ANAHEIM, Calif.—Crews responded to multiple fires set off in Anaheim on Feb. 20—resulting in two firefighters being injured.
The first major blaze broke out at an illegal marijuana lab located on Knollwood Circle, according to Anaheim Police Sgt. Shane Carringer.
At 11:22 a.m. on Sunday, firefighters responded to a call at a commercial building where a weed extraction process led to an explosive fire, Carringer said.
“Additional explosions occurred and ultimately led to the injury of two firefighters,” Carringer told The Epoch Times.
Both firefighters were briefly hospitalized and have since been released to recover at home.
Two suspects were in the building with one found suffering burns. The suspect remains hospitalized, and investigators are working to determine his role in the business, Carringer said.
The second suspect was arrested and remains in custody for operating a drug manufacturing lab.
The fire destroyed the entire single-story commercial building, forcing illegal operations proceeding at the location to stop, Carringer said.
Hours later at 6 p.m., firefighters responded to a fire at the Republic Services waste and recycling services building.
Carringer speculates the blaze was caused by either a mechanical or chemical process, “depending on what materials are flammable and combustible could lead to that fire,” Carringer said. “In trash facilities, there’s so much machinery in there and material that comes in that might be tricker and more difficult to determine what the cause was.”
Investigators are determining the cause with all possibilities—including arson and the decomposition process of trash that generates heat—being taken into consideration, Carringer said.
The fire was knocked out overnight after incurring a substantial loss.
The two reported fires are not related, according to Carringer.
