Apparent PCP Laboratory Discovered Amid Condo Blaze

A laboratory apparently used for making PCP, a dangerous hallucinogenic drug, was found yesterday amid the smoke and flame of a fire at a condominium in the Largo area, authorities said.

A fire official who went to the scene in the 10100 block of Campus Way South said "without any doubt this is a PCP lab," according to Mark E. Brady, the chief spokesman for the Prince George's County Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department.

The fire, which was quickly extinguished, was determined to be suspicious in nature, Brady said in a statement, and was being investigated. A hazardous materials team was called to the scene to deal with the substances typically associated with PCP labs, he said.

In a report published six years ago, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration said PCP abusers exhibit hostile behavior that emerges in "extremely violent episodes."

Washington has been cited as a major market for PCP; users dip cigarettes into it before smoking them. Generally, authorities have said, PCP used here is made elsewhere.

One resident of the building where the fire occurred said it was accompanied by "fumes . . . like rubber burning."

Another resident said that he knew nothing about the occupants of the apartment where the fire apparently started. "I only saw these people one time," he said.