By DAVID SCHOUT
A HOUSE fire in Noble Park on Monday morning was reportedly the result of a faulty hydroponic cannabis crop.
Police came across the fire on a three-unit block on Corrigan Road about 2.40am, and alerted nearby residents.
CLICK HERE for our picture gallery of the fire.
CFA crews from Springvale, Dandenong, Noble Park and Frankston managed to contain the fire to the block without it affecting neighbours. No one was in the house at the time
Detective Senior Constable Nick Lamb from Dandenong CIU said the hydroponic equipment ‘‘contributed to the fire’’.
‘‘The fire has started in one of the units where there was a hydroponic crop,’’ he said.
‘‘It then spread to the other two units which suffered damage from the fire.
‘‘Investigations are ongoing in regards to the cannabis crops.’’
The fire comes days after a similar fire involving a disused cannabis crop house in Noble Park was deemed to be suspicious.
Acting Detective Sergeant Luke Kirton of Greater Dandenong CIU said a neighbour heard a loud explosion and noticed fire coming from the roof of a single-storey brick veneer house at Buckley Street about 3.50am.
He said the dwelling was vacant and no longer used as a crop house at the time of the suspicious fire.
In September, Greater Dandenong tasking unit police seized 327 plants growing hydroponically in eight rooms of the house.
Police estimated at the time the plants had a wholesale value of more than $1 million.
