Drug Lab May Be Culprit in Hotel Fire
Police, fire and hazardous-materials investigators said that a fire on the fifth floor of the Holiday Inn on Wednesday might have been caused by a drug lab in one of the rooms.
“There’s a possibility that there might have been a meth lab,” said Irvine Police Lt. Vic Thies. “We’re looking into that right now.”
The fire was reported just after 6:30 p.m., according to an Orange County Fire dispatcher, and was slowed by the hotel’s sprinkler system. No one was injured, but water caused extensive damage to the floors below, fire officials said. About 15 fire units responded to the hotel in the 17900 block of Von Karman Avenue.
Police evacuated the fifth floor until HAZMAT investigators could check the air quality, police said.
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