Woeful weekend
Blaze at Kentville market building not related to meth production
Kentville building a hive of activity.
It was a bad weekend for the owners of Kentville’s North End Market, as a fire struck the building less than two days after an alleged methamphetamine production operation was discovered there.
Kentville Fire Chief Ryan MacEachern said the fire, which broke out in an attic space over the garage shortly after 9 a.m. on Sunday, was not related to the apparent methamphetamine operation discovered in the Mee Road building on Friday.
MacEachern said the owner was using a heating device to thaw frozen pipes over the garage and accidentally started the fire.
The fire was contained to the attic space over the garage and there was a small amount of smoke damage to the building.
“Firefighters remained on the scene until noon. There were no injuries.
On Friday at around 8:30 p.m., members of the Kentville Police Service and Kentville firefighters received a report of a suspicious odour from the owner of the North End Market building on Mee Road.
After entering the building to locate the source, police and fire officials discovered what appeared to be a suspected drug activity related to the production of methamphetamine. The building was immediately evacuated due to the toxic nature of the chemicals involved.
The Kings County Integrated Street Crime Enforcement Unit, RCMP Clandestine Laboratory Enforcement Team and Kings County HAZMAT Unit including firefighters from the Kentville, New Minas and Wolfville departments were called to assist.
A 22-year-old Kentville man was arrested and charged with producing methamphetamine. He was scheduled to appear in Kentville provincial court Monday.