Fourteen staff members at a US animal shelter have been taken to hospital after the FBI used an incinerator at the facility to burn two pounds of seized methamphetamine. Staff and some 75 cats and dogs were evacuated from the Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter in Billings, Montana, when the building filled with smoke on Wednesday.
The incinerator is usually employed by animal control officers to dispose of euthanised animals, but local authorities stated it can also be utilized by law enforcement for the destruction of narcotics. The cats and dogs have been relocated, and those most exposed to smoke are being monitored.
The negative pressure in the building caused the smoke to go in the wrong direction, according to Assistant City Administrator Kevin Iffland. Shelter Executive Director Triniti Halverson revealed she was taken by surprise regarding the narcotics disposal, stating, 'I can firmly and confidently say that, as the Executive Director, I did not know that they were disposing of extremely dangerous narcotics onsite.'
Many employees donned masks and assisted in evacuating the animals but were exposed to smoke for over an hour, leading to their hospital visit where they spent three hours in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to counteract smoke inhalation effects.
FBI spokesperson Sandra Barker indicated that using external facilities for controlled drug evidence burns is a routine practice. The affected animals received veterinary care and were placed in temporary housing, including four litters of kittens closely monitored for health. A restoration team began decontaminating the building, projected to take two weeks to a month. Halverson expressed the incident as 'heartbreaking' and is seeking public donations for supplies to aid in their recovery.
The incinerator is usually employed by animal control officers to dispose of euthanised animals, but local authorities stated it can also be utilized by law enforcement for the destruction of narcotics. The cats and dogs have been relocated, and those most exposed to smoke are being monitored.
The negative pressure in the building caused the smoke to go in the wrong direction, according to Assistant City Administrator Kevin Iffland. Shelter Executive Director Triniti Halverson revealed she was taken by surprise regarding the narcotics disposal, stating, 'I can firmly and confidently say that, as the Executive Director, I did not know that they were disposing of extremely dangerous narcotics onsite.'
Many employees donned masks and assisted in evacuating the animals but were exposed to smoke for over an hour, leading to their hospital visit where they spent three hours in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to counteract smoke inhalation effects.
FBI spokesperson Sandra Barker indicated that using external facilities for controlled drug evidence burns is a routine practice. The affected animals received veterinary care and were placed in temporary housing, including four litters of kittens closely monitored for health. A restoration team began decontaminating the building, projected to take two weeks to a month. Halverson expressed the incident as 'heartbreaking' and is seeking public donations for supplies to aid in their recovery.
