NORTHAMPTON — Northampton police issued a public health notice Saturday after emergency crews responded to six overdoses within 24 hours.
In a Facebook post Saturday, the department wrote that five of the overdoses were due to heroin. The post said the police and fire departments used the drug Narcan, which temporarily blocks the effects of an overdose, to revive some of the patients.
“For those of you with family or friends who struggle with addiction, please be aware that this very dangerous batch of heroin is in our community,” the post reads.
Detective Brendan McKinney said Sunday afternoon the department had not received any additional overdose calls since the Saturday Facebook post.
The drug’s path into the community is still under investigation. Information about the conditions of the six patients was unavailable Sunday.
The department also directed anyone who has an addiction problem or knows someone who does to visit HampshireHOPE.org, which has information on case management, medication-assisted treatment, hotlines, recovery support, detox programs, Narcan training and overdose prevention.
Jack Suntrup can be reached at jsuntrup@gazettenet.com.