Pitcairn and Monroeville police have saved six lives in three months after both departments equipped all officers with opioid overdose antidote Narcan.

Narcan is used to reverse effects of overdoses of heroin and other opioids in a matter of minutes.

Already used by EMTs and hospitals, the drug is now being carried by police departments.

Heroin and opioid use remains an issue for both Pitcairn and Monroeville, police say.

According to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office, Allegheny County had 305 overdose deaths as of December.

Full data for 2015 aren't available yet, as the medical examiner awaits toxicology reports for some deaths.

According to a report by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Allegheny County had 307 overdose deaths in 2014.

Heroin was present in 191 of those deaths, the majority of those cases. The data showed the majority of those victims were white males.

“Everyone's calling it an epidemic,” said Monroeville police Chief Doug Cole, about heroin.

Cole and Pitcairn police Chief Scott Farally said they are seeing more overdoses in public places such as gas-station and fast-food restaurant bathrooms and cemeteries and in cars.

“They can't wait, they've got to shoot up,” Cole said. “Because of the highways and the easy access to Monroeville they meet here.”

Both police departments were recognized by the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs for equipping officers with Narcan.

Cole and Farally, along with several officers, attended an event March 1 at the state Capitol in Harrisburg.

Pitcairn was the first police department in Western Pennsylvania to equip officers with Narcan, partnering with the Allegheny Health Network and Forbes Hospital.

Farally said his department has seen people who have overdosed and been saved more than once, but there doesn't appear to be a pattern of overdoses as far as location.

“They're sporadic,” he said. “They're not condensed to one area.”

Both Farally and Cole have been EMTs for more than 20 years in addition to being police officers.

Both have had experience using Narcan in that capacity and agree that the rate of heroin and opioid usage has increased in recent years.

“Since my years as a police officer and running as an EMT on the ambulance I have seen that this is probably one of the greatest challenges in the nation,” Farally said.

Cole said he's seen Narcan used more in the past three years than in his entire career.

“I'd say 10-fold,” he said.

The police departments have drawn some criticism for use of Narcan, but both chiefs agree it's a tool to save lives.

Cole said no matter who it is, it's not up to police to decide who's worthy of being saved.

“It's somebody's kid,” Cole said of overdose victims. “You're making a difference in somebody's life.”

Farally said it's not always a drug addict who overdoses — it could be a first-time user.

“Some people say, ‘Well, you shouldn't save the drug addicts,' but it's not always the drug addicts that need us,” Farally said. “From teenage years to elderly years — we see it in all walks of life.”

Emily Balser is a Tribune-Review staff writer. She can be reached at 412-871-2369 or ebalser@tribweb.com.

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