VANCOUVER -- Mounties in Richmond are investigating after a fire at what they believe to be a clandestine drug lab located in a home on a suburban side street in their city.
Richmond RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Adriana Peralta told CTV News Vancouver it was the Richmond Fire Rescue Service that first alerted police to the incident.
Fire crews were called to the home in the 5000 block of Calder Court - a dead-end street in a residential area near the intersection of Railway Avenue and Blundell Road - around 2 p.m. to put out a structure fire.
Neighbour Jenny Tan said she was taking a nap at the time and said she heard an explosion, “like a bomb went off.”
While fire crews were there, they discovered evidence of a possible drug extraction lab, and notified police, Peralta said.
Mounties have since executed a search warrant on the residence and are investigating.
On Saturday, members of the RCMP’s Clandestine Laboratory Enforcement & Response Team removed bagged evidence, including electronics and a safe, from the house.
At least half a dozen large and small gas tanks lined the driveway, and investigators could be overheard talking about “15 ovens in the back” that needed to be destroyed.
So far, no arrests have been made, and there are no suspects in the case, according to Peralta.
Tan said she had observed a lot of cars coming and going at the house now under investigation, at all hours of the day and night.
She and other neighbours who spoke to CTV News said they didn’t know the people who lived at the home.
No one was injured in the fire, something Peralta called "fortunate," given the circumstances.
"A structure fire around a potential drug extraction lab can potentially pose a risk to the public," she said.
Richmond RCMP are asking anyone with information on the incident to contact them and cite file number 2020-19068. Tips can also be provided anonymously through Crime Stoppers.
