14 Shelter Workers Hospitalized After FBI Burns Seized Meth at Montana Animal Shelter
Incineration of about two pounds of methamphetamine filled Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter with smoke, evacuating staff and roughly 75 animals; decontamination expected to take weeks.
Fourteen employees of the Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter in Billings, Montana, were hospitalized after an FBI-controlled burn of seized methamphetamine filled the facility with smoke on Wednesday, officials said.
The agency used the shelter's on-site incinerator to destroy roughly two pounds of methamphetamine, a device normally used by animal control officers to dispose of euthanized animals. Staff and about 75 cats and dogs were evacuated when smoke entered the building; several workers and animals were reported to have been exposed.
Shelter Executive Director Triniti Halverson said she was not informed that a drug burn would take place on site. "I can firmly and confidently say that, as the Executive Director, I did not know that they were disposing of extremely dangerous narcotics onsite," she wrote in a statement reported by local media. Halverson said staff helped evacuate animals and that some employees were exposed to smoke for more than an hour before leaving the building.
Fourteen staff members were taken to an emergency room after several began feeling ill. They spent about three hours in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to treat the effects of smoke inhalation, Halverson said. The most heavily exposed animals were given veterinary care and placed in temporary housing; four litters of kittens who had been confined to a room during the incident are being closely monitored.
An assistant city administrator, Kevin Iffland, said the incident was caused when smoke was pushed into the building "in the wrong direction" because of negative pressure. An FBI spokesperson, Sandra Barker, told CBS News the agency routinely uses outside facilities for controlled evidence burns.
Officials said the incinerator on the shelter grounds can be used by law enforcement to burn seized narcotics. Halverson said a restoration team has begun decontaminating the shelter and that the process could take at least two weeks to a month before the facility is safe to reoccupy.
The shelter has been temporarily displaced. Halverson described the event as "heartbreaking" and asked the public for donations of supplies such as pet food, blankets and bottles to support staff, volunteers, fosters and the animals while the facility is cleaned and operations are relocated.
Local and federal officials did not immediately release a full timeline of the burn or whether prior notifications were made to shelter leadership. The shelter said those animals with the most smoke exposure remain under veterinary supervision.
Health officials generally classify smoke inhalation as a risk for respiratory irritation and other complications; in this incident, emergency personnel used hyperbaric oxygen therapy for staff reportedly affected by the smoke. The FBI and city officials have not provided further medical detail on the hospitalized workers' conditions.
The Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter is among several municipal and nonprofit facilities that operate crematoria and incinerators for animal remains. Use of such equipment for law enforcement evidence disposal is uncommon in public reporting but is permitted in some jurisdictions, officials said. The shelter's executive director emphasized the emotional impact on staff and the community and reiterated an appeal for public support while the facility undergoes decontamination and temporary relocation of animals.