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Bho Disasters (PLEASE READ!)

"The Sacramento Bee reported that Shriners Hospitals for Children in Northern California has treated 68 victims for BHO burns in the last three years. The average child was burned on 28 percent of their body."

Do you have any idea how painful major burns are? Most people's worst pain ever is nowhere close. The pain lasts for many months over most of your body. People have issues that take years to recover from including physiological damage. Burns over 28% of a child's body nearly killed the child- that is the average burn. The pain level from 28% burns would make death feel like a kindness.

Is it time we start telling open blasters that the tech is old, dangerous and should be updated? Should we stop helping them and hoping they will improve?

These guys will not stop with this forum handing out "how to open blast better" comments. It would help to stop giving any help to a open blaster until he shows real desire not to endanger others. It is time to make it wrong in the eyes of the community.

Help those who really want to improve, shun those who continue to endanger people.

Open blasting can be done safely but that requires expensive equipment. It is cheaper to run a cls safe making open blasting a thing of the past. Since these guys will not listen to reason- shame them until they listen to their conscience.

Of course some will never stop, but many would stop and even more would never start if it was a thing of shame.
 
This goes far beyond open blasting. There are dangers involved with using light hydrocarbons on any level, even in operating propane bbqs. The real message that should be told to everybody is that you need to design your space to be adequate for your hobby.

Want to open blast or run a CLS in your garage? Set up your garage with 1cfm/sqft, install an LFL alarm to know when your room is saturated, wear static proof clothing, ground all of your equipment, take out unnecessary electrical equipment. Just having a top of the line CLS doesn't automatically make you safe, we need educate people that having a preliminary safety checks and a well designed space is the single most important aspect of making medicine.
 
Just having a top of the line CLS doesn't automatically make you safe

Very true! CLS has to be set up correctly as well. I hoped that went without saying.

Also important - no matter if you have a perfect setup you still can't operate safely in a residential area. Hydrocarbon use is dangerous and should be in a place safe to others when things go wrong.

A proper set up in a home in the middle of no where is fine from a safety point of view. Doing extraction with hydrocarbons in neighborhoods can not be done safely.
 

Gray Wolf

A Posse ad Esse. From Possibility to realization.
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A proper set up in a home in the middle of no where is fine from a safety point of view. Doing extraction with hydrocarbons in neighborhoods can not be done safely.

Good points, byt may I be picky and change the word "in", to at, in your observation?

I say that, because few, if any, residential extraction setups have the air flow rates and engineered flow necessary to maintain less than 25% of LEL if shit happens.

"At" works for me, because it includes outside under open cover.

All of us on this forum have outlaw in us, or we wouldn't be here in the first place, if you define an outlaw as someone who operates outside the law in some areas of their life.

If we say screw all laws for a moment, and simply look at good practice from the stand point that the fish trap exists only because of the fish, what are some of the questions that a fire safety professional would ask himself about the best closed loop system?

1.0 Is there a potential for injury and property loss in case
of failure?
2.0 What is the probability of such a failure?
3.0 How serious would such a failure be to operators and others.
4.0 How serious would it be to structure and surrounding structures.
5.0 How perilous will it be to the responders.
6.0 How disruptive will be to the surrounding infrastructure to shut it down for a fire?
7.0 What are the availability of the resources required to control such an event, and what would the cost be?

That is just a short summary of fish trap questions, glossing over the chapter and verse Uniform Building Code, and NFPA standards going through their heads.

It does however give you some appreciation for their concerns, and why the codes and standards came to be in the first place.

Going through the list:

1.0 Clearly yes, there is potential for failure, injury, and property damage.
2.0 Pretty low probability of failure with well maintained and operated equipment, however, the probability that someone somewhere won't maintain or operate their equipment properly is very high.
3.0 A single event could be life threatening, and life changing. The more folks near the operation, the more lives are threatened.
4.0 A single event is capable of totally destroying everything within range of the blast and conflagration, including wind blown flames and embers.
5.0 First responders could get killed from any number of the perils fighting fires, especially caches of LPG gas in cans and tanks exploding.
6.0 Shutting down a neighborhood would certainly be less disruptive than closing down a downtown main street during rush hour, but more so than a well chosen industrial or commercial site.
7.0 Structures appropriate for such an operation, are fire rated so as to not pose a serious threat to their neighboring structures if an event occurs, and won't be close to residential, multiple dwellings, schools, institutions, hospitals, etc,.

