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Apartment complex explosion leads Cortland police to meth lab

syracuse.com, May 20, 2014

Cortland, N.Y. -- An explosion inside a Cortland apartment complex led investigators to an active meth lab Monday, police said.

Cortland police provided the following account:

At around 2:05 p.m., the Cortland police and fire departments were called to an explosion at 132 Main St.

Several apartments were occupied and people were walking in the hallways when emergency crews arrived. The fire department evacuated the building and began an investigation.

They discovered that the explosion came from apartment No. 12, where they found minor damage to the bathroom and hallway ceilings. They also smelled a chemical odor.

Once they determined the apartment was safe enough, city police and a state police crew specializing in contaminated crime scenes secured the apartment.

At 8:15 p.m. investigators found multiple products and equipment used in the manufacturing of methamphetamine. They also found finished meth and confiscated it.

They determined that three people who were inside the complex during the explosion were exposed to the chemicals. These three people were treated and released from Cortland Regional Medical Center.

A resident in the apartment, Kimberly A. Cummings, 30, was charged with third degree unlawful manufacture of methamphetamine, a felony, as well as second-degree reckless endangerment and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, both misdemeanors.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Cummings was awaiting arraignment, police said.