LOS ANGELES — Police and fire investigators launched a criminal probe Sunday into the cause of an explosion at a hash oil manufacturer in downtown Los Angeles that sent firefighters running for their lives.
Detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department’s major crimes division were working with the city Fire Department’s arson investigators to determine what might have sparked the blast that shot a ball of flames out of the building Saturday night and scorched a fire truck across the street, police spokesman Josh Rubenstein said.
“Scott said the building was a warehouse for SmokeTokes, which he described as a supplier for makers of “butane honey oil.” Butane is an odorless gas that easily ignites, and it’s used in the process to extract the high-inducing chemical THC from cannabis to create a highly potent concentrate also known as hash oil. The oil is used in vape pens, edibles, waxes and other products.
A call to SmokeTokes went unanswered on Sunday, and the company’s voicemail was full.
On its website, SmokeTokes advertises a variety of products including “puff bars,” pipes, “dab” tools, vaporizers, “torches and butane,” and cartridges. The company says it is “an international distributor and wholesaler of smoking and vaping products, and related accessories.”
Prange, the LAFD spokesman, said carbon dioxide and butane canisters were found inside the building but that it was still not clear what caused the blast.“
Looks like its not the 1st pressurized gas fire they have had:
In 2016, there was another major fire at a business called Smoke Tokes at a nearby address. The Los Angeles Times reported at the time that it took more than 160 firefighters to put out the blaze and that they encountered pressurized gas cylinders that exploded in the fire.
LOS ANGELES — Police and fire investigators launched a criminal probe Sunday into the cause of an explosion at a hash oil manufacturer in downtown Los Angeles that sent firefighters running for their lives.
Detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department’s major crimes division were working with the city Fire Department’s arson investigators to determine what might have sparked the blast that shot a ball of flames out of the building Saturday night and scorched a fire truck across the street, police spokesman Josh Rubenstein said.
“We’re in the very early stages of the investigation … to understand what happened and figure out how to move forward,” he said.
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was assisting local fire investigators,
an agency spokeswoman said.
Ok, pack it up boys, we found the cause of the blast.
That’s like saying a state can go after Smith n wesson if some asshat shoots and kills someone with their gun. People kill people, not guns. It take a human action to pull the trigger.
Doesn’t mean they won’t have to pay a ton of money to defend themselves when they are already supposed to be protected by PLCAA. Plus get their name dragged through the mud.
