Marijuana Growing Believed to Have Caused New York Fire

Fire officials in Niagara Falls, N.Y., say a marijuana-growing operation appears to be the source of an early morning electrical fire at an apartment building.

Fire crews were putting out the fire at 3:40 a.m. Monday when they discovered about 100 plants, along with lighting and other growing equipment, in a vacant upstairs unit where the fire began.

Investigators told The Buffalo News that the growing operation’s use of electricity probably overloaded the system and caused the fire.

Four residents of the building’s two other units got out safely.

Niagara Falls police say they’re interviewing potential suspects, but they’re not saying yet whether any had been living in the building where the fire broke out.