Arlington garage fire sends pot up in flames

Published 1:44 pm Monday, November 5, 2007

ARLINGTON – A fire that gutted a garage earlier this morning likely was started by faulty electrical equipment used for a small marijuana grow operation inside the building, fire officials said.

A man reported smoke pouring from his neighbor’s 20-foot by 30-foot backyard shop about 3:30 a.m. He raced to wake up his neighbor and alert him to the blaze.

There were no fire hydrants near the garage, located in the 10800 block of 124th Street, Getchell Fire Chief Travis Hots said. Fire crews hauled in water using tinder trucks. The fire was extinguished in about 40 minutes.

No one was hurt.

An investigator with the Snohomish County Fire Marshal’s Office determined that the fire was accidental and likely was caused by an electrical problem. Investigators discovered the person living there appeared to be growing marijuana inside the shop, Hots said. The fire destroyed all 30 of the plants growing inside.

Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies are investigating the grow operation, he said.

Fire crews from Arlington Heights, Granite Falls, Lake Stevens and Marysville also assisted to extinguish the blaze.