Cannabis Grow Tent Catches Fire And Flames Spread Through Msida Home
A Maltese man’s attempt at cultivating cannabis turned into a tragedy after a grow tent he had set up in his Msida apartment caught fire.
Antoine Puglisevich started growing cannabis a few months ago, in line with the new law that allows people to grow up to four plants at home for their personal use.
Everything appeared to be going as planned and the cannabis buds were around a week away from being harvested, but on Monday afternoon, the grow tent suddenly caught fire.
Antoine was at work at the time but realised something was badly wrong thanks to a climate monitoring system he had installed that allowed him to use his phone to assess the grow room’s temperature in real time.
Antoine's grow room at the start of the cultivation process
“I received a notification on my phone that the temperature had suddenly risen,” he told Lovin Malta. “I immediately knew that something wasn’t right and called my mother to tell her to check the grow room. I heard her screaming and rushed back home, where I found my mother on the floor and the house in flames.”
Thankfully, Antoine and his mother both escaped unscathed, and firefighters managed to put out the flames and rescue the family dog.
The apartment suffered extensive damage, and although it has come as a major blow to Antoine, he is well aware that things could have gone so much worse.
Antoine's home suffered extensive damage
“My mother was asleep at the time of the fire. Had I not installed this climate control system, I could have lost her. Homes can be rebuilt but lives can never be brought back.”
Although the cause of the fire hasn’t been officially determined yet, Antoine said it was most likely the result of a problem with the humidifier or fan.
Antoine wants to use his experience as a safety lesson for other cannabis growers.
“One could purchase an automatic fire extinguisher that would activate as soon as it detects a fire,” he explained. “It’s very cheap compared to your health.
He has also been heartened by the amount of support he has received, including by cannabis growing product supplier HeadShopMalta, which plans to provide him support to help rebuild his home.
“I received so many messages of support and HeadShopMalta’s phone call really changed my mood for the better and gave me courage.”
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