KITCHENER, Ont. (CP) -- An illegal marijuana lab caused the explosion that destroyed a house and left a Kitchener family homeless, officials said Wednesday.
Police found a small amount of marijuana and evidence of a lab used to make marijuana oil, said Staff Sgt. Ray Massicotte, head of drugs for Waterloo regional police.
Police also found cooking pots and butane, a pressurized gas, in the basement of the two-storey house.
Massicotte said marijuana oil, commonly known as weed oil or honey oil, is made by mixing marijuana leaves with a solvent such as butane or naphtha, a liquid gas.
Although Randy Kalan, chief fire prevention officer for the Kitchener Fire Department, said an illegal drug lab had caused the explosion and fire, he refused to identify the solvent.
``Use of a material causing flammable vapours in the process of a controlled drug has been determined to be the cause of the fire and explosion on Sweetbriar Drive,'' he said.
Kalan said evidence will be sent to the Centre for Forensic Sciences in Toronto for further analysis.
Initial reports after the explosion Sunday night said the homeowner, Luis Pinto, was cleaning a frying pan using naphtha and that fumes from the solvent, combined with an electrical spark, caused the blast.
Pinto, 36, was badly burned. He remains in critical condition in a coma induced for pain relief at Hamilton General Hospital. His 34-year-old wife, Maria, who is seven months pregnant, and their three-year-old son were home at the time of the blast but were not hurt.
Pinto suffered third-degree burns to more than half his body, including his face, arms and legs.
Pinto's brother, Tony, who has been by his brother's bedside, said he couldn't believe what police found at the Pinto home.
``He's on his death bed. He's fighting for his life,'' he said. ``This is a total shock to me.''
