Blaze kills two firefighters, pot grower charged with murder (UPDATED 11/23/05)

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fruitfly

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Blaze kills two firefighters, pot grower charged with murder

Murder charged in blaze that killed two firefighters
By DAVID B. CARUSO , The Associated Press
8/21/2004

The man police believe was responsible for the array has been arrested and charged with third-degree murder.

Fire Capt. John Taylor, 53, and firefighter Rey Rubio, 42, died when they were trapped by quick-moving flames as they worked near the source of the smoky blaze in the home's cellar.

Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham called suspect Daniel Brough "reckless," "foolish" and "greedy" for his role in the deaths, and said he should have known that the growing array posed a fire hazard.

"This is unacceptable criminal conduct," she said.

Brough, 35, faces other charges, including marijuana possession, involuntary manslaughter and causing a catastrophe.

Fire officials said the blaze apparently started in the electrical circuits set up to run the equipment used to nurture the marijuana plants, and spread more quickly because the hot lights had dried out the wood in the closet.

Authorities say the firefighters were working in the basement of the row house in the Port Richmond section of the city when they ran into trouble. Taylor triggered a distress button on his radio, but rescuers could not get to them in time.

The men appear to have died of smoke inhalation, officials said.

Taylor was a 32-year veteran of the department. He had a wife and two children. Rubio has one child, and is survived by his mother, father and nine siblings. He had been fighting fires for 12 years.

Both men had been decorated for their service to the city. They were the second and third firefighters to die this year in Philadelphia. Fire Lt. Derrick Harvey, 45, suffered fatal burns fighting a blaze in January.

Black bunting hung Saturday from the facade of the station house where the men served. The city had proposed shuttering the station earlier this year to save money, but the plan was put on hold.

Friday's fire in the city's Port Richmond section was reported at 8 p.m. and was under control within an hour. No occupants of the house were harmed.

Link
 
"The men appear to have died of smoke inhalation, officials said."

*stifles a laugh*
 
Ok, so if your house catches on fire and firefighters die putting out the blaze you are automatically charged with murder ? Is that the intent of all MJ gorwers to "murder" firefighters ? Becasue that is what they make it sound like.

8(
 
Ok, so if your house catches on fire and firefighters die putting out the blaze you are automatically charged with murder ? Is that the intent of all MJ gorwers to "murder" firefighters ? Becasue that is what they make it sound like.
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Exactly, this is ridiculous.

There is not a single other case where a fire was caused due to negligence and a firefighter was killed then the property owner charged with murder.

And infact, unintentional negligence does not even fit the definition of murder, so even in this case the charge is frivelous. At best the person could only be charged with manslaughter because the death was accidental and unintentional. Whether the negligence was related to other criminal activity like cultivating illegal drugs is irrelevant.

Futhermore, every firefighter knows they are putting their life on the line for their job and they're trained to deal with life-threatening situations. That's what they train for. That's what they're paid for. So it just makes these charges even more ridiculous.

It's unfortunant that the defendant will not be able to sue the prosecutor for bringing up false and frivelous charges. But hopefully an ethics committee will force them to resign, later. You'd have a hard time finding a better example of such a gross abuse and misuse of the law.
 
Brough, 35, faces other charges, including marijuana possession, involuntary manslaughter and causing a catastrophe.

What the fuck?
 
Causing a catastrophe - I didnt even know that was even an offence.

I will be more careful in future.

Mr Man
 
So, if my grandmother decides she wants to grow tomatos indoors during the winter, and purchases a "growing array" should she be sent to jail as well?
 
Manslaughter charges are common in these sorts of cases when the act involves a felony in commision. Such as if a innocent driver of a vehicle is killed while a fleeing suspect is evading police and strikes another vehicle.

Third degree murder in many states equals 1st degree manslaughter, or death caused by a careless, wreckless or felonious act. Some states it constitutes some sort of intent by the suspect. But there was obviously no intent, no matter what the illegal activity he was doing.

