METH FUMES AT MOTEL SEND 29 TO HOSPITAL

GROVE, Okla. - Twenty-nine people were treated at a Grove hospital, with 16
hospitalized for inhalation of methamphetamine fumes, in the wake of a raid
Tuesday at a Grove motel.

The Timber Ridge Best Western at 120 E. 18th St. was evacuated by law
enforcement and emergency response personnel shortly after noon.

Debbie Gallier, Grove General Hospital spokeswoman, said those hospitalized
overnight for observation and treatment were all listed as being in good
medical condition.

Grove police Sgt. Tracy Bloss said four Grove officers, two firemen, a
paramedic and an officer from the 13th Judicial District drug task force
were among those overcome by fumes and taken to the hospital. The others
were motel staff and guests.

Bloss said a man in his 20s and a woman in her 30s checked in at the motel
early Tuesday and were given the room where the suspected meth-making
ingredients were found.

"Motel housekeeping noticed some bad fumes coming from the room and
notified management, who called us," Bloss said.

He said the couple were arrested at the hospital, and were among those
being treated overnight. "They will be kept under supervision at the
hospital until they can be released from medical treatment to our custody,"
he said.

Bloss said their identities were not being released pending the filing of
charges. He said they were from other towns in Oklahoma.

Bloss said specialists from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and
Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation were called to dismantle the drug
equipment in the motel room and dispose of the chemicals. He said he did
not know the type of chemical or fumes responsible for the medical emergency.

Gallier said those who were brought to the hospital or who came in by
themselves suffered symptoms including headache, nausea, vomiting and
itching. She said all of those brought to the emergency room were given
20-minute showers, X-rays and respiratory tests, with some being placed on
oxygen and intravenous fluids.

"Those most severely affected were given further lab tests at repeated
intervals and appropriate medications," she said.

Gallier said off-duty nurses and aides, emergency medical technicians and
other staff members came in to assist.

"We're still a pretty small, close-knit community, and when the word got
out that the hospital had an overload, we had as many people responding as
we could use," she said.

She said F.C. Eaton, the staff physician on emergency room duty at the
time, supervised the hospital’s response.

"At one point, the DEA and OSBI personnel were saying we might have to
evacuate a part of town downwind from the motel, but as the fumes
dispersed, they determined that would not be necessary," she said

"We were also in constant contact with the Oklahoma Poison Control Center
for updated information on the types of chemicals affecting the people we
were seeing."

Law enforcement personnel have said the greatest danger of toxic fumes in a
meth-making operation is from phosphorus.