By Sean W. Stumbaugh, Battalion Chief (Retired)

The use of mind-altering substances is nothing new. Since the first person left a bowl of grain out in the rain, and then the sun and wild yeast did their thing, humans have had access to beer. Additional intoxicating substances followed through different methods of discovery. How people figured out that the milky substance contained in the un-ripened seed pod of the poppy flower is a powerful drug is beyond me. This drug is opium.

History of opium

Opium use in America is also nothing new. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, a substance called laudanum was very popular. This product was a mixture of 10 percent opium and alcohol. Laudanum was available as an over-the-counter drug. It was basically the aspirin of its time and was recommended for pain relief for many common ailments and for serious diseases such as tuberculosis.

The problem with laudanum is that it is highly addictive due to the opium content. As more people began to develop addictions, doctors began to discourage its use; government regulations restricting access to opioids soon followed.

Today, opium comes in many natural and synthetic forms. Modern pharmaceutical companies have created synthetic opioids (e.g., fentanyl, Dilaudid, Norco), which are much more powerful than their natural cousin. These medications were created to reduce pain and suffering for patients after injury or surgery and for those living with chronic pain.

Opioid abuse and toxicity

The problem is that individuals have a proclivity to abuse these medications and become addicted; take away the prescribed medications and some addicts turn to street drugs out of desperation. Four in five new heroin users start out misusing prescription painkillers. Opioid abuse in the U.S. has become epidemic and many people are dying.

We have seen numerous reports in the past several weeks of law enforcement, firefighters, emergency medical personnel and K9s being exposed to highly toxic opioids.

These exposures come through casual contact such as searching a car for drugs, brushing off a small amount of white powder (following a search in which the officer had used gloves and mask), touching a patient with a synthetic opioid on their person, or inhaling a drug after it was aerosolized from a flash/bang device.

Adverse effects when administering treatment

A patient overdosing on opioids presents inherent risks to first responders. These drugs cause respiratory depression, and first responders often find patients who aren’t breathing. The initial treatment options are to provide ventilation for the patient and administer Narcan (naloxone), if it is available. Naloxone is designed to reverse the effects of the drug.

However, first responders need to know that sometimes when the patient becomes conscious, they are very agitated and can become violent. Also, they may have residue or greater amounts of the drug on their person. First responders need to be aware of these hazards and take appropriate precautions.

Hazardous materials refresher

First responders need to start approaching these incidents with a hazardous materials (hazmat) response mindset. I know it’s not practical for all responders to show up in Level A suits; that’s not what I’m talking about.  

But, we are taught from the beginning of our careers that hazmat calls are uniquely dangerous. Our first responsibility in these situations is to isolate the area and deny further entry of responders or civilians.

Recently, there have been reports about law enforcement officers, firefighters, EMS and K9s being exposed and becoming ill from fentanyl and other opiates through patient contact or contact with the drug by touching a contaminated object.

If this type of exposure occurred at a hazmat call, we would all say a policy or procedure had been violated. This is not about blaming the victim who was exposed, but it is about rethinking first responders’ approach to these lethal substances.

First responders need to re-evaluate their mindset about responding to calls involving illicit drugs. We might need to start viewing them as hazmat calls. In fact, hazmat is defined as “a material or substance that poses a danger to life, property, or the environment if improperly stored, shipped or handled.”

Based on the evidence I believe opioids fit this definition.

Hazmat routes of exposure

There are four routes of exposure for a hazmat:

1. Absorption (through your skin)
2. Inhalation (through your lungs)
3. Ingestion (though your mouth)
4. Injection (by an object like a needle or through force such as liquid under pressure)

All four of these exposure routes are in play when it comes to illicit drugs. It is easy to understand that if you touched a drug with your finger, and then stuck your finger in your mouth, you would suffer an exposure to the drug. Or, if you were stuck by a hypodermic needle that was contaminated, you could be exposed to the drug.  But, what about inhalation? Well, users often snort these materials through a straw, so exposure from breathing in the powder makes sense.

The most surprising exposure route, as noted by recent exposures to fentanyl, is absorption.

The fact that just touching the material, or accidentally getting it on your skin, can cause you to become ill or intoxicated, and even overdose, is what is shocking to me. We need to take this issue seriously and protect ourselves from all routes of exposure.

How can we protect ourselves in a practical way when we encounter overdose calls daily? We need to have a “me first” attitude and use good decision-making, proper procedures and personal protective equipment.

Universal precautions

I joined the fire service in the early 1980s—a time of discovery for bloodborne pathogens. As we encountered new communicable diseases, we realized we were potentially exposed when treating patients. We began training on and using the concepts of Universal Precautions.

Universal Precautions basically means “treat all blood and body fluids as if they were infectious.” We protected our hands with medical exam gloves, our eyes with protective eyewear, and our mouths and noses with medical masks. We didn’t wear masks for every call but we did use them when performing invasive procedures (e.g., intubating a patient’s airway). Many paramedics learned to wear a mask the hard way: by experiencing exposure to blood and other bodily fluids when performing these tasks.

We need to consider approaching drug overdoses, and drug investigations, with these principles in mind. What does this look like?

If these steps sound burdensome, consider that they are common practices in settings such as dental offices. For more guidance, access “Fentanyl: A Briefing Guide for First Responders,” recently released by the DEA.

Review your illicit drug response protocols

When we encounter new hazards in the workplace we need to evaluate the risk and develop new engineering and work practice controls to protect ourselves and our employees.

The new threat of very powerful synthetic opioids, and the severe harm they cause, must be addressed in this manner. It’s difficult and maybe even impractical to avoid these hazards altogether; however, we need to try.

If we can approach opioid overdose calls with a hazardous materials mindset, practice Universal Precautions, and slow down when there is discretionary time, we can reduce the risks and hopefully avoid any further injury. It's about doing our jobs well, serving those we swore to protect—but still going home healthy at the end of the shift. Take care of yourselves and each other out there!

Author Bio

Sean Stumbaugh is a management services representative for Lexipol - an IPSA Supporter. He retired in 2015 after 32 years in the American fire service, serving as battalion chief for the Cosumnes Fire Department in Elk Grove, Calif., as well as the El Dorado Hills (Calif.) Fire Department and the Freedom (Calif.) Fire District. Sean has a master’s degree in Leadership and Disaster Preparedness from Grand Canyon University, a bachelor’s degree in Fire Science from Columbia Southern University, and an associate degree from Cabrillo College in Fire Protection Technology. In addition to his formal education, he is a Certified Fire Officer, Chief Officer, and Instructor III in the California State Fire Training certification program. Sean has taught numerous state fire training courses and has been an adjunct professor with Cosumnes River College in Sacramento. Sean is now continuing his career by serving as the volunteer Para- Chaplain for the Daisy Mountain Fire District in New River, AZ.

Lexipol is  an IPSA Supporter. Lexipol’s policies and training solutions provide essential policies to enhance the safety of first responders in all areas of operations. Contact Lexipol today to find out more.

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