2 fireman died leaving wives and kids and the communtiy wants blood sorry to say.

Never heard of causing a catastrophe. Sounds like inciting a riot charges.
 
-=ReD-hAzE=- said:
But if the house catches fire and firemen die because of the tomato growing array... then grandma gettin' the chair!
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he got the charges because he was growing a controlled substance, not because of the indoor array... remember kids. .Pot is a drug and it is illegal too :p
 
UPDATE

Murder Charged Tossed in Pa. Deaths
Associated Press
October 13, 2004

PHILADELPHIA Oct. 12, 2004 — A judge threw out murder charges Tuesday against a man whose basement marijuana-growing equipment overheated and started a blaze that killed two firefighters.

Judge Teresa Deni said prosecutors had not shown that 35-year-old Daniel Brough was acting with malice when he set up high-powered lights and fans to help grow the plants.

The judge ordered Brough to face a trial on numerous other charges, including involuntary manslaughter, marijuana possession and causing a catastrophe.

A tangle of wires caught fire in August at Brough's rowhouse in the city's Port Richmond section. Firefighters John Taylor, 53, and Rey Rubio, 42, were found unconscious in the smoke-filled basement.

Defense attorney William T. Cannon argued that Brough's actions did not rise to the level of recklessness involved in, say, driving under the influence or holding a loaded gun to someone's head.

"I would suggest that when Mr. Brough grew marijuana in his home, the last thing he had in mind was that he was going to have a fire in his home, where lived his mother, where lived his children," Cannon said.

But prosecutor Edward Cameron referred to a notebook Brough had kept with repeated entries on how fast his plants were growing in a closet under the hot lights, and on the need to rig up fans and ducts to cool the confined space because of the heat buildup.

"He knew what caused it," Cameron said. "He basically created a firebomb in that basement."

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I would suggest that when Mr. Brough grew marijuana in his home, the last thing he had in mind was that he was going to have a fire in his home, where lived his mother, where lived his children," Cannon said.
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Wow! A Judge with some common sense!
 
Originally posted by -=ReD-hAzE=-
Brough, 35, faces other charges, including marijuana possession, involuntary manslaughter and causing a catastrophe.

What the fuck?


i laughed at that too. gw bush better be careful...

:)

alasdair
 
This idiot deserves what he gets.

If you want to break the law, fine. You want to test the limits and see how much you can get away with? Fine.

But if SOMEONE ELSE DIES because of your INCOMPETENCE, be prepared to pay the consequences.

My heart goes out to the families of the firefighters.
 
ChemicalBeauty said:
This idiot deserves what he gets.

If you want to break the law, fine. You want to test the limits and see how much you can get away with? Fine.

But if SOMEONE ELSE DIES because of your INCOMPETENCE, be prepared to pay the consequences.

My heart goes out to the families of the firefighters.
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so if a fire started in your house beause you weren't careful of extension plugs or something, and firemen died, would you be to blame? it was your negligence that started it.
 
what a fucking idiot! i hate how on bluelight people always cover for the people growing/using the illegal drugs. the firefighters were trying to save this dickheads house and it was his fault they died. it's even worse because it's an illegal drug.
 
It's not his fault that his house burned down. shit happens. are you saying you never make mistakes?
 
Yeah I agree that he shouldn't be charged with any sort of murder or manslaughter... he should have enough charges with all the other things as it is.
 
I wouldn't vote to convict unless he had tampered with the house wiring in some really extreme way. Electric appliances - be they a simply light or even a toast (and toasters made by GE double!) carry a fire risk. Your coffee maker can burn your home down even when you use it as instructed.

This to me is no different than my neighbor calling the cops on me because my music is too loud and the cop wrecking his car speeding to the scene and dying and them trying to charge me with murder because of it. If you really think that is reasonable I don't want to share the same country as you.
 
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