Meth burn by FBI smokes out Montana animal shelter

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BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A cloud of smoke from two pounds of methamphetamine seized by the FBI and incinerated inside a Montana animal shelter sent its workers to the hospital, city officials in Billings said.

The smoke started to fill the building during a drug burn on Wednesday, apparently because of negative pressure that sucked it back inside, Billings Assistant City Administrator Kevin Iffland said Friday. A fan was supposed to be on hand in such situations to reverse the pressure so smoke would flow out of the building, but Iffland said it wasn’t readily available.

The incinerator is used primarily to burn carcasses of animals euthanized or collected by the city’s animal control division. But every couple of months local law enforcement or FBI agents use it to burn seized narcotics, Iffland said.

Fourteen workers from the nonprofit Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter evacuated and went to the hospital. The shelter's 75 dogs and cats were relocated or put into foster homes, said Iffland and shelter director Triniti Halverson.

The shelter shares space with Billings' animal control division. When smoke started filling parts of the building, Halverson assumed it was from burning carcasses because she said they had never known about the drug burns.

Halverson said she had a very intense headache and sore throat, and others had dizziness, sweating and coughing.

“Not a party,” she said.

The workers found out it was methamphetamine smoke through a call from a city official while they were the hospital, Halverson said. Most of the staff spent several hours in an oxygen chamber for treatment.

Symptoms have lingered for some workers, Halverson said.

They also were closely monitoring four litters of kittens that got more heavily exposed because they were in a closed room with lots of smoke, she said.

The FBI routinely uses outside facilities to conduct controlled drug evidence burns, agency spokesperson Sandra Barker said. She referred further questions to Billings officials.

A city animal control supervisor who was present for Wednesday's burn declined to go the hospital, Iffland said. The FBI agents were told to go to the hospital by their supervisor.

The incinerator is meant to operate at a certain temperature so it doesn't emit toxins. Iffland said officials were trying to determine if it was at the appropriate temperature Wednesday.

The shelter will remain closed until it can be tested for contamination. Shelter workers were tested for potential exposure, and Iffland said he did not know the results.

Billings resident Jay Ettlemen went to the shelter on Friday to donate dog food and said he was angry when he found out about the drug burns.

“Why the hell are they destroying drugs inside the city limits?” Ettlemen asked. “There’s so many other places in the middle of nowhere.”