CLANDESTINE DRUG LABS
FEATURES
SPECIAL RISK FIRES
On January 4,1986, the Cordelia Fire Protection District, a volunteer fire department in a rural area of northern California, responded to a reported chimney fire in the posh residential area known as Green Valley. This area is near an exclusive golf course and has houses exceeding the $300,000 range. The fire started sometime after 7 PM At least a dozen fire trucks and support water tankers responded to the three-acre site. No one was present upon their arrival.
The aggressive interior attack on the three involved rooms went quite well. Firefighters wearing full protective turnouts and selfcontained breathing apparatus (SCBA) were able to control the major thrust of the interior fire. However, the attached, three-bay garage structure was fully involved, and rapid, numerous explosions were occurring. Firefighters backed off. Large fireballs with a mushrooming effect occurred. It was initially feared that a chlorine compound was stored in the garage because of the swimming pool on the property.
Toxic fumes sent nine firefighters to the hospital with nausea and vomiting. They were in exposed positions as the toxic smoke banked down. None were admitted to the hospital.
When firefighters were able to control the blaze and enter the garage area, they found the remains of a clandestine drug lab.
The three-bedroom house in an upper-class neighborhood was well secluded from the road. It had been sold six weeks prior to the incident for $350,000. Firefighters found over 200 five-gallon containers of assorted drug chemicals to make methamphetamine, an illegal stimulant. Inside the house it was clear that a large-scale production laboratory was in operation. Four mantles, “cookers,” and an abundance of glassware were present. Another clear indication was the many rolls of aluminum foil, which are used in the reaction process.
Law enforcement personnel, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), and the State Department of Justice recovered over $600,000 worth of illegal drugs. Nearly 40 pounds of the drug methamphetamine was recovered. In addition to the drugs and chemicals, a large amount of cash, five firearms, and ammunition were also found. A loaded .357 magnum discharged a round of ammunition during the fire and the bullet lodged in a wall Of course, the owners of the dwelling and the illegal drug laboratory could not be found A hazardous materials cleanup and disposal team was called in to conduct overhaul. Many five-gallon containers had swelled and expanded under the fire’s heating process. All containers had to be placed into 35 overpack drums. What was originally sized up as a routine house fire turned into a hazardous material event.
A GROWING DRUG EPIDEMIC
According to the California State Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement Task Force, the use of illegal methamphetamine. is sweeping across the state in epidemic proportions. Unfortunately, California leads the nation in manufacturing labs discovered and seized by law enforcement officials.
Photo by Mike Major
Photo by Dave Eubanks
Methamphetamine is a white powder also known as “speed” or “crank,” and is sometimes called the poor man’s cocaine because it gives users feelings of energy and power similar to more expensive drugs.
Law enforcement officials offer a couple of reasons why these drug labs are showing up in northern California:
• Much of the Bay Area is rural and sparsely populated, making it simple to conceal laboratories used for synthesizing the drugs.
• Numerous refineries and industrial chemical companies make it easy for “cookers” to purchase the precursors for cooking crank. Chemicals are either stolen or illegally purchased.
Some other interesting facts are that:
• The illegal labs require expensive glassware and processing equipment for “start-up.” The profit margin on methamphetamine is just incredible. It takes only about $125 worth of chemicals to produce one pound of methamphetamine. That pound then wholesales for $10,000. Even if used at its maximum non-lethal strength of an eighth of a gram, one pound produces 4,000 doses of crank and has a street value of at least $30,000. And so far there is no sign of a shortage of buyers for this increasingly available product.
• The chemical processing of this drug takes advanced knowledge of chemistry and hydrogenation conversion, utilization of the red phosphorous technique or choloridination process.
WARNING SIGNS, HAZARDS, AND PRECAUTIONS
When fire strikes, these illegal drug laboratories can provide some unique challenges to first responding units and to all firefighters at the scene—both during the firefighting operations and overhaul. The subsequent investigation and chemical cleanup can be equally hazardous to one’s health and well-being.
Let’s consider some of the hazards associated with the highly volatile and corrosive chemicals found in a drug lab.
Explosion potential. During the cook off processing of chemicals, there exists the possibility of explosion. The over cook, the error in timing or excess heating of chemicals, can cause a reaction. Also a super sensitive gaseous hydrogen is often utilized.
Firefighters should be ever mindful that these places resemble a “Frankenstein” lab, with lots of glassware, distillation towers, and extractors. Secondary effects can be caused by chemicals stored in typical five-gallon metal chemical containers that are unvented. These containers, when heated, explode, sending up fireballs with an assorted range of greens, blues, reds, and oranges. Expect cascades of 5-, 10-, and 30-gallon LPG (liquified petroleum gas) cylinders that are used as the fuel for the “heating.” Most mantle cookers are electrically heated, but they may also be propaned fueled.
Photo by Dave Eubanks
Photo by Mike Maor
Ammunition. Make no doubt about it, most of these places will have some type of weapon. Drug enforcement agencies have found everything from machine guns, Uzis, rifles, shotguns, and rocket launchers, to small arms ammunition. Besides the effects of explosion, ammunition cooking off in a fire can give a firefighter’s heart a chilling rise. Weapons are usually located near windows and doors, and the possibility of “booby traps” is always present.
