CAMDEN — It may never be known to police what caused two people to fall almost lifeless Wednesday evening, March 30, in the driveway of a Mountain Street house. And in one sense, it doesn’t matter: Police arrived, noted cardiopulmonary emergencies, hooked up the AED, administered Narcan, and with the help of five Camden firefighters, spent more than 40 minutes doing CPR on one of them in an effort to save a young woman’s life.

Two North East Mobile Health ambulance crews  also arrived, and applied their own life-saving measures, running medications through IVs and transporting them to the hospital. 

The first responder system worked seamlessly, because the police officers and firefighters are trained in immediate emergency care protocol.

A day later, though, they are left wondering, what caused the incident in the first place? And because of federal health privacy laws (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), they may never know, unless there are resulting charges and toxicology reports.

At approximately 9:30 p.m., March 30, Camden Police Sgt. Wes Butler was directed by Knox Regional Communications Center dispatch to a home for a possible code, which is the term used for a suspected death. When he got there, no one was at the house. Off to the side, a pickup truck was parked in the driveway with the passenger door ajar.

Was the person unconscious in the vehicle, he asked himself.

But when he got to the other side of the truck, he discovered not one, but two people on the ground. A male, age 38, and a female, age 25. Both were unconscious; the male was exhibiting agonal breathing, which happens when the brain is not getting enough oxygen and the body struggles to survive.

The female had no pulse.

Butler immediately grabbed Narcan from his duty bag, delivering it to both victims via nasal spray.

Narcan is the trade name for naloxone, an opioid antagonist, which attaches to opioid receptors and reverses the effects of opioids. Naloxone can restore normal breathing to a person if their breathing has slowed or stopped because of an opioid overdose. 

It is the common emergency response remedy when overdoses of heroin, fentanyl, oxycodone, and morphine are suspected, and police regularly carry it. It is considered harmless to anyone without opioids in the body.

Camden Police Officer Mark Bennett arrived with an AED and more Narcan, and the ambulance crews were on their way, followed by the firefighters. Bennett started CPR on the female, while the male was given another dose of Narcan.

North East Mobile Health Services crews included Lina Wallace, Paramedic & Donna Weare, Advanced EMT and the second was staffed by Steve Barley, Paramedic and Wesley McKenna, EMT. 
 

Rockport Police Officer Antonio Del Vecchio sped over from Rockport and joined in the CPR, and when the firefighters — Assistant Fire Chief Andrew Lowe, Matt Heath, Jack Orestis, Todd Anderson, Andrew Skrivanich and Earl Holt — arrived, they, too, took turns in doing compressions to get the woman’s heart beating, relieving each other every six or seven minutes.

The call had arrived at Knox RCC via a fourth party, and that’s where the trail went cold. Sgt. Butler had no more clues as to what caused the two adults to collapse on the ground. But it was clearly something that affected their hearts and their breathing. Both were fading.

“We are assuming it was something drug related,” said Butler.

Four people — two North East Ambulance crewmembers, along with Orestis and Heath — climbed into the back of one ambulance with the female, continuing the CPR, while Assistant Fire Chief Lowe drove the ambulance to the hospital.

Another ambulance transported the male to the hospital.

After the victims entered the emergency department, their medical status dropped behind the veil of HIPAA. But the police did learn, as of 4 p.m., March 31, that both were still alive. The female had been transported to Maine Medical Center in Portland.

The male was treated and released from Pen Bay Medical Center and was walking around town today, police said. 

Meanwhile, Rockport Police Officer Celjeta Bixhaku had just two days prior administered Narcan to another possible code victim on Beech Hill Road in Rockport. She was assisted by Camden Officer Paul Thompson, who sped over from Camden. Bixhaku quickly gave the victim –  this time it was verified as a fentanyl overdose — a dose of Narcan and saved the man’s life.

He, too, was up and walking around the next day.

But not everyone lives. A month ago in another Camden neighborhood, the call of a possible code circulated, and despite Narcan and CPR, she did not survive.

What drives these calls, police ask themselves. Drugs, most likely, but can’t say for certain without evidence. Was it a lethal batch of fentanyl? Deadly counterfeit pills? It is hard to determine unless a case grows from the circumstances, and charges are filed. 

So, they respond as best they can, and as they are trained to do: Administer emergency care, call for advanced medical care, and work as a team to save lives. 

What happened on Mountain Street was not the first time local police and firefighters have tackled a traumatic scene that requires a concerted effort, and they again rose to the occasion.

“We work well together,” Butler said, simply.

Reach Editorial Director Lynda Clancy at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com; 207-706-6657