Police investigating the cause of a major fire at a property in Oldham have discovered dozens of cannabis plants, the Manchester Evening News understands.
Emergency services were called to the blaze on Cyril Street in Shaw on Tuesday morning (August 30). Enquiries suggest the fire started as a result of an electrical fault at the house, GMP said.
It is not believed that anybody was inside the property at the time of the fire, and no injuries have been reported. It's understood officers investigating the cause of the blaze have since discovered around 70 cannabis plants inside.
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No arrests have been made and enquiries are said to be ongoing at the property. A number of residents had to be evacuated as fire crews worked to extinguish the flames this morning.
There was distinctive smell of smoke in the surrounding streets as crews worked to contain the blaze. A strong smell of cannabis was also reported by those at the scene.
Three fire engines, two police vehicles and a crew from Electricity North West could be seen assessing the damage. The smoke-filled property was left with broken windows, singed curtains and debris scattered around the front door.
A neighbour who lives nearby said: "I didn't hear the fire engines, I don't sleep with my hearing aids in, but I heard a lot of banging coming from around here so I wanted to see what was happening. I hope everyone's ok, it must be quite bad for so many emergency services to be here. It's quite scary, you don't know what's caused the fire, that's a bit worrying."
Another neighbour said: "It's disgusting, they've been growing cannabis there, you could see all the plants being dragged outside by police. The curtains are always drawn so tightly there that I knew something was going on. Absolutely disgusting."
A third said: "When I saw the fire engines I thought they must have been called to the old shop on the corner, so I was quite surprised to see them at the house. It's a bit shocking, you don't expect to see people growing drugs so close to home."
A fourth said: "There's absolutely loads of these [cannabis farms] around here, I'm just glad nobody was hurt."
In a statement, GMP said: "At around 8:10am this morning (Tuesday 30 August 2022), emergency services were called to reports of a fire at a property on Cyril Street in Shaw.
"Enquiries have suggested that it was caused by an electrical fault at the property. No injuries have been reported. Officers will remain at the scene for further enquiries."
A Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: "At 8am on Tuesday 30 August, firefighters were called out to a house fire on Cyril Street, Shaw.
"Three fire engines from Rochdale, Oldham and Chadderton attended the scene where a terraced house was on fire. Adjacent properties were evacuated as firefighters used hose reels and breathing apparatus to extinguish the fire.
"The gas and electric supply to the property supply have been isolated and an investigation will be carried out."
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