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2018 Annual Report • Fire Department • St. Anthony Village, Minnesota <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />35 | P a g e <br /> <br />Beyond the fire and traffic accident calls, our fire department also responds on medical <br />emergencies. While this city is very fortunate to not deal with the national opioid crisis as often <br />as many of our neighboring communities, it is something we run into from time to time. And <br />with the increase of fentanyl laced heroin, or abuse of prescription opioid painkillers, narcotic <br />related overdoses are becoming more and more lethal as time progresses. Common causes of <br />mortality related to opioid overdose are related to a decrease in respiratory drive to where the <br />patient stops breathing entirely. Opioids work by attaching to receptors in the brain that, while <br />in small doses can help people with pain, in moderate doses provide those who abuse it with a <br />euphoric feeling, and in greater doses will stop breathing and ultimately become fatal if that <br />person doesn’t receive immediate medical attention. The brain has approximately 6 minutes <br />without breathing before it starts to die. <br />Fortunately, it’s fairly uncommon for acute organ damage due to the drug overdose itself. Due <br />to that fact, prior to having Naloxone Hydrochloride <br />(commonly referred to as Narcan), treatments consisted of <br />assisting the unconscious individual with ventilations. <br />This is done by placing an airway support device that <br />keeps the patient’s airway open, which often becomes <br />occluded by the patient’s tongue while they’re <br />unconscious. Then with a bag valve mask, a large balloon <br />shaped object that is squeezed to push air into the lungs, <br />firefighters ventilate, or breathe, for the patient. Since the <br />primary obstacle in dealing with opioid overdoses is a <br />patient who isn’t breathing, this action could theoretically <br />be sustained until the effects of the drugs wear off. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Figure 3 Syringe and nasal atomizer used to <br />spray Narcan. Water was used in this demo.