Sooooo, as outlaws writing our own rules, if we consider the above issues, what should those rules be?

For those 4% sociopaths that statistics suggest are ostensibly among us and don't care about the above issues, consider the potential life changing burns you could suffer, as well as the civil/criminal legal, and financial repercussions.

Losing your looks, hanging out for an extended period in a burn ward, losing your job, losing your house, losing your freedom, and the financial burden should be weighed into the equation.

Adult outlaws take responsibility for the outcome of their actions, so adults breaking the rules, should learn why the rules exists, so that they minimize their's and other's exposure to acceptable odds when they break them.
 

jump /injack

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http://denver.cbslocal.com/2015/09/...ion-pens-book-visits-west-metro-fire-station/

5-Year-Old In Hash Oil Explosion Pens Book, Visits West Metro Fire Station

September 13, 2015 9:38 PM


JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) – It was the first hash oil explosion in Jefferson County and now people are finding out just how devastating the lasting effects can be.

Last April no one was injured in the blast, but a family has been ripped apart. CBS4’s Jeff Todd found out how local firefighters are helping mend the wounds.

It was a special day for Brayden on Saturday. He had free rein of a West Metro fire station and all the excitement a 5-year-old can handle.

“Just getting to meet him is absolutely heartwarming,” West Metro Fire Rescue District Chief Gary Armstrong said.

When Brayden grows up he wants to be a firefighter.

“We’re super excited to get to meet him. He actually had a very difficult experience that involved a residential fire in a townhouse,” Armstrong said.
Brayden at the West Metro fire station (credit: CBS)

Brayden at the West Metro fire station (credit: CBS)

It was last April when Corbin Braithwaite decided to try and make hash oil in his apartment and an explosion occurred. Braithwaite’s girlfriend and her two children were inside.

“All the pictures fell off the wall and the neighbor is the one who went in to grab the kids, it wasn’t even the dad or the mom,” neighbor Shannon Minger said about the explosion to CBS 4 in April of 2014.
Brayden at the West Metro fire station (credit: CBS)

Brayden at the West Metro fire station (credit: CBS)

“The actual fire damage was minimal, but when you talk about little kids seeing that trauma, seeing a person that’s hurt, that’s certainly lasting,” Armstrong said.

PHOTO GALLERY: West Metro Fire Station

That’s why Brayden brought a book he wrote to read to his heroes.

“My name is Brayden. I am 5 years old … I was in the living room and then the fire came … it was orange and hot and this is the smoke,” Brayden said.

He had nightmares for a year.
Brayden's book (credit: CBS)

Brayden’s book (credit: CBS)

“It seems I have volcanos in my eyes,” he said.

His story ends — no longer being afraid of the flames.

“Me in my bed and I’m dreaming about something happy.”

That’s why he went to the fire station.

“I love this place … because it’s super cool … these people saved my house from a big fire.”

Braithwaite is currently serving a 4 year sentence after being guilty of child abuse, arson, and drug possession. Grandparents are working to adopt the children.
 

jump /injack

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http://www.mpacorn.com/news/2015-07-10/Front_Page/POT_20.html



POT 2.0
Concentrated marijuana growing in popularity
By Stephanie Sumell
[email protected]

POWERFUL—Referred to as dabs, marijuana concentrates—such as the crystallized version called“shatter” above—have become increasingly popular by those who smoke pot because the chemically-altered narcotic can be four times more potent than traditional marijuana. Law enforcement agencies in Ventura County and across the nation are seeing a growing number of makeshift labs that are dangerous because the extraction process requires the use of highlyflammable butane gas. Photos by RY PRICHARD/Special to the Acorn POWERFUL—Referred to as dabs, marijuana concentrates—such as the crystallized version called“shatter” above—have become increasingly popular by those who smoke pot because the chemically-altered narcotic can be four times more potent than traditional marijuana. Law enforcement agencies in Ventura County and across the nation are seeing a growing number of makeshift labs that are dangerous because the extraction process requires the use of highlyflammable butane gas. Photos by RY PRICHARD/Special to the Acorn The crime scene was blanketed in the water firefighters had used to extinguish the flash fire that burned portions of a nondescript warehouse tucked in a Newbury Park industrial area just blocks from the Amgen campus and the 101 Freeway.

