Smoke from FBI meth incineration sends Montana animal shelter workers to hospital

BILLINGS, Mont. — Smoke from about two pounds of methamphetamine that federal agents incinerated inside a city animal shelter filled the building and sent 14 workers to the hospital, city officials said.

The smoke began to fill parts of the Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter during a controlled drug burn Wednesday, apparently because negative pressure drew fumes back into the facility, Billings Assistant City Administrator Kevin Iffland said Friday. A fan intended to reverse pressure and push smoke out of the building was not readily available, he said. The incinerator is normally used to cremate animal carcasses but is also used periodically by local law enforcement and the FBI to dispose of seized narcotics.

Fourteen shelter workers evacuated and were taken to a hospital for treatment, Iffland said. Shelter director Triniti Halverson said staff members experienced headaches, sore throats, dizziness, sweating and coughing; most spent several hours in an oxygen chamber. Some symptoms have lingered for several workers, she said. Halverson said she initially assumed the smoke came from burning animal carcasses because she had not been told about the drug burn. "Not a party," she said.

The shelter’s roughly 75 dogs and cats were relocated or placed in foster homes, Iffland and Halverson said. Four litters of kittens were more heavily exposed because they were kept in a closed room that received more smoke; staff monitored them closely, Halverson said.

An FBI spokesperson, Sandra Barker, said the agency routinely uses outside facilities to conduct controlled burns of drug evidence and referred further questions to Billings officials. Iffland said FBI agents present at the scene were told by their supervisor to go to the hospital; an animal control supervisor who was present declined hospital treatment.

The city is investigating whether the incinerator was operating at the temperature required to prevent toxic emissions during the burn, Iffland said. The shelter will remain closed until testing determines whether contamination occurred. Shelter workers were tested for potential exposure; Iffland said he did not yet have results.

The incident drew concern from residents. Billings resident Jay Ettlemen, who went to the shelter Friday to donate dog food, said he was upset and questioned why narcotics were destroyed inside city limits rather than at a more remote site.

The use of municipal incinerators for periodic narcotics disposal brings short-term operational issues for animal shelters and raises public-health questions when containment measures fail. City officials said they are reviewing procedures for controlled burns, ventilation protocols and communication with shelter staff and the public to reduce the risk of exposure in future operations.