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Langley grow-op burns

It took fire crews more than 12 hours to douse a licensed marijuana grow-op in Langley Saturday night.

CTV News Vancouver reported that the fire broke out in the converted barn near 256 Street and 48 Avenue, around 10:40 p.m.

Deputy fire chief Bruce Ferguson told CTV they had no choice but to let it burn and make sure the fire didn't spread.

"We did have some concerns to a farm to the north; it had a barn with animals," he said. "They were concerned their barn was going to catch fire. So we [sent] a crew over."

There were no reports of injuries to people or animals. 

Ferguson said the barn, about 18 metres wide and 100 metres long, used to grow mushrooms but had since been converted into a legal cannabis growth facility licensed by Health Canada.

They are still investigating the cause but Ferguson said he got the impression it was electrical in nature.

"There have always been inherent risks with grow-ops because of high heat that's generated [and the] electrical installation," he said. "But more so in the past when they were all illegal and doing the electrical themselves."

with files from CTV



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