RCMP recommend charges after Taghum man sees house destroyed in Saturday morning fire
By Nelson Daily Staff
A Taghum man is facing charges after police found the remains of a marihuana grow operation in the basement of his burned out home Saturday.
As a result of the investigation RCMP will recommend charges of Production of a Controlled Substance against the 64-year-old male homeowner.
“The house was severely damaged by the fire which was does not appear suspicious,” said RCMP Sergeant Darryl Little.
“The fire investigators and insurance company will be examining the scene in greater depth to determine if faulty wiring may have been the cause of the fire,” Little added.
Saturday morning at approximately 7:40 a.m., RCMP along with volunteer fire departments from Beasley and Blewett responded to a 911 call of a fire in the 5900 block of Smith Road, across the C.P. Rail tracks from the Taghum Hall.
When the emergency teams arrived they found the house completely engulfed in flames.
The homeowner had escaped through the back door of the house after being startled from his sleep to sounds of his cat screaming.
Unfortunately the cat did not survive the fire.
The lone male occupant was taken to hospital by B.C. Ambulance suffering from smoke inhalation and was released later in the morning.
Firefighters at the scene kept the blaze from spreading to an adjacent house and into the brush surrounding the residence.
During the investigation of the cause of the fire police and fire investigators found the marihuana grow operation in the basement.
A second marihuana grow operation was located in an outbuilding on the property.
This is the second marihuana grow operation fire Beasley Fire Department has responded to in two years.
Last year the fire department was called to a trailer fire in the Bonnington area. After the fire was brought under control officials found a grow operation inside the trailer.
The Saturday morning fire was one of two responses during the day by the Beasley Fire Department. Later in the day, firefighters responded to a grass fire in Bonnington.
A homeowner was burning brush when the fire candled one of the trees next to his house.
By the time firefighters arrived, local residents had contained the fire with garden hoses.
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