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Two men burned in Nederland hash-oil operation remain hospitalized
By John Bear
Staff Writer
Posted: 08/17/2016 03:54:35 PM MDT | Updated: about 3 hours ago
Two men inside a Nederland home when it exploded in July after a mishap involving an illegal hash-oil extraction operation remained hospitalized more than three weeks later, Nederland Police Chief Paul Carrill said Wednesday.
The case remains under investigation, and Carrill said he could not comment further.
Nederland police and the Nederland Fire Protection District responded to a fire at 99 Pinecliff Trail on July 25 that destroyed the house and seriously burned two people inside.
Investigators quickly found two illegal hash-oil operations inside the home — one of them in the garage — and a marijuana grow in the basement.
Steve Pischke, who works with the Multi-Agency Fire Investigations Team, said on Wednesday that the case remains under investigation but fire investigators found numerous sources of ignition in the garage, where the explosion occurred.
Pischke said that the hash-oil operation provided "plenty of fuel" for the explosion to occur. He added that investigators have not been able to speak with the two men inside the home.
Hash oil is made by running butane or another solvent through a tube filled with dried marijuana clippings, leaving behind an oily liquid that can be solidified by heating the mixture to evaporate the butane.
Because it involves using volatile substances such as butane, explosions can result if a room is not properly ventilated. Investigators said that the garage being used at the Nederland home lacked proper ventilation, and the explosion and resulting fire burned through the home in three to four minutes.
Making hash oil in a residential home is illegal in Colorado.
John Bear: 303-473-1355, [email protected] or twitter.com/johnbearwithme
Two men burned in Nederland hash-oil operation remain hospitalized
By John Bear
Staff Writer
Posted: 08/17/2016 03:54:35 PM MDT | Updated: about 3 hours ago
Two men inside a Nederland home when it exploded in July after a mishap involving an illegal hash-oil extraction operation remained hospitalized more than three weeks later, Nederland Police Chief Paul Carrill said Wednesday.
The case remains under investigation, and Carrill said he could not comment further.
Nederland police and the Nederland Fire Protection District responded to a fire at 99 Pinecliff Trail on July 25 that destroyed the house and seriously burned two people inside.
Investigators quickly found two illegal hash-oil operations inside the home — one of them in the garage — and a marijuana grow in the basement.
Steve Pischke, who works with the Multi-Agency Fire Investigations Team, said on Wednesday that the case remains under investigation but fire investigators found numerous sources of ignition in the garage, where the explosion occurred.
Pischke said that the hash-oil operation provided "plenty of fuel" for the explosion to occur. He added that investigators have not been able to speak with the two men inside the home.
Hash oil is made by running butane or another solvent through a tube filled with dried marijuana clippings, leaving behind an oily liquid that can be solidified by heating the mixture to evaporate the butane.
Because it involves using volatile substances such as butane, explosions can result if a room is not properly ventilated. Investigators said that the garage being used at the Nederland home lacked proper ventilation, and the explosion and resulting fire burned through the home in three to four minutes.
Making hash oil in a residential home is illegal in Colorado.
John Bear: 303-473-1355, [email protected] or twitter.com/johnbearwithme