Pot House Fire: Chicago Home Catches Fire, Tips Off Authorities To Possible Weed Growing Operation

Responding to an early morning house fire on the Far South Side Monday, Chicago fire crews discovered a possible pot-growing operation in the attic of the smoldering home.

"What they discovered was what looked like a marijuana-growing operation," a Chicago Fire Department spokesman said according to the Tribune. "There were a lot of extension cords being run all over the place."

CPD said a still alarm — meaning the notice came by phone — was called at 8:45 a.m. for a fire in the 9700 block of South Eggleston Avenue, the Sun-Times reports.

No injuries were reported in the fire from the 2½-story residential frame building, the Sun-Times reports, though police took a 36-year-old man into custody following the incident.

Police officers found more than 10 suspected pot plants, though a CFD spokesman told the Tribune there's no liability of firefighters getting a contact high while battling the blaze.

"They're not affected," the spokesman said. "Firemen are on their own air supply."

Last fall, police inadvertently stumbled upon two football fields worth of marijuana plants "as big as Christmas trees" growing on Chicago's Southeast Side. Valued at up to $10 million, it was believed to be the largest marijuana bust in the city's history.