Meth Menace: Explosive, mobile reactions
You're at risk when you're near a meth lab
Even if you've never seen methamphetamine, you are at risk when you're staying in a hotel room, driving down the road or walking into a building.
Law enforcement throughout the region tell us the one pot method that's commonly used to cook meth in the North Country and Vermont is putting meth makers on the move.
One pots are extremely portable, it’s just several chemicals put into a two-liter bottle, making this explosive reaction small enough to fit in a backpack, car or in the hotel room right next door.
Dashcam video from Kalamazoo, Mich. shows an SUV bursting into flames, after investigators say the meth lab inside it exploded.
Then in the crowded parking lot of a Tennessee hospital, another mobile meth lab erupts.
“We're going to see more meth labs in general and just because of the portability of it, you're going to see it in all kinds of different places,” Lt. Brent Davison said.
In February, New York state police arrested 27-year-old Ryan Tetreault after they say officers discovered a working meth lab in the car he was driving down Chapman Street in the middle of Rouses Point.
“Some of them need it so bad that they just pick the stuff up that they need and they just start cooking it right away and they can't wait until they get home,” Davison added.
“It's a particularly dangerous situation, but they seem to do it anyway,” Sgt. Chad Niles said.
These labs are so portable because you need almost no equipment aside from the ingredients and a small bottle. All you have to do is put everything in and just shake it. The problem is it's extremely volatile.
“It's an active volatile chemical situation in a vehicle that's moving around,” Niles said.
Once the reaction gets going, toxic gases begin to build inside. If you don't release them through a process known as burping, the bottle can expand and burst into flames.
“Should that catch on fire while he was going down the highway it would certainly result in some sort of accident,” Niles added.
But it's not just cars, Newschannel five has learned meth labs have started two north country fires this year.
“Both places had people residing there that we are investigating for using meth, and there was no other reason for the fire,” Davison said.
The Keeseville Fire Department chief told Newschannel five they were never able to determine a cause after flames tore through this a garage on Grove Street in February. Even so, state police investigators suspect it may have been sparked by a meth lab.
“The fires get so hot that the evidence that we would need to find out for sure gets destroyed,” Davison explained.
It can happen anywhere.
Like at the Villa Motel in Keeseville, where state police arrested and charged Shawn Gushlaw after they were called in for a fire and discovered a working meth lab last July.
Gushlaw reportedly became upset and tried to escape by throwing chemicals at the owner.
“I don't put any location out of the realm of possibilities,” Davison said.
Officers say they've already found meth ingredients in backpacks and active cooks could be next.
“You know one of my biggest fears is we're going to start seeing it in public places. It's like a bomb strapped to your back,” Davison said.
Something else to consider is if there is a meth lab discovered in a car, there are no state regulations in either Vermont or New York requiring the car to be cleaned or for future owners to be notified.
And investigators say with such a small confined space, chemical contamination is likely to be high and that can lead to potentially serious health problems.
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