Chief: Butane May be Behind Blast that Injured Los Angeles Firefighters

The weekend explosion at a smoke shop supply firm in downtown Los Angeles that injured 12 firefighters may have been caused by the chemicals stored inside, the chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department said Monday, May 18.

Over the weekend, authorities said the chemicals inside Smoke Tokes – among them butane and small canisters of carbon dioxide, many found strewn in nearby streets after the blast – are what fueled the intense flames and set off a massive explosion, although not necessarily what ignited the fire.

“It is possible the butane had something to do with it,” said Chief Ralph Terrazas in an interview with Fox 11. “It’s possible it had something to do with the storage (of chemicals).”

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Among the 12 firefighters injured, several had severe burns and are recuperating at L.A. County-USC Medical Center. Three others have been released. Terrazas said all of the firefighters were recovering.

Whether it was improper storage of the chemicals inside that sparked the blaze remains under investigation, Terrazas said.

The smoke and vape warehouse, at 327 E. Boyd St. before Saturday, advertised chemicals used for producing cannabis products, according to LAFD. Some cannabis companies use butane gas to extract THC from marijuana, so they can make more concentrated products, such as oils for vaporizer pens.

Bbutane used in the oil-extraction process can ignite from heat, a spark or an open flame.

Since butane is highly flammable, cannabis companies that want to legally use butane or other volatile solvents need local city permits and inspections by fire code officials. They also have to pay tens of thousands of dollars to get a special license from the state’s Department of Public Health. And they have to use a professional closed loop extraction system, which prevents any gases from entering the air, where they can easily ignite if there’s a flame.

There is no example on record of such a disaster at a state-licensed facility in California.

The Boyd Street facility isn’t licensed to sell or manufacture cannabis products, according to regulators. In fact, no business in Los Angeles has received a license to do cannabis extraction with flammable gases such as butane, according to Rayna Plummer, spokeswoman for the city’s Department of Cannabis Regulation.

Smoke Tokes is in a stretch of the city’s downtown that’s become known for supplying products to the illicit vape market, including facilities tied to the vape health crisis of 2019.

While the fire wasn’t tied to a legal business, opponents of legal marijuana seized on the opportunity to condemn the industry.

Kevin Sabet, head of the anti-legalization group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, tweeted footage from the scene of the fire and said: “Pot industry — this is on you. … Our blind acceptance of legal pot has dangerous consequences.”

The California chapter of the marijuana advocacy group NORML put out a statement Monday trying to distance Smoke Tokes from regulated state operators. Chapter deputy director Ellen Komp said the fire serves as an example of why fees, taxes and regulations on the legal industry need to be brought down to “reasonable” levels. Otherwise, Komp said, “illegal cannabis operations will continue, and we will pay the public safety and health consequences.”

Politics aside, the blast is setting off a review of similar businesses around the city.

Terrazas told Fox 11 that LAFD fire prevention investigators would be performing “windshield surveys” of other wholesale suppliers of cannabis chemicals.

Investigators with the Los Angeles Police Department were involved in piecing together what happened Saturday at the downtown shop.

A spokeswoman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Los Angeles said the agency was sending investigators to help comb the wreckage to determine why the store exploded.

The ATF is sending a National Response Team to the site, which state or local officials can request, to help in processing scenes of explosions or arson incidents.

Recent incidents in the LA area that involved help from an ATF NRT include the 2019 Conception boat fire disaster off the coast of Ventura and the 2014 Da Vinci complex fire also in downtown LA.

It remains unclear whether anything criminal took place at Smoke Tokes.

Officials cautioned that they did not have any information at this point that would lead them to file criminal charges.

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