A major explosion in a Dunfermline street was caused by a man trying to make “hash oil” at home.
Anthony Alari admitted causing the Dewar Street blast in July last year after trying to produce honey butane oil – a derivative of cannabis and butane.
The ferocity of the explosion shattered the building’s front and back windows and blew a hole through to the adjoining flat.
The rest of the street was evacuated as fire spread.
Alari, 36, ended up in a burns unit in Livingston for two weeks.
Procurator fiscal depute Claire Bremner told Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court Alari had been attempting to mix cannabis with butane in a glass jar to produce a yellow capsule like a hard boiled sweet, which can be burned and inhaled.
The fiscal depute described the process as highly flammable.
According to US publication Healthline, honey butane oil – a form of hash oil – is a concentrated cannabis extract more potent than other cannabis plant products.
Explosion
Firefighters were called to Dewar Street at around 1.50pm on July 3 after receiving 999 calls about an explosion within a first-floor flat.
The fiscal depute said the extent of the blast caused both the front and rear windows of the property to shatter immediately.
Homes were evacuated as firefighters battled to extinguish the fire, which spread to adjoining flats.
Ms Bremner said two witnesses saw Alari running from the property in a distressed state with burns to his hands.
One took him inside and doused him with cold water from a shower.
The fiscal depute said: “On attendance, a watch commander (fire service) spoke to the accused who said the fire started because he had been using butane gas with cannabis.
“Due to his injuries, the accused was taken to the burns unit at St John’s Hospital (Livingston).
“Within the locus, the watch commander said there were ten small, used butane cannisters in various rooms.”
The court heard police talked to Alari’s mother, who said he had been growing cannabis in his room and told her earlier that day he was going to extract from the dry cannabis leaves with butane gas.
Ms Bremner said Alari’s mother had been reading in the living room at the time of the explosion and believed the boiler had exploded.
The fiscal depute said: “She said after the explosion the accused said: ‘I’m sorry, it’s cannabis’.”
The fire was finally extinguished hours later.
The explosion in the kitchen caused a hole to be blown through the wall to an adjoining property and a big crack to an external wall.
The fire service was unsure if the building was structurally sound and a number of people had to leave their homes, with some going to live in hotels.
In the following weeks, structural engineers assessed the first-floor flat and surrounding properties and confirmed they were secure.
Sentence deferred
Sheriff James Williamson adjourned sentencing until June 6 for background reports and for the Crown to obtain further information on the science behind the exact cause of the explosion.
Alari pled guilty to culpably and recklessly attempting to produce honey butane oil, causing an explosion endangering the lives of himself and the occupants of adjoining properties.
He also admitted a charge of producing cannabis at the property.
Alari, of Castleblair Park in Dunfermline, was released on bail meantime.
Residents left shocked
Residents told The Courier of their shock after the explosion.
Retired engineer Richard Jamieson, whose back garden looks on to the rear of the Dewar Street houses said: “I’ve never heard or seen anything like that in my life.
“There were flames leaping out of the kitchen window.”
Apprentice joiner Ethan Morgan, 19, whose family live a block away from the terrace affected said: “I had just parked the car and heard there was just a big bang.
“I went around the back to our kitchen, looked up and saw flames coming out of the flat’s window.
“It’s like stuff you see in a movie.”