Hidden in plain sight, investigators say the warehouse was used to make one of the most potent forms of marijuana on the market—a drug called butane honey oil, a concentrated narcotic produced in hazardous makeshift labs that can catch fire in an instant.
Where's the story? PointsMentioned Map 8 Points Mentioned

CHEMICAL REACTION—In addition to the crystallized form, marijuana concentrates can be made in butter- and honey-like variants. The drug is extremely potent and dangerous to make. CHEMICAL REACTION—In addition to the crystallized form, marijuana concentrates can be made in butter- and honey-like variants. The drug is extremely potent and dangerous to make. Senior Detective Matt Young with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office was one of many law enforcement personnel to respond to the scene last month after someone called 911 to report smoke coming through the bay door of the warehouse on the evening of June 23.

“The fire started at the lower level (of the warehouse) but there was a makeshift upstairs area that was completely burned,” said the detective, who works with a unit of the sheriff’s office that investigates drug crimes.

The fire, which led to the arrests of Jared Sullada, 25, of Moorpark and Jason Mulhall, 33, of Westlake Village, was caused by an ignition in the drug lab, investigators said.

Butane honey oil—often referred to as BHO, dabs, wax, shatter or hash oil—is a form of highly concentrated cannabis that has become increasingly popular nationwide. Because the waxy substance, which is usually gold in color, cannot be exposed to direct flame, drug users heat a glass stick or glass bowl with a blow torch to a high temperature in order to melt the wax and inhale the drug-laced vapor it gives off.

The substance can also be inhaled through a vapor pen, an electronic device that vaporizes marijuana oils.

Sgt. Steve Trickle of the Oxnard Police Department said the BHO creates a particularly intense high because it contains a much higher concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol, the hallucinogenic chemical in marijuana.

“It is much more potent than regular marijuana,” Trickle said. “The THC content in marijuana is 10 to 30 percent and the THC content in butane honey oil is 60 to 80 percent.”

The drug, which is often stored in shallow canisters, is powerful and pricey.

“The average market price in California can be up to $22,000 per pound,” Trickle said.

“It’s more expensive than cocaine.”

The price, however, does not appear to deter users.

Trickle, one of two supervisors of the clandestine lab team for the narcotic task force, said the drug is easy to hide because it lacks the powerful odor of traditional marijuana—a quality that makes it particularly attractive to teenagers.

The cop encouraged parents to keep an eye out for vapor pens used to smoke the substance.

“Talk to your kids, and if you think they are using, I would recommend you drug test them,” Trickle said. “This is a national epidemic and it isn’t going anywhere.”

That’s a problem for cops and firefighters who have to deal with the increasing number of BHO lab explosions that can cause tremendous property damage and have injured or killed a growing number of amateur chemists across the nation.

Trickle, who has responded to lab explosions in Oxnard and Ventura in the last six months, said the tiniest spark, when combined with high levels of butane, can result in an explosion or flash fire.

“It is unbelievably volatile,” he said. “Butane honey oil labs are much more dangerous than meth labs.”

Despite the risks, he said, these sorts of operations are popping up around the county and the country.

Trickle said the drug, which is illegal to manufacture, is easily made with tools that can be purchased legally in any neighborhood smoke shop.

The problem, the sergeant said, is that inexperienced drug makers don’t realize—or don’t care about—the risks involved.

“A lot of people are getting into it,” he said. “They, unfortunately, learn how to make it from the Internet or a friend.”

It’s unknown how Sullada and Mulhall learned to make the drug. Police, who found information that linked the event to Sullada, pulled the men over not far from the warehouse,

They were arrested on drug charges after investigators found extraction tubes, burners, butane cans, marijuana and other items used to make the potent drug inside the warehouse.

“Any time they do this in a closed environment like a warehouse, the butane is heavier than air and it fills up the room,” Young said.

“Any little spark, whether it is someone lighting a cigarette or someone in another room turning the stove on, can cause it to ignite.”

And although the consequences may be devastating, the reward appears to be too tempting, and likely to keep drug makers’ hands in the honey jar—even if it kills them.
 

jump /injack

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http://kron4.com/2015/09/25/santa-rosa-fire-allegedly-caused-by-hash-oil-lab/

SANTA ROSA (KRON) — Firefighters responded to reports of an explosion Thursday around 10:30 p.m. in Santa Rosa.


Santa Rosa Fire Department extinguished a fire that followed the explosion in the 1100 block of Humboldt Street.

