By Adrien Taylor
Three men have been arrested after a P lab in an Auckland motel room caught fire last night.
The fire service went to the Ranfurly Evergreen motel in Epsom just after 10pm last night expecting to find an ordinary kitchen fire, but when they discovered a P lab they called police.
The motel owners are not giving details about the alleged offenders, or the state of the room, but a decontamination expert says P labs can cause irreversible damage to buildings.
“It’s getting harder and harder to decontaminate the surfaces. So depending on the readings we’ll determine whether we decontaminate or strip the walls out, and a lot of the time it’s cheaper to strip the walls out,” says decontamination expert, Victor Boyd.
Neighbours say the occupants of the room managed to flee the motel last night, but returned this morning only to be arrested at the scene by waiting police.
The men are understood to be of Asian descent and were wearing almost identical clothing – black leather jackets and jeans.
Neighbours say they are surprised by last night's events, but Mr Boyd says roughly one in 10 of his P lab decontaminations are at motels, and makeshift labs can be set up in just 24 hours.
Despite the simplicity of setting up motel room P labs, the motel association says this bust is rare because motel owners are vigilant, and trained to see the warning signs.
Regardless, if your stay in a motel is followed by prolonged hay fever-like symptoms, experts say there is a chance P makers stayed in your room before you did.
3 News.