Quick thinking emergency crews and bystanders are being credited with reversing two opioid overdoses, minutes apart, at the same apartment building in Tillsonburg.
Oxford OPP were called about a 21-year-old man in medical distress around 5:37 p.m. on Sunday. When officers arrived, paramedics were already caring for the man, who was quickly taken to hospital.
According to police, another man inside the apartment had given the 21-year-old two doses of naloxone to counteract the effects of the overdose before emergency crews got there.
Roughly five minutes later, police received a second call at the same address about a 29-year-old man who was also in medical distress. Officers determined the man was suffering from a suspected opioid overdose and administered two doses of naloxone and began CPR.
The man was then taken to hospital for further treatment.
"Not only were officers and paramedics attending this address able to quickly identify an opioid overdose, a resident also observed the signs and immediately administered naloxone prior to emergency services arriving. When someone is overdosing, minutes can make the difference between life and death," Inspector Tony Hymers said in a statement.
The Tillsonburg overdoses came just one day after police in Woodstock issued a warning about a significant number of overdoses in the city relating to an extremely toxic form of fentanyl found over the course of 48 hours.
The highly potent fentanyl is described as green or blue in colour and appears to be causing immediate overdoses, police said.