The fire started in the rear shed of a residence and spread to a fence that was connected to an apartment complex.

Officers began to evacuate residents from nearby homes and apartments while firefighters contained and extinguished the fire.

One Santa Rosa man was injured, Jonathan Dubois, 23. Dubois suffered burns to the front and back of his body and was transported to a hospital for medical treatment.

Police investigation revealed a butane hash oil lab was inside the shed on the property where the fire started.

http://kron4.com/2015/06/26/teen-making-hash-oil-allegedly-starts-apartment-fire-in-palo-alto/

PALO ALTO (BCN) — Police have arrested a 17-year-old who allegedly caused an apartment fire when he tried to manufacture hash oil on a kitchen stove, police said.

The first report of the fire came in at about 8:50 p.m. Friday from several residents of an apartment complex at 845 Ramona St., according to police.

When officers arrived they found the apartment’s sprinkler system had extinguished the fire, police said. Firefighters from the Palo Alto Fire Department also responded.

Some residents of the apartment complex were evacuated while authorities determined the cause of the fire, according to police.

An investigation revealed the teen was using a kitchen stove and liquid butane to manufacture the oil, which is a concentrated form of cannabis, police said. He left the stove unattended for a moment when the fire started, setting off the sprinkler system, police said.

When the fire was out, the teen flushed some of marijuana down the toilet and threw the butane canisters in a trash shoot, police said.

Police said the fire was contained to the kitchen where it started. No other units sustained any smoke or fire damage, but the suspect’s apartment and two neighboring apartments sustained water damage and were uninhabitable Thursday night, according to police.

The American Red Cross assisted the residents who were displaced, police said.

Medics treated the teen for a superficial burn on his arm and police cited the teen for one felony count of manufacturing hash oil and one misdemeanor count of destroying evidence, police said.

Anyone with information about the fire is being asked to get in touch with the 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413. People can email anonymous tips to [email protected] or send them via text or in the voicemail system at (650) 383-8984.
 

oilmaker

New member
IF YOU OPEN BLAST. DO IT OUTDOORS IN A WELL VENTILATED AREA!
Closed Loop systems are the way to go.. In my opinion.
I just can not understand why people do not listen.. It is giving BHO a bad rap because of some dumb ass blasting indoors...
 

jump /injack

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http://www.whitbygazette.co.uk/news/local/jail-for-gas-sniffer-who-caused-explosion-1-7301009

"I'LL HUFF AND PUFF AND BLOW YOUR HOUSE DOWN" say's huffer.


Jail for gas sniffer who caused explosion
15:48Tuesday 09 June 2015

A gas-sniffing addict has been jailed for over two years after causing a fire while inhaling butane inside his flat.

David Humble, 23, was fiddling around with a cigarette lighter and turned the flame up to full blast while “tooting” the gas, causing an explosion which rocked the apartment.

His terrified brother and a friend jumped for their lives from a window 15ft from ground level. They were both injured and Humble - formerly of Abbots Walk, Whitby - suffered burns to his hands and face.

Firefighters and the ambulance service were called to the four-storey block of flats in Unitarian Court, Scarborough, where Humble was given on-the-spot treatment and tenants were evacuated from the building.

Humble was later arrested and charged with arson and being reckless as to whether the lives of others would be endangered.

He was given a 27-month jail sentence by judge Neil Davey QC at Bradford Crown Court on Friday after a jury found him guilty following a trial in York last month.

The fire happened on January 2 last year, when Humble, holed up in his bedroom during a gas-sniffing session, had turned up the dial on his cigarette lighter, producing a huge flame which nearly caught his face.

Humble’s brother and friend asked him to turn the flame down and open a window to let the gas out, but he ignored them and went to light a roll-up cigarette.

Prosecutor Paul Newcombe said a fireball erupted with such a bang that the flat actually rocked.

The court heard that Humble - who was evicted from the social-housing flat and began living rough in Scarborough - went through 15 cans of butane a week and had been inhaling gas since he was 14 years’ old.

When police searched the flat they found it crammed full of flammable rubbish and a “horrifying” collection of 700 empty gas canisters.

The fire caused £3,330 of damage to the bedroom and a further £6,000 had to be spent on a full-scale clean-up of the flat.


