PORT ANGELES –– Port Angeles firefighters are warning there might be extra-potent heroin on the streets after responding to three overdoses within 15 hours Tuesday.
“This makes us concerned about the strength of street drugs that are available,” said Port Angeles Fire Capt. James Mason.
Mason said the hope is that by spreading the word, drug users will be more careful, preventing future overdoses.
None of the three overdoses was fatal, he said. Paramedics used naloxone, a drug that counteracts opioid overdoses, to save their lives.
It’s unusual for there to be three overdoses that close together, Mason said.
There were only three overdoses in June, four in May and one in April.
The number of overdoses per month can fluctuate, he said; in March, firefighters responded to 16 overdoses.
“It just really depends,” Mason said. “We’re trying to be proactive when we see an uptick.”
He said it is possible the heroin might be cut with fentanyl, a strong opioid that is deadly when abused, though a lab test would be required to know for certain.
