Portland firefighters used naloxone to rescue a 15-month-old girl who appears to have overdosed after possibly putting a piece of opiate-contaminated tin foil in her mouth while in a Safeway parking lot on Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard Friday night, officials said Monday.
The child survived after a bystander with medical training found her unresponsive and not breathing and started performing CPR, said Rick Graves, a Portland Fire & Rescue spokesperson.
Graves could not confirm what drug was on the tin foil, but said first responders suspected it was fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that is about 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine.
The bystander, whom Graves could not identify, found the child not breathing in the parking garage on Southeast 27th Avenue and Hawthorne Boulevard shortly before 5:30 p.m. and took her upstairs to begin CPR. Firefighters responded several minutes later, believing the child was experiencing “simple respiratory distress leading to potential cardiac arrest” until the bystander told them he had seen the child spitting up what appeared to be aluminum foil.
The bystander retrieved the small, crumpled piece of foil, which had the “classic fentanyl look,” Graves said. The child started breathing again after a Portland Fire & Rescue paramedic treated her with naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal drug.
Fire officials notified the Portland Police Bureau after they went to the underground level of the parking garage to investigate and spotted drug paraphernalia inside the child’s parents’ vehicle, Graves said.
Portland police officers arrived at the scene about 5:45 p.m. and searched the car, where they found drugs, foil, drug paraphernalia, scales and torches, said police spokesperson Mike Benner. The child’s parents, whom Benner did not identify, remained at the scene and are cooperating with the investigation. Neither has been arrested, Benner said.
Portland police notified the Oregon Department of Human Services, Benner said.
A 3-year-old and two 1-year-olds overdosed in June after coming in contact with fentanyl in their homes, according to the Police Bureau. The string of overdoses in young children was unprecedented in the city’s recent history, said Capt. Jake Jensen of the bureau’s Specialized Resources Division, which includes the Narcotics and Organized Crime Unit.
“Often these pills and powder are brightly colored, which means they can easily be mistaken for candy and accidentally eaten by a young child,” Jensen said that month. “Because children’s bodies are smaller than adults, even the tiniest amount of residue can kill.”
Portland firefighters responded about three months ago to a child who was found unresponsive inside a home on Southeast 134th Street and Foster Boulevard. One of the firefighters was kneeling by the child when they lifted their knee and found a blue fentanyl pill underneath their leg. The child awoke after a firefighter administered naloxone, Graves said.
Friday’s rescue, along with increasing fentanyl overdoses citywide, are taking a toll on Portland firefighters – especially those who have children, Graves said.
“They’re getting crushed, demoralized, saddened and distancing themselves just to protect themselves,” Graves said. “One of the crew members is affected mentally as a result of the stress of the scene because the child reminded them of a child of their own. It’s having an effect on our entire workforce.”
