SECOND GROW OP FIRE PROMPTS WARNING

For the second time in nearly a week, a house fire has been sparked
by marijuana growing operations hidden inside.

Firefighters battling a house blaze in northeast Calgary Tuesday
morning discovered a secret pot-growing operation in the basement of
the damaged home.

Police say the fire was sparked by thieves illegally bypassing the
electrical system to feed the lights and equipment inside the
Saddleridge Close N.E. home.

The same danger cropped up on Aug. 28, when a fire was sparked in the
200 block of Templeview Way N.E.

"It's clearly a safety concern for the neighbourhood involving and
the citizens having to live next to these things," said Staff Sgt.
Tom Olson of the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams' Green Team South.

"It's so important that people try and report these because these
guys don't have any regard for anybody. They're just trying to make
as much money in as short amount of time as they can." When the
Calgary Fire Department was called about 12:30 a.m. to the fire
involving the outside wall of a twostorey home on Saddleridge Close
N.E., firefighters discovered the illegal drug growing operation.

"It's horrendous," said Det. Scott Sampson with the arson unit.

"In another five minutes, the home would have been destroyed."

No one appears to be living in the home, which is suspected to have
been running as a commercial grow op for a while.

"There's no furniture or clothes inside," said Sampson.

But there were rows of pot plants and electrical equip-ment
throughout the basement and holes cut in floors.

Enmax disconnected the illegal power source.

The police drug team arrived dressed in protective suits and face
masks to haul the blackened growing equipment and pot plants out of
the Saddleridge home.

Police say the illegal grow ops are a danger to others.

"They have no regard for safety of neighbours. The fire risk is
huge," said Staff Sgt. Tom Hanson.

Neighbours who notice suspicious activity at homes should report it, he said.

"People can't continue to ignore them or turn a blind eye," said Hanson.

The beige suburban house with Christmas lights still attached is
typical of the street.

But neighbours say although they noticed the home was rented and
poorly cared for, they never suspected that drug crops were being
grown behind closed doors.

"They never shovelled the snow from the walk or mowed the lawn," said
a woman who lives nearby. "We got a ticket for not shovelling the
walk. What about them? I am shocked," said the woman, who didn't want
her name used.

In July, the Green Team seized $17 million worth of pot plants from
nine Calgaryarea marijuana grow operations.

More than 80 criminal charges were laid against nine people.

Between January and August, the team seized pot plants worth $38 million.