HARTFORD — City and state agencies said they’re treating the scene of an apparent fatal drug overdose as a serious hazardous materials situation, shutting down a street not far from Goodwin Park.
An ambulance and fire engine were dispatched to 127-129 Freeman Street at 3:30 a.m. for a medical call. They quickly determined the person was dead, and firefighters cleared the scene.
It was later determined the scene was contaminated with an unknown quantity of fentanyl, a powerful opiate often mixed with heroin and responsible for numerous overdose deaths. Because of it’s potency and easy, quick absorption by the body, the DEA has determined that fentanyl exposure is a “real danger” for first responders.
The original responders have been decontaminated and show no ill effects. Hartford police and firefighters, along with members of the federal Drug Enforcement Agency and the state Department of Energy & Environmental Protection, then entered the property in “class B” hazmat suits to evaluate and decontaminate the property as necessary.
