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Friday, February 6, 2015
SERVING MISSION SINCE 1908
Police and hazard materials crews worked to clean up a major illegal drug lab in Mission last year at the cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars to the district.
FILE PHOTO
Property owners targeted for drug operation clean-up District intends to bill owners of ecstasy lab property for nearly $150,000 Carol Aun MISSION RECORD
The District of Mission spent hundreds of thousands of dollars last fall to clean up a property near the corner of Glasgow Avenue and Horne Street that was used as a synthetic drug lab. Now, the district is hoping to recover some of the money and prevent similar incidents in the future with a new bylaw aimed at making property owners pay for such clean-ups.
“The bylaw is to recover costs from events directly related to controlled substance on the property,” said Fire Chief Larry Watkinson, who proposed the bylaw in light of the Sept. 6 incident, which was cited as one of the largest drug labs ever found in the Lower Mainland. Last September, Mission firefighters were called to a structure fire at 7191 Horne Street that was caused by a chemical reaction. The chemicals were located in a shed which was accessed from an alley
off of Glasgow Avenue, and was not connected or related to neighbouring businesses. Firefighters evacuated the building and called RCMP after recognizing products commonly used in clandestine drug labs. Nearby businesses were also evacuated and the fire was left to burn out on its own. According to the fire chief, emergency workers were exposed to a very hazardous and potentially explosive environment.
The personal protective equipment of initial crews that responded was ordered disposed of by Health Canada and the equipment was destroyed on-site. One firefighter was taken to hospital with minor skin burns. About a dozen different agencies, including a hazmat team from Abbotsford, Health Canda, the RCMP Clandestine Lab Team and Tervita, worked for days to dismantle the operation and identify the substances in more than 250
containers. Mounties later confirmed about 20 kilograms of suspected ecstasy was removed from the site. The investigation is ongoing and no charges have yet been laid, according to Mission RCMP Staff Sgt. Rob Dixon. The exact amount spent on putting out the fire and mitigating the hazard is unclear as costs such as wages are unknown, but Watkin-
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