City Times Staff

A Wood County Sheriff’s deputy became the first in the department to save a life using Narcan earlier today.

According to a Wood County Sheriff’s news release, at approximately 6:06 a.m. a 911 call was received concerning a man suffering the effects of an overdose inside his vehicle at the Food Tree gas station in the Town of Rudolph. Deputies responded, with the help of United Ambulance Service and the Rudolph Fire Department.

Once they arrived, deputies observed a civilian performing CPR on the victim. Deputies suspected a heroin overdose, and immediately administered Narcan.  A second dose of Narcan was administered intravenously by personnel from the Rudolph Fire Department and United Ambulance Service.

The 25-year-old man regained consciousness within 10 minutes and was transferred to Riverview Hospital where he was treated and released.

This incident marks the first time Wood County Sheriff’s deputies have used Narcan to successfully reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

In 2016, Sheriff Reichert made the decision to become the first law enforcement agency in Wood County to equip personnel with Narcan. Deputies are trained on how to administer Narcan and have been equipped with the medication since 2016.