Three dead and 18 first responders sickened by apparent fentanyl exposure in New Mexico | New Mexico
Three people died and 18 first responders fell ill this week due to exposure to fentanyl at a rural New Mexico home, New Mexico state police said.
Police first found four people unconscious at the home in Mountainair, 90 miles (145 km) east of Albuquerque. It was stated that two of them died at the scene and the third died in the hospital where he was taken.
During the response, first responders were exposed to the substance and began experiencing symptoms such as nausea and dizziness, officials said. Eighteen of them were hospitalized and subsequently decontaminated.
Preliminary findings indicate that multiple powdered opioids, including fentanyl and para-fluorofentanyl (also known as P4 fentanyl) and methamphetamine, contributed to the deaths of three residents.
Authorities identified the deceased as 51-year-old Mika Rascon and 49-year-old Georgia Rascon. The identity of the third person was not disclosed by the coroner.
All Mountainair EMS personnel were then sent home; Only a fourth person was found in the home, and one first responder remained hospitalized.
Fentanyl appears to be the primary culprit, said Steve McLaughlin, chief medical officer of the University of New Mexico hospital.
“Fentanyl is particularly dangerous because only a very small amount is needed to cause an overdose. The smallest possible dose of fentanyl can cause severe symptoms in the exposed person,” McLaughlin said. he told the Albuquerque Journal.
A New Mexico state police spokesman said preliminary evidence did not indicate “actual production” of the drugs occurred at the home. Authorities said no one has been charged in the incident.
The Mountainair police department said it received reports that a person did not show up for work that morning. Another employee visited the home and found four people who had apparently overdosed.
Emergency workers entered the house wearing protective clothing, but were advised to be careful as the cause was thought to be a gas leak.
“This tragedy also highlights the dangers associated with illegal narcotics, particularly fentanyl, and the terrible impact it is causing in communities across our state,” New Mexico state police chief Matt Broom said at a news conference.
“We, as a society, must do everything we can to overcome this pandemic. We owe it to our New Mexican brothers and sisters.”
Fear of accidental exposure to the synthetic drug has led police departments to spend heavily from opioid reimbursement funds on specialized equipment to help protect first responders from the risks of exposure to fentanyl.
But research suggests there is virtually no evidence that law enforcement personnel are at risk of overdose from accidentally touching or inhaling the drug.
Florida has passed a law making it a second-degree felony to cause an overdose or bodily injury to a first responder through exposure to secondhand fentanyl, and similar legislation has been considered by Tennessee and West Virginia. According to NPR.
New Mexico is considered a major drug transit state for distributing fentanyl to major markets across the United States.
