Authorities found fentanyl and methamphetamine at a rural New Mexico home where three people died and multiple emergency responders fell ill after answering a call about suspected overdoses, state police and hospital officials said Friday.
The incident unfolded Wednesday in Mountainair, a small community in Torrance County southeast of Albuquerque. Responders who entered the home began experiencing symptoms that a doctor later described as consistent with fentanyl exposure.
Three people found inside the house died. A fourth occupant of the home and one of the emergency responders remained hospitalized as of Friday, authorities said.
University of New Mexico Hospital Chief Medical Officer Steve McLaughlin said during a news conference in Albuquerque that authorities were operating “under the assumption” that fentanyl was responsible for the responders’ illness. The symptoms ranged from mild to slightly more severe and included nausea and dizziness, McLaughlin said.
“A doctor who saw the responders exhibiting symptoms said their symptoms most closely resembled fentanyl exposure,” McLaughlin told reporters. He added that the investigation into how the exposure happened remained ongoing.
The Associated Press reported that the home was located in a rural county. State police confirmed the presence of both fentanyl and methamphetamine at the scene but did not release additional details Friday about the amounts recovered or the manner in which the drugs contributed to the deaths.
The incident is the latest in a series of mass-casualty overdose events that have drawn attention to the potency of synthetic opioids and the risks they pose to first responders who arrive at scenes where the substances are present. Emergency personnel across the country have increasingly carried naloxone and other overdose-reversal medications as standard equipment, and many departments have updated exposure protocols in response to the rise of fentanyl.
Authorities did not identify the three people who died, nor did they name the hospitalized occupant or the injured responder, pending notification of family members and the ongoing investigation.