Hartford Firefighters Save 136 Lives With Narcan

Hartford firefighters have successfully used the antidote for heroin overdoses, Narcan, 136 times and counting since November. 

Narcan has brought heroin users back to life nearly 80 percent of the time Hartford firefighters have used it, according to the executive officer, Capt. Raul Ortiz. 

"As a firefighter, you're tasked with that responsibility to save lives," he said. "Doesn't matter how we do it. 

Eighty percent of firefighters' calls in Hartford these days are medical. 

"We're getting 2-4 calls every day of overdoses," Ortiz said. 

Narcan's just one more supply line item in the budget and one more tool for them. 

"From high angle rescues to technical rescues, trench rescues, hazardous materials, fires as well as medical calls and motor vehicle extrications, we're all encompassing - we do it all," he said. 

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