San Ysidro : Firefighters Find Possible Drug Lab

An arson fire Monday at a San Ysidro warehouse exposed what may have been a drug-manufacturing laboratory.

The San Diego and Chula Vista fire departments dispatched about 75 firefighters at 9:53 a.m. to the International Trade Center rental warehouses at 330 Calle Primera, said Bob Sumler, a San Diego Fire Department spokesman.

After the fire was extinguished about an hour later, investigators uncovered what they suspect was a methamphetamine laboratory, Sumler said.

Sgt. Tom Giaquinto of the San Diego Police Narcotics Task Force, said a search warrant was obtained and that investigators found materials used in the drug-manufacturing process, including Freon, a chemical coolant, and glassware.

“What we found might have been the remains of a methamphetamine lab, or someone might have been putting one together,” Giaquinto said. “But . . . there wasn’t enough material to produce methamphetamine.”

He said the investigation is continuing.

Warehouse sprinklers were unable to douse the ground-floor flames because the water flow was blocked by a mezzanine in the building, Sumler said. In addition, flammable materials, including stuffed animals and paper products, fed the two-alarm fire that caused an estimated $30,000 in damage.

Firefighters said the fire was caused by an arsonist and that the drug lab materials did not ignite the fire. Authorities said no suspects have been identified.