SJ house fire leads to seizure of hundreds of pot plants

Firefighters and police in San Jose responded to a one-alarm blaze late Sunday night and stumbled upon quite the collection of marijuana plants.

The fire, which took place at 11:45 p.m. in the garage of a home in the 500 block of Scottsville Court in East San Jose, contained as many as 400 marijuana plants, being fed by an elaborate grow system.

According to Capt. Reggie Williams with the San Jose Fire Department, the small fire had most likely been caused by an electrical meter, which had been bypassed.  A neighbor had reported seeing smoke coming from the home’s garage and alerted firefighters.

There were no injuries reported as a result of the fire. Law enforcement officials immediately seized possession of the marijuana plants along with thousands of dollars worth of growing equipment, lights, and other related items.

San Jose Police Officer Albert Morales, a spokesman for the department, said the home was an “illegal grow house” and that no suspects had been identified at this time.