MONMOUTH — Three men were arrested and a firefighter and two drug agents required medical treatment after a suspected drug lab was investigated on Cressey Road.

James Renaud, 33, and Robert Dumont Jr., 28, of Monmouth, along with Brandon Proctor, 42, of Oxford, each was charged with trafficking in methamphetamine, a highly addictive stimulant.

Proctor and Renaud are formerly of Lewiston.

Police arrested the men Wednesday night at 307 Cressey Road. On Thursday, a team of drug agents, local police, firefighters and health officials were back at the scene as the investigation continued.

Agents from the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency spent part of the day collecting evidence at the scene, which consists of a trailer and several outbuildings.

Two MDEA agents and a Monmouth firefighter were treated by local paramedics after overheating while processing the crime scene in chemical protective gear.

The investigation had to be halted several times throughout the day to allow volatile compounds to ventilate, Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland said.

Police said Renaud and Dumont are related and that the mobile home is owned by one of their relatives. Drug agents began investigating after receiving information that the suspects were manufacturing meth at the home.

Drug agents found evidence of a meth operation in the home, in a vehicle and in nearby woods, McCausland said.

The suspects were taken to the Kennebec County Jail in Augusta. By Thursday morning, investigators at the scene were joined by officials from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. Part of Cressey Road was blocked to traffic before the team left the scene later in the day.

According to McCausland, evidence seized by the team will be taken to the Health and Environmental Testing Lab for chemical analysis. Hazardous materials found at the scene were turned over to the DEP for disposal.

The two drug agents and the firefighter who succumbed to heat on Thursday did not require hospital treatment. The team is accustomed to working in heavy protective suits, drug officials said. But because of Thursday’s heat and humidity, they had to take frequent breaks for health reasons.

Cressey Road is off Route 202 between Highmoor Farm and Springbrook Golf Club.

The trailer on Cressey Road was the 10th suspected meth lab MDEA agents have investigated this year.

mlaflamme@sunjournal.com

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