WASHINGTONVILLE – Washingtonville Police and Blooming Grove EMS members had to be treated as a precaution at Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital in Newburgh on Saturday over a concern that they might have been exposed to deadly fentanyl.
Those two police officers and five EMS workers responded at about 5:45 p.m. to a report of a man in cardiac arrest in a residence on Burnett Way.
As they were performing lifesaving efforts, they discovered a suspicious white powder nearby.
Out of a precaution that the powder could be fentanyl or another dangerous substance, the residence was evacuated.
The 36-year-old patient was transported by Blooming Grove EMS to the same hospital in critical condition. He later died.
Due to the potential inhalation exposure of the seven first responders, they were medically evaluated at the scene. Several of them started to experience different types of mild symptoms and out of precaution were all evaluated in the emergency room.
They have since been medically discharged.
Washingtonville Police obtained a search warrant to the residence and were assisted by State Police whose Contaminated Crime Scene Emergency Response Team was deployed to assist in identifying the substance and to make sure the residence was safe to enter.
Police said there is no known threat to public safety and the case remains an active criminal investigation.
