danger this puts us in."

Higgs said he'd like to see the owners of these grow-op houses have
their property seized and sold, with the profits going to the RCMP in
an effort to deter the crime.

Sunshine Coast RCMP Cpl. Kris Josephson said the detachment may look
at a possible civil forfeiture of property in the case.

"It's still on the go and there are no charges as of yet," he
said.

Higgs said that although the majority of people "probably don't care
about grow-ops because they don't affect them," cases like this do
affect the general population where the fire department is concerned.

"The way it affects the public is because the fire service, when we
show up to fires, we know it could be a legitimate fire. But if we
have any inkling that it's a grow-op or a meth lab, we're not going in
there. And if for some reason it's not that, and you're stuck in your
house, guess what? We've got a delayed response or we've got a real
standoffish approach, and that could have a real impact on the rest of
the people in the community," he said.

Higgs said he plans to work with the District of Sechelt when they
start drafting a bylaw to deal with grow ops, and he will express his
concerns at the July 4 policing committee meeting.

He said he doesn't want to cast judgment on people who grow marijuana
or get into a debate about the merits of legalizing it, he just
doesn't want to see it grown indoors where it can potentially cause a
serious problem for the fire department.

"Grow it somewhere else. I'm not naive. I know people are going to
grow pot and smoke it and whatever they want to do with it, it's fine.
I don't care. There's no hazard at all if it's grown outside. It grows
outside naturally," he said.