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Ohio paramedic treated with naloxone for apparent drug exposure while driving patient to hospital

Posted at 7:58 AM, Nov 13, 2017
and last updated 2017-11-13 07:58:36-05

An Ohio firefighter-paramedic driving an overdose patient to the hospital needed rescue himself.

Fairborn Fire Department officials say the man wasn't seeing or feeling right, and his partner jumped to the front to stop the ambulance Thursday evening. The partner then administered the overdose-reversing drug naloxone, and he drove the firefighter-paramedic and the woman they had been transporting to a hospital in Beavercreek southwest Ohio.

Authorities say both recovered. They haven't released their names.

Increased use of powerful synthetic opioids in Ohio and other states has heightened risks for police and firefighters who can be inadvertently contaminated when responding to drug overdoses.

Fairborn Police Capt. Terry Bennington says the woman who overdosed could face charges, depending on the results of police investigation into what caused the firefighter's apparent overdose.