Toxic fumes. Most chemical labs utilize diethyl ether as the base chemical for manufacturing methamphetamine and other illegal drugs. One gallon of ether is equivalent to one stick of dynamite. The amphetamine lab also uses acetic anhydride and methylamine which not only gives off an acrid, burning gas, but is also poisonous.
SCBA is mandatory. Odors may be dissipated into sewer systems or toilets to disguise the acetic residue. Perhaps you will stumble upon one of these labs during a fire, or when investigating a friendly neighbor’s report of an offensive, noxious odor. These reports often give the first indication of the existence of a laboratory. Crews responding to odor complaints of ether or chemical smells should keep in mind that an illegal drug lab may be in operation.
Chemical hazards. Many containers will be unlabeled, maybe with only an insider’s color code or dot system. Identification may be difficult to impossible.
Fortified buildings. Horizontal openings may be barred and blocked with secured shutters or plywood. Artificial lights may be used, or lighting similar to that used in photograph developing studios to help cover nighttime drug manufacturing operations.
Chemical Hazards
This is a partial list with a brief description of some of the more hazardous chemicals associated with the clandestine lab manufacturing of PCP, amphetamine, and methaqualone. N/L means not listed.
Turnouts. It is important when fighting any fire to wear full turnout gear with SCBA. After operating at a drug lab fire, however, just as with other hazardous material incidents, decontamination of turnouts is a must. Exposure to drugs or chemicals can cause reaction or dermatitis. A complete shower is necessary upon return to quarters.
Hazarous waste. Drug lab operations will cause large amounts of hazardous waste to be generated. Waste may be deposited into sewer systems or directly into the ground.
CHEMICAL PROCESSING
When we discuss drug labs, we need to understand three definitions: precursor, reagent, and solvent. According to the DEA:
A precursor is a raw material for a controlled substance that becomes part of the finished product. Here are precursors and controlled chemicals used in drug labs:
- Phenyl-2-propanone
- Methylamine
- L-lysergic acid
- Ergotamine tartrate
- Diethyl malonate
- Malonic acid
- Ethyl malonate
- Barbituric acid
- Piperidine
- N-acetylanthranilic acid
- Ethylamine
- Pyrrolidine
- Phenylacetic acid
- Anthranilic acid
- Morpholine
These chemicals must be reported when anyone sells, transfers, or furnishes the substance.
A reagent reacts chemically with one or more precursors, but is not part of the finished product.
A solvent does not react chemically with a precursor or reagent, but does become part of the finished product. Solvents are used to dissolve solid precursors or reagents, to dilute reaction mixtures, and to separate and purify other chemicals. Some solvents are diethylether, methanol, and toluene, which are explosive, flammable, and poisonous.
SUMMARY
Calling on the specific experience of the Green Valley drug lab fire and from what we’ve discussed about drug labs in general, let’s look at some lessons that can be learned.
- Drug lab fires are actually hazardous material incidents that are connected with a crime scene. But because we will seldom have any prior knowledge of a lab’s existence, we find ourselves with
- many players at the scene without hazardous materials training.
- Educate firefighters to the possibilities and telltale signs of a potential drug lab, and to the seriousness of having to mitigate a drug lab fire.
- Turnouts, hose, and equipment must be cleaned and decontaminated to insure safety from various chemical exposures.
- The incident at Green Valley demonstrated a further need for joint incident command system (ICS) operations and team effort between law enforcement and fire officers.
- The DEA would only handle the drug cleanup and gathering of evidence relating to the criminal incident. Another environmental contractor was required to clean up the fire residue and the contaminated surrounding soil.
- Prepare to experience delays
- in getting final cleanup completed, sometimes as much as six days after the incident.
- Numerous agencies responded to this incident, and many were on site without proper identification and/or equipment. The personnel of the Solano County Sheriff’s Department and the DEA did not wear adequate protective clothing while removing the chemicals.
- Use of the San Francisco Toxicity Center hotline was positive. However, the hospital that treated the firefighters did not have an adequate procedure established to take care of patients who had been exposed to hazardous materials.
- Once again, weapons at these lab fires proved their inherent danger.
- Who is in charge? After the fire, it is surely a crime scene, but what about site safety, rekindles? The red phosphorous reignited several times during the evidence seizures by the DEA. What about financial liability? Because of a phantom property owner, there was no one from whom the costs could be recovered. The DEA will pay for the evidentiary cleanup. The Superfund will take care of debris and soil contamination.
- Evidence recovery was dangerous due to partial collapse of the garage roof structure, walls, and four 30-gallon LPG cylinders in the garage, which were later found to have vented through fusible discs.
The clandestine drug lab fire is much like a Rubik cube, with many sides to evaluate, presenting an unusual hazardous material problem for any fire department. Due to the explosive nature of a lab, all firefighters should be prebriefed on a lab “take-down” operation. Once entry is made, it becomes a law enforcement matter. Should the lab become involved in a fire, take the utmost protection of your members fighting the fire. Respiratory protection at all times is a must, even during overhaul and cleanup. The ingestion or skin contact of certain drugs can be fatal. Be alert and suspect the bizzare. Firefighters are getting exposed to hazardous materials in more ways than just transportation and fixed facilities.
