Fourteen workers at a Montana animal shelter were rushed to the hospital after breathing in meth-laced smoke from a botched FBI drug incineration in the same building, officials said.
Staffers at the Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter in Billings fell ill Wednesday when fumes from an FBI meth burn seeped through a shared ventilation system, according to city officials.
The employees were treated in hyperbaric oxygen chambers at Billings Clinic after reporting dizziness, headaches and coughing, authorities told KRTV-TV.
Shelter director Triniti Halverson said the smoke poured in within minutes of the crematorium fire, forcing workers to evacuate dozens of animals.
“Then the little bit longer that I could smell it, I knew that it was something burning in the crematorium, like the incinerary,” Halverson told the outlet.
“Several of my staff were coughing, sweating, just dizzy, physically feeling ill.”
Izzy Zalenski, the community engagement coordinator, said the shelter’s HVAC system was not designed to handle chemical burns and quickly pulled contaminated air inside.
“It’s never smelled like that before,” said Zalenski. “The HVAC system is the exact same as a typical office. It’s not made for an animal shelter.”
Lisette Worthey, the trap-neuter-return coordinator who is responsible for stray and feral cats, said staff scrambled to move 50 to 70 animals out of the smoke while some rescuers themselves grew sick.
“We were trying to pull everybody out to get them out of that smoke, and there was billowing smoke out of the room,” said Worthey.
“Some of us who were trying to pull the kittens out, myself included, started having symptoms, headaches, little bit of dizziness, lightheadedness.”
City officials later confirmed the haze was caused by methamphetamine evidence being destroyed in the incinerator during a routine FBI drug burn.
Assistant City Administrator Kevin Iffland said a “negative air pressure issue” pulled the toxic smoke back into the shelter instead of venting it outside.
Iffland acknowledged that safety fans meant to offset the pressure were never switched on and said the city is investigating why protocols failed.
Several FBI personnel present at the burn were also hospitalized for exposure but were released the same day, officials said.
Halverson said she had warned the city for years about smoke leaking into the shelter during drug burns but her concerns went unanswered.
She added that while animal remains incinerations never caused problems, chemical evidence burns repeatedly filled the shelter with harsh odors.
Halverson said she even offered to pay for private cremation services to avoid the danger, but the city declined.
All animals were evacuated, washed and placed in foster care or with veterinary clinics to prevent chemical exposure, according to shelter staff.
Several weeks-old kittens with respiratory issues were taken to a nearby veterinary clinic for special monitoring, Halverson said.
Despite lingering headaches and coughs, all 14 employees were released from the hospital by Thursday morning.
The shelter remains closed while restoration crews clean the building and officials determine whether it is safe to reopen.