Hard to imagine someone 'huffing' butane and smoking at the same time. Lucky he didn't blow his head off or lose all his teeth in the explosion and fire. He could definitely be a winner in the Darwin Awards.

Here is the Darwin Awards http://www.darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin2014-07.html he'd fit right in.
 
Last edited:

jump /injack

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Veteran
http://www.vaildaily.com/news/17098690-113/home-hash-oil-cookers-are-now-illegal

Go to site to see picture of closed system no illegal

Home hash oil cooking systems like this one are now illegal in Colorado, under a new state law that went into effect this week. House Bill 1035 requires that hash oil systems be licensed and inspected, and function away from residential areas.
Townsend Bessent | [email protected] |

Home hash oil cooking systems like this one are now illegal in Colorado, under a new state law that went into effect this week. House Bill 1035 requires that hash oil systems be licensed and inspected, and function away from residential areas.

Home cooking hash oil ban

Colorado House Bill 1305 requires that hash oil operations:

Be done away from any residences,

Be done in a well-ventilated indoor facility

Be inspected and licensed by a local fire department.

EAGLE COUNTY — It’s officially illegal to boil hash oil in Colorado without a license.

A statewide ban went into effect earlier this month with House Bill 1305, which makes it a Class 2 felony.

State lawmakers say it’s a response the growing number of hash oil explosions across Colorado. There were 32 in 2014, injuring at least 30 people.

Among the most recent was one in Eagle-Vail when a valve in Ryne Wilhemi’s closed-loop system malfunctioned and the concentrated butane exploded. Wilhelmi made his first court appearance last week, after recovering in a Colorado burn hospital.

Wilhelmi said he was doing nothing illegal, and was “totally compliant” with the deputies and when firefighters arrived.

He suffered burns over 25 percent of his body.

“The number of accidental explosions associated with producing marijuana hash oil has markedly increased in our state, and sadly resulted in significant property damage and serious injuries to more than 30 people,” said Rep. Yeulin Willett, R-Grand Junction, one of the sponsors of HB 1035. “This new law establishes stiff penalties for unlawfully producing hash oil or other marijuana concentrates, and will hopefully deter people from putting themselves and others in danger.”

House Bill 1305 does not preclude licensed, legal production of medicinal marijuana concentrates by approved methods in the state, Willett said.

No longer local

Until now, local jurisdictions decided whether home hash oil systems are legal, and where.

Some prosecutors were charging hash cookers with felonies, while others said hash oil production is protected under a provision of the new legal pot law.

It’s not legal anywhere in Eagle County, the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. District Attorney Bruce Brown says it’s a felony.

“It does not matter how you’re doing it, it’s illegal,” said Jessie Mosher, public information officer with the Sheriff’s Office. “If you’re in a residential area, you’re endangering everyone around you, and yourself.”

Last year, Joshua Rosenbaum, 22, was using one of those makeshift cookers when he blew an 8-foot hole in the kitchen drywall of his Liftview apartment in Avon. Rosenbaum was trying to produce hash oil, but instead produced an explosion when butane gas ignited.

Rosenbaum was at home alone and no one was injured.

Brown charged Rosenbaum with arson, a felony, to which Rosenbaum eventually pleaded guilty.

He received a deferred four-year prison sentence, which means that if he can stay out of trouble for four years, apologizes to everyone in the neighborhood, speaks to schools and youth organizations, does useful community service and keeps a full-time job, he won’t go to prison.

In addition to the Eagle-Vail explosion, similar explosions have hit Leadville, Frisco and Avon, said the District Attorney’s Office.

Hash oil cash

People cook their own hash oil for higher highs and more money, said Kevin Wong, an intelligence analyst with Colorado High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.

The THC content — the substance in marijuana that creates euphoria — can reach 80-90 percent. A joint can be 20-30 percent, Wong said.

Then there’s the money.

Hash oil prices are all over the map. Ads offer to sell it for as much $1,000 for a one-ounce bottle. Others sell it for $35-$40 an ounce.

Staff Writer Randy Wyrick can be reached at 970-748-2935 and [email protected].
 

jump /injack

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http://www.krcrtv.com/news/local/butane-honey-oil-lab-materials-found-at-explosion-site/35612956


REDDING, Calif. -

The Redding Fire Department says they found materials consistent with butane honey oil labs inside an apartment after an explosion Thursday afternoon.

They responded to the explosion around 2 p.m. on Trinity Street. Four families were displaced from their homes and one person was sent to the hospital.

