A fire at a Huntington Beach lab for the production of concentrated marijuana extract gutted one unit of a commercial building that was stocked with explosive gas, damaged another and left one person injured Thursday, Jan. 28, officials said.
Authorities received a 911 call reporting flames on the 15600 block of Commerce Lane at about 10:23 a.m., Huntington Beach Fire Department spokesman Eric Blaska said. The first crews on scene saw smoke and fire pouring out of the building.
Firefighters initially tried to douse the blaze from inside, but had to retreat when they discovered the flammable chemical butane and a tank of compressed nitrogen were stored in the burning unit, Blaska said. A portion of the roof above the unlicensed business collapsed as firefighters sprayed water from outside.
A neighboring unit was damaged by smoke, but crews managed to put out the fire and prevent it from spreading to other buildings.
Preliminary investigation suggests “extract oils from cannabis for conversion into concentrated cannabis” was produced in the burned out unit, Huntington Beach police Lt. Brian Smith wrote in an email.
The owner of the business was hurt at the scene was taken to a hospital, Smith said. Updates regarding the severity and nature of that patient’s injuries was not immediately available.
No arrests were made in connection with the fire as of Thursday evening, Smith said. No other people were hurt, but a dog died in the fire.
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