I am a Fire and Emergency Services Photographer, so over the years I have accompanied my department on a wide variety of incidents. One of the most memorable was a garage/shop fire a few years ago. When we arrived, there were flames showing from a cargo trailer behind the shop, with extension into the shop.

The owner was acting oddly, so the Sheriff’s Department was called to assist. When they arrived, they asked if he had been drinking, and he answered that he had just smoked ‘a little weed.
We quickly knocked down the visible fire, and upon entry into the trailer found a large number of potted plants. The TIC cameras kept indicating a heat source in the walls of the shop, but when they went inside the shop, there was no sign of fire – only the same camera readings from both sides of the walls. It was finally determined that there was a false wall in the shop and when we opened the wall, we found a long, narrow room containing a large marijuana growing operation. The overloaded electrical circuits used for the operation had caused the fire.

Due to the large amounts involved, ATF agents were called in, and when they searched the house, they found an additional operation filling the basement. It turned out to be an amusing call for everyone involved.

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