FIREFIGHTERS HEAR FIRST-HAND ABOUT DANGERS OF GROW-OPS

Firefighters have to tread lightly when approaching a suspected marijuana
grow operation, auxiliary firefighters learned on the weekend.

The B.C. Volunteer Firefighters spring training seminar featured a
three-hour lecture on grow-ops and the lengths criminals will go to protect
them.

Cpl. Tim Kain, an explosives technician with the Vancouver RCMP's
explosives disposal unit, told an intrigued audience that bombs can be
hidden anywhere.

He used his own daughter's lunch box as an example.

"Think about the circumstances you're responding to," he said. "Look for
the three components. If you see two out of three and you don't recognize
or understand the third, there's nothing to be lost by calling us."

Explosives are used to destroy the evidence -- the plants and the growing
equipment, he said.

When firefighters find a booby trap or explosive at the front door, Kain
added, they should expect another at the back.

Grow-ops, he told The Daily News, have become a fact of life in B.C. and
firefighters need to be prepared.

"Knowledge is power, especially for first responders. As long as they are
aware of what they might find, they can recognize and remove the danger.

"But they always have to be aware of the possibilities."

Andy Duggan, auxiliary captain of Station 6, has been to almost a dozen
fires at grow-ops in the Dallas/Barnhartvale area.

Kamloops is not immune to the protection strategies growers are prepared to
undertake, although he has yet to see high-tech explosive devices such as
the ones Kain described.

A cache of "pretty serious" firearms was stored in the basement of one
home, he said, adding a lot of the danger can lie in how the operations are
set up.

"You realize pretty soon what you're going to face and you have to tread
very lightly. Wires are usually hanging everywhere and you don't know if
they're live or not.

"It can be a little scary."

Duggan spent the weekend keeping the seminar running smoothly. Heading an
organizing committee of local auxiliary firefighters, he helped take care
of 370 participants.

Classes ran out of two locations -- the McArthur Island Sports Centre and
the Kamloops Fire and Rescue training centre on McGill Road.

At the training centre, firefighters donned their turnout gear to learn
about auto extrication, confined space fires, car fires and other
situations from local paid staff.

The volunteer firefighters attended lectures about hazardous materials,
fire scene preservation and swift water rescue at McArthur Island.

The training centre received rave reviews from the seminar's participants.

"There are very few live training facilities in this province and we're
lucky enough to have one," said Duggan. "We've had nothing but compliments
about it."

Local auxiliary firefighters also learned at Saturday's banquet that they
may be running the seminar again in 2005.

The weekend's event was a last-minute operation, started in December when
the original host bailed out.

"It sounds like it's going back to Oliver next year but our guys seem
interested in having it here two or three years from now," Duggan said.

"If we can maintain the level of commitment from everyone, we'll do it."