Chelsea Fire Trucks Start Carrying Overdose Antidote, Woman Revived 8 Hours Later
CHELSEA (CBS) -- Fire trucks in Chelsea started carrying a drug overdose antidote this week, and not a moment too soon.
The fire department tweeted Monday night that all engines were now stocked with Narcan, which can reverse the effects of opioids.
Only eight hours later, the department said it had to use that Narcan to save a woman's life.
Less than 8 hours after placing Narcan on our trucks, E3 successfully revived a female patient last night.
— Chelsea FFs L-937 (@FDChelseaMA) December 8, 2015
The Chelsea Record reported last month that the city was setting aside $120,000 for the Narcan program. The newspaper said Chelsea had been behind other cities like Everett and Revere in supplying police and fire units with the antidote.
"Given the extent of the opioid addiction problem in this community, I have pressed hard for our first responders to carry this important drug," City Manager Tom Ambrosino said.
In 2014, there were 1,256 opioid overdose deaths in Massachusetts.