Marijuana plant blamed for collapsed building
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
It's 2.40am on a Monday morning, and most of the residents in downtown Pasadena are sound asleep. Some are still continuing their weekend. At least, that was the case for three roommates who share an East Colorado Boulevard apartment.
The three men, all in their early 20s, have been living together for the past 7 months. It is alleged that one of the men lit a marijuana plant to "give the studio a good feel". It is understood that approximately 20 minutes following, whilst the three men were all sound asleep and heavily intoxicated, that the burning marijuana plant spread onto a nearby curtain and rapidly engulfed the entire apartment.
One of the men, a well-known and popular horticulturalist in the area, allegedly woke up feeling hungry to find the apartment ablaze.
All three men were able to escape the apartment and notify emergency services of the fire. The building was evacuated promptly, and residents gathered on the street and witnessed the fire from the outside. Shortly after, around 3.10am, the fifth storey partially collapsed under the weight of the fire.
A third storey resident speaking to a radio journalist wittily commented that the apartment building now "...wasn't so high".
The man who allegedly set the marijuana plant alight has been taken into custody, although has refused to collaborate with police until he can get a hold of his Hollywood lawyer, Doobie Jenkins, who is understood to be on holidays in South America.
Police have cordoned off the area until further notice as the building has been labelled a "medium risk of further collapse", and will conduct an investigation into the newly-built apartment building's structural engineering.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
It's 2.40am on a Monday morning, and most of the residents in downtown Pasadena are sound asleep. Some are still continuing their weekend. At least, that was the case for three roommates who share an East Colorado Boulevard apartment.
The three men, all in their early 20s, have been living together for the past 7 months. It is alleged that one of the men lit a marijuana plant to "give the studio a good feel". It is understood that approximately 20 minutes following, whilst the three men were all sound asleep and heavily intoxicated, that the burning marijuana plant spread onto a nearby curtain and rapidly engulfed the entire apartment.
One of the men, a well-known and popular horticulturalist in the area, allegedly woke up feeling hungry to find the apartment ablaze.
All three men were able to escape the apartment and notify emergency services of the fire. The building was evacuated promptly, and residents gathered on the street and witnessed the fire from the outside. Shortly after, around 3.10am, the fifth storey partially collapsed under the weight of the fire.
A third storey resident speaking to a radio journalist wittily commented that the apartment building now "...wasn't so high".
The man who allegedly set the marijuana plant alight has been taken into custody, although has refused to collaborate with police until he can get a hold of his Hollywood lawyer, Doobie Jenkins, who is understood to be on holidays in South America.
Police have cordoned off the area until further notice as the building has been labelled a "medium risk of further collapse", and will conduct an investigation into the newly-built apartment building's structural engineering.
