The Lake Township fire has had to administer Narcan 15 times in 2023 alone, Firefighter Becky Rosebrock said.
MILLBURRY, Ohio — Narcan, the nasal spray also known as naloxone, which can be used in an overdose, hasn’t always been easy for people to get.
In Lucas County, Narcan kits can be purchased from the Toledo Fire Rescue Department, the Sylvania Fire Department, and the City of Springfield Fire Department.
But in Wood County, The fire department of the village of Ozory becomes the first fire department in Wood County to offer free Narcan kits.
Becky Rosebrock, risk reduction coordinator for Lake Township, said the community needs the kits. According to her, in 2023 alone, fires in Lake Township had to be treated with Narcan 15 times.
Rosebrock said the fire department used Narcan 21 times in 2022.
That’s why the department is now part of a statewide overdose prevention program called DAWN project — Avoiding Naloxone Deaths — Making Narcan Kits Publicly Available.
“We’ve heard stories and countless times we’ve heard of people who have been drugged five, six, seven, even 10 times. But they’re here,” Todd Crandell, founder of the Lucas County-based nonprofit Racing. for recovery, said.
Crandell, who previously struggled with addiction himself, called Narcan a “second-chance drug.”
He said it’s a way to save someone’s life and help them find a new way to be sober, especially as more and more medications are being spiked with fentanyl.
“We’ve had quite a few runs recently where people thought they were just buying crushed Percocet. It turns out that the crushed Percocet they were buying was laced with fentanyl,” Rosebrock said.
Each kit offered by Lake Township fire contains two doses of Narcan nasal spray.
It can be used to reverse an overdose and works in most cases, but not all.
“The message is definitely don’t keep using drugs and Narcan can save you,” Crandell said. “The message is that we have this life-saving drug that can give you a second chance to never use drugs or alcohol again.”
Rozbrock added that she wants people to know that Narcan is not addictive and should only be used in emergencies, not as something people rely on.
For information on how to get a free Narcan kit, Click here.
https://www.wtol.com/article/news/local/lake-twp-fire-dept-free-narcan-kits/512-eab9443b-3a74-4b46-8de6-a3f7936eb892
