In what has been reported as a botched FBI methamphetamine burn in Montana, 14 people, all animal shelter workers, were left hospitalized, with multiple animals evacuated.
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As reported by KRTV, the incident occurred on Wednesday, September 10, at the Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter in Billings. At around noon, the FBI used a crematorium shared with the animal shelter to perform a drug burn.
However, thick smoke began entering the animal shelter. The shelter’s director, Triniti Halverson, recalled to the outlet how she smelled a chemical odor coming out of the building.
She then knew that something was being incinerated in the crematorium. Soon enough, her staff members began displaying symptoms such as dizziness and coughing.
Promptly, animal shelter employees managed to evacuate the animals inside the building. Approximately 50 to 70 animals were inside the building, as reported by the outlet.
“We were trying to pull everybody out to get them out of that smoke, and there was billowing smoke out of the room,” Trap-Neuter Return Coordinator Lisette Worthey said. “Some of us who were trying to pull the kittens out, myself included, started having symptoms, headaches, little bit of dizziness, lightheadedness.”
At the time, the employees didn’t know exactly what they had inhaled. They, however, were transported to a local clinic to be treated in hyperbaric oxygen chambers. In total, 14 animal shelter employees were treated. They would later learned that they were exposed to methamphetamine fumes.
According to Assistant City Administrator Kevin Iffland, a negative air pressure issue is what caused the meth smoke to backdraft into the animal shelter. Apparently, a fan designed to negate negative pressure was never turned on.
Past Incidents, Concerns, Frustrations
Unfortunately, the shelter has previously expressed its concern about the shared use of the crematorium. While the shelter uses it to cremate animal remains, authorities also use it to burn confiscated narcotics.
According to Halverson, they had to previously evacuate the building multiple times in the past after smoke leaked back into the building.
Regarding the animals, they were rescued and washed to remove any chemical residue. However, the animal shelter is concerned, given some of the pre-existing conditions that some week-old kittens had at the time of the incident.
“They’re babies that already have lung issues and low immune systems,” Halverson added. “I am worried about them, obviously, but we’re gonna do everything we can and just keep an eye on them.”
All employees were treated and released from the hospital, as well as some FBI agents. Halverson, however, has expressed her frustration over what she believes could have been a preventable situation.
“The fact that it is continuing to happen, and I had 14 staff members exposed to smoke inhalation from methamphetamine, plus all of my animals, is not okay,” Halverson said. “It should have been prevented.”