Blast at Suspected California Drug Lab Hurts Woman
Source The San Francisco Chronicle (California)
A woman and a boy were injured Tuesday night in an explosion and fire at an apartment building in San Francisco's Ingleside neighborhood that was apparently caused by drug manufacturing, police said.
Firefighters responded to the explosion on the 1200 block of Capitol Avenue around 9 p.m., put out the blaze and alerted police to the apparent existence of a drug lab, said Sgt. Daryl Fong, a police spokesman.
Investigators suspect that a butane tank exploded, Fong said Wednesday. He did not say what kind of drugs police suspect were being made in the apartment, which was on the ground floor of the two-story building. No other units were damaged.
The woman, who is 33, and the 12-year-old boy made it to California Pacific Medical Center's St. Luke's campus on their own and were transferred to the burn center at St. Francis Hospital, Fong said.
The extent of their injuries is not known, but the woman was expected to be released late Wednesday, Fong said. He would not describe her relationship to the boy.
Police expect to arrest the woman on unspecified charges when she gets out of the hospital, Fong said.
The blast blew out three windows on the front of the apartment building.
"It sounded like a car had hit the building," said Darren Brown, a 52-year-old truck driver who lives in an upstairs unit. "Those windows flew right out of the house, and the glass was all across the street."
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