Just days after two Devon men were sentenced in court for possession of cannabis, discovered after their house caught fire, another home-based ‘cannabis factory’ has gone up in smoke.
Firemen were called to a roof fire in an inconspicuous terraced home in Normanton at 3am in the morning, to discover the roof ablaze. Once the fire services had dowsed the flames, police removed 300 cannabis plants from the roof space, where the fire is believed to have broken out.
Hot Lamps and Bad Wiring
Illegal cannabis propagation often involves the use of hot lamps, reflective materials and illegal electrical cabling, all adding up to one major fire hazard. Combine this with the often inadequate protection most homeowners have for fire detection in their roof spaces, and roof fires can often smolder for some time before being spotted.
The Devon men had grown just 34 plants in their loft, and claimed in court that this crop was for their own personal use, not for dealing. The Derby growing operation was clearly on quite a different scale.
Narrow Streets and Fire Engines
However, the Derby house fire highlighted another major concern for owners of houses in old, narrow streets. Due to the numbers of parked cars lining the street, the fire brigade struggled to reach the house with an engine when called, a delay which no doubt contributed to the damage caused not only to the house in question, but the one next door as well.
Luckily, fire detection in loft spaces is easy, thanks to the new generation of heat alarms. Normal optical or photoelectric smoke alarms would go off just from the amount of dust which collects in the average loft. However, a heat alarm only sounds when the temperature in your roof rises above 57 degrees C (135 degrees F). Most UK new-built homes built since 2001 already have a heat alarm fitted in the kitchen.
A heat alarm gives you plenty of notice of any fire in your roof, allowing you and your family to make your escape and call the fire brigade as soon as possible. Fire Protection Online sell the reliable Kidde 323/9hi mains operated heat alarm with battery backup, at a 30% discount.
Kirsty
photo by Oneras at flickr.com
