DRUG LAB THREAT WORRIES UNION

Firefighters want notification of chemicals in homes

Markham firefighters have become increasingly concerned for their safety
after stumbling upon two potentially dangerous drug labs in the span of a
few days.

Now they're asking York Regional Police to let them know if a house is
suspected to be a marijuana grow operation or ecstasy lab before they
respond to calls.

"Without jeopardizing any ongoing investigations, we're just hoping our
firefighters can be made aware if police suspect a house is involved in drug
manufacturing," Markham Professional Firefighters Association president John
Brassard said.

"There is a higher level of danger at these homes and if we know that going
in, it changes everything in how we handle a call."

Markham firefighters were the first to find a $10-million ecstasy lab filled
with dangerous chemicals in the garage of a Manhattan Drive home while
responding to a report of smoke Saturday.

A second ecstasy lab was discovered Tuesday by Markham firefighters
responding to small kitchen fire on Brunswick Street in the Kennedy Road and
16th Avenue area.

Firefighters extinguished that blaze and, before clearing the scene,
routinely searched each room in the house with the help of police to ensure
no further danger existed.

A man who was found sleeping in an upstairs bedroom denied officers entry to
a locked cold-storage room before fleeing the home.

When the door to the storage area was opened, police found a pill press and
ecstasy tablets.

Firefighters receive print-outs about fire locations from their dispatch
office before responding to calls.

The print-outs detail potential dangers at a site, including if a large
amount of chemicals or other combustible materials are stored in the area.

The chemicals used in the production of ecstasy can be highly combustible
and could create a large scale explosion, according to Det.-Sgt. Karen
Noakes of the drugs and vice squad.

All the more reason why firefighters need to know if police have a home
under surveillance as a suspected drug manufacturing lab before they go in,
Mr. Brassard said.

"(An explosion at the Manhattan Drive ecstasy lab) would have wiped out the
entire first responding crew of 13 firefighters," Mr. Brassard said.

"We want to ensure our firefighters are kept safe."

However, Det.-Sgt. Noakes, who said the Manhattan lab wasn't under
surveillance until firefighters found it, isn't sure full disclosure is
possible.

"Who and what we are investigating is highly confidential information," she
said.

"But, that said, we'd never knowingly put anybody at risk."

Drugs and vice officers would be willing to discuss the possibility of
sharing information to help keep firefighters safe, but Det.-Sgt. Noakes
said a complete open-book policy is unlikely.

"We cannot identify a home as a grow op or an ecstasy lab until we go in
there and conduct an investigation," she said.

"And it wouldn't be fair to share information before then. It's not as if we
have the information and we're not sharing it."