BRINNON — Four individuals are suspected to have overdosed in the Jupiter Road area of Brinnon, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said.
An infant located at the scene was taken by deputies into protective custody and transferred to Child Protective Services on Tuesday morning. All four subjects were transported to area hospitals late Monday night, Jefferson County Sheriff Office’s Patrol Sgt. Brett Anglin said.
“This would be the first time in my career that I’ve encountered a situation such as this with so many people showing the effects of overdose,” Anglin said.
A call about a possible overdose of an 18-year-old woman was received by dispatchers at 11:37 p.m. Monday, Anglin said.
Shortly after the call, dispatchers relayed that bystander CPR, with telephone support from dispatchers, was being performed on the person as they were unconscious, Anglin said.
“While units were in route, it appeared additional people became unconscious,” Anglin said.
Four people were presumed to have overdosed, Anglin said. In addition to the 18-year-old woman, a 21-year-old man, a 21-year-old woman and a 48-year-old man were treated.
Three individuals were unconscious when responders arrived. One revived quickly with Narcan, while two required CPR and multiple doses of Narcan. A fourth person began to fade but never fully lost consciousness. They also were revived with Narcan, Brinnon Fire Chief Tim Manly said.
Five others were at the scene besides the four treated. One fled out the back door when responders arrived, prompting a search of the woods, Manly said. The other four were evaluated and cleared at the scene, he said.
The Brinnon Fire Department was the first agency on the scene.
Because of the number of individuals, Brinnon Fire declared a mass casualty incident and alerted Jefferson Healthcare, Mason General and St. Michael’s hospitals, although no individuals were ultimately taken to St. Michael’s, Manly said.
Brinnon Fire was assisted by mutual aid partners from Quilcene Fire Rescue, Mason Central Fire and EMS, Manly said. Medevacs from Airlift Northwest were placed on standby.
When deputies arrived 15 minutes later, they helped administer additional doses of Narcan, Anglin said.
“Several subjects had needed several doses to somewhat regain consciousness,” he said. “From the investigation on the scene, it is believed that subjects had arrived on scene and gone unconscious shortly after arriving.”
Two individuals were taken to Jefferson Healthcare by East Jefferson Fire Rescue and two were taken to Mason General Hospital by Central Mason Fire & EMS, Manly said.
By the time deputies arrived, there was no evidence of drugs, but Anglin said it was evident that it had occurred at some point.
The overdoses more than likely were caused by fentanyl, he said.
“I am not a medical professional, but based on my training and experience, all of the subjects had regained consciousness shortly after being administered Narcan, specifically numerous doses of Narcan, which is consistent with the use of opiates,” he said.
Street-level narcotics are not controlled, and their potency is highly variable, Anglin said.
“When someone is used to taking a certain amount of drugs and then the potency increases, we typically see situations like this,” he said.
It also is common that fentanyl is added to recreational drugs, Anglin added.
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Reporter Elijah Sussman can be reached by email at elijah.sussman@peninsuladailynews.com.