"There is evidence there was honey oil that was being produced at the apartment," said Fire Captain Erick Mattson of the Redding Fire Department. "You can generally spot a lab from items that are used to cook honey oil like butane and cooking appliances."

Mattson added butane honey oil labs are becoming a bigger problem around Shasta County.

"It's a very specific thing that when we see it, it's pretty obvious that's the case of what's being done," added Mattson.

However, firefighters were not able to confirm that the fire was caused by the apparent lab.


3 Comments from paper

Terese Blue
Selfish self-centered idiots with no concept of looking beyond their own noses. Sad for the other 4 families that were left homeless. Where would you live if someone destroyed your home? Hopefully the "cooker" will be locked up and away from society for a long long long time - how about it D.A. and Judge?
Like · Reply · 1 · 3 hrs

Stanley Thornton · Tobinworld
the "cooker" was sent to the hospital. he came out with his font side of his body burned so bad his skin was hanging off. he was later flowen to sacramento's burn hospital. the family lives right behind me. The explosion shook my apartment and I was one floor below them and kiddy corner. it's 4 units in a square, and two floors. to give ya a idea. Thankfully the manager and such had hoses as it took the fire department about 20 minutes to arrive. But the fire knocked out power for their side of the building, and melted the cable tv, and cable internet box for my side. So I am at the liabrary using thier net till the box is fixed.
Like · Reply · 1 hr
 

jump /injack

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http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/4585115-181/petaluma-hash-oil-fire-lands

Petaluma hash oil fire lands one in hospital, one in jail

BY RANDI ROSSMANN

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
October 7, 2015, 7:49AM
Order Article Reprint

A Petaluma man remained in custody Wednesday, suspected of running a hash oil lab, which apparently exploded and seriously burned another man, Petaluma police said.

Officers arrested Cooper Joseph Winters, 33, on Monday afternoon following an investigation into a fire early Sunday at a Coronado Drive home, according to Petaluma Police Sgt. Ed Crosby.

Police were contacted Sunday morning by Bay Area hospital officials, alerting them to the injured man. Officers and firefighters then went to the house and found signs of a minor fire, Crosby said.

The victim remained at the hospital Wednesday, reportedly in stable condition. That man’s name wasn’t released.

Crosby said an investigation led to Winters’ arrest on suspicion of manufacturing hash oil, possessing heroin and drug paraphernalia and violating his probation.

Winters was being held in the Sonoma County Jail, facing four felony counts. His bail was set at $100,000, according to jail records.

Making hash oil is an unstable process and fires and explosions frequently occur. Several area fire departments and law enforcement agencies in recent years have responded to numerous hash oil-related fires involving people getting burned and homes being damaged.
 

jump /injack

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http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/10/hash_oil_produced_with_butane.html



on October 12, 2015 at 3:00 PM, updated October 12, 2015 at 3:02 PM


SOUTH HADLEY -- Hash oil, produced with butane, was the cause of a refrigerator explosion inside a home on Memorial Drive Saturday morning that buckled a wall and blew out windows, a spokeswoman for the state Fire Marshal's office said.

No injuries were reported in the explosion, however, a resident was arrested, spokeswoman Jennifer Mieth said Monday.

The explosion at 2081 Memorial Drive, reported about 8 a.m. woke up two residents, South Hadley Fire District 1 Capt. James Pula said on Saturday.

Mieth said somebody extracted the hash oil, also known as honey oil, from marijuana by using butane as a solvent.

The finished product, placed in the refrigerator, off-gased the extremely flammable butane inside that enclosed space. "And when the compressor kicked on it ignited those vapors," she said.

Such explosions are relatively rare in Massachusetts, Mieth said, adding she is aware of one that took a life in Chelmsford several years ago.

Mieth had no information on the name of the person arrested or the charges that the person may face.

South Hadley police were not available to comment Monday afternoon.

The blast, along with damaging the home, destroyed the refrigerator, Pula said.
 
