Police say an explosion at a St. Thomas home on Thursday night was allegedly drug related.
Emergency crews were called to the home on Gladstone Avenue just before 10 p.m. When they arrived, they found the house on fire and most of the windows blown out. The force of the explosion also damaged neighbouring homes and cars.
“All of the sudden, I saw my neighbours’ windows blown out,” said Kathleen Woermke. “I ran outside and all I could see was glass everywhere and fire.”
Police say residents in a lower unit of the home were allegedly cooking marijuana oil, also known as hemp oil.
“When you’re extracting the oils from marijuana most of the drug users use butane,” said Cst. Cam Constable. “When you mix a combo of the volatile butane with a flammable vaporous gas and the drug, you run into a situation where there could be a major explosion.”
A quantity of marijuana was also found inside the unit.
One person has been arrested. They were taken to hospital with minor burn injuries.
Police are looking for another person of interest who also inside the home at the time of the explosion.
