More than a dozen employees have been hospitalized, and 75 dogs and cats have been displaced after the FBI conducted a drug burn of confiscated methamphetamine at an animal shelter in Billings, Montana, on Wednesday.
The Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter explained in a statement that the smoke was emanating from a contained but faulty burn in the incinerator located on its premises.
“As the Executive Director, I can assert with certainty that I was unaware they were disposing of highly hazardous narcotics on-site,” stated Triniti Halverson, Executive Director of the Yellowstone Valley Animal Center.
“When smoke began to pour out from one of our feline isolation rooms, I instructed the staff to put on COVID masks and start evacuating the animals,” Halverson continued.
The shelter noted that the incinerator is typically utilized by animal control for the disposal of euthanized animals, but officials had informed them that it could also be used by law enforcement for the incineration of confiscated drugs.
Several staff members who were exposed to the smoke were taken to the emergency room to treat smoke inhalation. Meanwhile, the affected animals were given temporary shelter and veterinary attention.
YVAC acknowledged that the building has begun being decontaminated by a restoration team. The process is expected to take two weeks to a month.