The finished product, placed in the refrigerator, off-gased the extremely flammable butane inside that enclosed space. "And when the compressor kicked on it ignited those vapors," she said.
I feel like there is some misinformation in this statement. Why would "finished product" be off-gasing enough butane to trigger an explosion? Either way it is sad that this happened, but hopefully others can learn from it and realize they shouldn't be storing a product with the potential for combustion in a small, enclosed, zero airflow space.
 

jump /injack

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http://www.cinewsnow.com/news/local...oblem-after-Lowpoint-explosion-332964551.html


Authorities crack down on drug problem after Lowpoint explosion

By WEEK Producer
October 14, 2015 Updated Oct 14, 2015 at 6:05 PM CDT

WOODFORD COUNTY, Ill. -- A new drug problem is doing significant damage in Woodford County.

Butane hash oil -- concentrated liquid form of marijuana -- has been seen throughout the county and was the cause of Monday's house explosion in Lowpoint.


The drug is made using butane to extract the oil from pot.

Police say the process is very dangerous because the ingredients are extremely flammable.

And that was the case Monday night when two men suffered severe burns after their hash oil lab caught fire.

Police are seeing an increase in butane hash oil labs recently, and are taking steps to crack down.

"If we found four in seven months, there's many more out there. What we're doing to combat that, we implemented our proactive drug enforcement team back in December, which I can attribute a lot of our success in finding these things to that team," said Dennis Tipsword, Chief Deputy of the Woodford County Sheriff's Department.

The influx of this drug in Woodford County has some of the locals baffled.

"Would not expect it in Lowpoint. Lowpoint's a very quiet town, most of the people are very congenial, help one another, so I don't know why," said neighbor Joan Webb.

The two men involved in Monday's butane hash lab explosion are still being treated for their injuries, and they've been charged with hash oil manufacturing and drug-related child endangerment.


There should be a push by those using this technique to be able to use it safely. Since many are using this type of extraction, cities should set aside surplus buildings or areas where this could be safely used. You would only need well ventilated building in a commercial area, checked by the fire departments and safety engineers. Or...special licensing to those with butane or CO2 equipment [closed systems] that could extract for you safely for a price or share of the product which they could sell to retailers.
 

jump /injack

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http://www.marinij.com/general-news...talized-in-connection-with-drug-lab-explosion

San Rafael man arrested, hospitalized in connection with drug lab explosion

By Stephanie Weldy, Marin Independent Journal


A San Rafael man was hospitalized in connection with the explosion Thursday of a suspected drug lab in an East San Rafael condominium complex.

Alex Watson, 23, was arrested and then transported to an area hospital for treatment after the explosion in a unit in the 100 block of Bahia Circle.

The incident was reported shortly before 9 p.m. The jolt knocked picture frames off the walls, one neighbor told police. Officers found evidence that linked the explosion to a concentrated cannabis oil drug lab, according to a release issued by police.

“A large quantity” of butane ignited and exploded in the kitchen. Portions of the home burned and screens in open windows were blown out, according to police. An adult female and 5-year-old child were in the home at the time, but were uninjured. Watson, who was in the kitchen when the explosion occurred, was burned on both arms and suffered smoke inhalation, police said.

Watson was being treated for his injuries Friday. He was expected to be booked into Marin County Jail upon his release from the hospital, police said.

Officers and firefighters evacuated the entire complex for two hours as a precaution after more butane was found.

No neighbors were injured and neighboring units were not damaged in the explosion, police said. Officers are working with the Marin County Major Crimes Task Force in the investigation of the incident.
 

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http://www.krem.com/story/news/loca...-possibly-caused-by-butane-hash-oil/74092824/

Mead explosion possibly caused by Butane hash oil


SPOKANE, Wash. -- A fifth wheel trailer explosion sent two people to a Seattle hospital Friday with severe burns, and butane hash oil may be to blame.

Authorities said they found evidence the people who lived in the trailer were illegally manufacturing THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana.

"It's super dangerous if you're not super careful and it doesn't take much," said neighbor Joseph Sturgeon. "You can see what happened, it burnt that trailer to the ground real quick."

The North Spokane explosion destroyed the trailer and damaged neighboring homes and trees.

Manufacturing the pure extract requires butane, and authorities said they found canisters in the rubble. Manufacturing pure THC is so dangerous authorities said handling it incorrectly could result in damage similar to a pipe bomb.

The explosion sent two people to Harbor View in Seattle.

The Sheriff's Office said Friday's explosion was the fourth due to THC this year.

Neighbors said they were shocked.

"They kind of keep to themselves they've always been good neighbors... It's kind of surprising. I didn't think they were into that kind of thing," said Sturgeon.

The two transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle could face charges for manufacturing a controlled substance.
 
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