A Cautionary Tale

GROW OP/DELAYED INSPECTION CATCHES COUPLE IN CROSSHAIRS OF PROGRAM

A Surrey couple has been caught in a web spun to nab pot
growers.

"We're a victim of someone else's grow-op and a victim of BC Hydro and
a victim of the City of Surrey's procedures," says Jacquie Tomandl.

Jacquie and Clayton Tomandl's troubles began after they bought a house
in Fleetwood in December 2006 with the goal of renovating the
30-year-old house and reselling it for a profit.

The couple paid $395,000 for the house and invested another $35,000 in
extensive renovations.

They ripped out the aging kitchen, bathrooms and floors and replaced
it with modern features.

But unknown to them, the house was on Surrey's Electrical Fire Safety
Inspection list, an innovative program aimed at shutting down grow-ops
in the city.

Working in conjunction with the city, BC Hydro supplies addresses to
the EFSI teams after spotting spikes in electricity in houses
suspected of being grow-ops.

To the couple's surprise, an inspection team arrived at their house in
April of 2007 to check it for evidence of a marijuana growing operation.

They say the house was rented out by its previous owner and suspects
the owner was negligent about keeping tabs on his tenants.

The couple was slapped with an inspection bill of $2,700 and the front
door of their house still bears an orange sticker with the warning "Do
Not Remove," -- a violation subject to a $10,000 fine -- above red
notice stating "these premises have been used as a marijuana grow-op
or a clandestine drug lab."

Unable to sell their house, the couple has also had to swallow a
$1,800 a month mortgage payments for several months now.

As well, they still have to pay $1,600 to have the house tested for
mould, damage caused to homes by the simulated moist greenhouse
growing conditions for bumper pot crops. Samples were taken on Tuesday
and they expect to have results and a clean bill of health soon.

Clayton Tomandl says the couple has hired a lawyer and is looking for
someone to sue.

Surrey Fire Chief Len Garis said he couldn't comment on this specific
case due to privacy issues.

But Garis admits it's conceivable that some inspections fall though
the cracks.

Garis noted the EFSI team was expended in January 2007 to deal with
nearly 1,000 addresses obtained from hydro that met the criteria of
"unusually" high electricity consumption.

With the pot grows so rampant, his two teams are having a tough time
keeping up with all the files and are only able to do between 60 and
70 inspections a month.

"I just don't have the resources to get to everyone instantly," he
said.

Garis said the inspection teams act on the cases in priority order
based on which cases pose the most potential for fires -- apartments,
townhouses and then single family homes.

He also pointed out that homebuyers should be more vigilant about what
they're buying and hire a private inspector to check a potential
purchase, a recommendation by most mortgage brokers.

"I'm surprised that most people, given this day and age and the amount
of publicity that's been around this thing for the past four of five
years, that people wouldn't be much more careful about what they're
purchasing," he said.

Jacquie Tomandl says their offer to the realtor, who also sold them
the home they live in, was the fourth one made on the house and that
he had reassured them that a private inspection was done.

"We trusted him that the inspection was done and that it passed," she
said.