Officials revealed Friday that both fentanyl and methamphetamine were discovered inside a residence where emergency personnel became ill while responding to a suspected overdose incident in a rural New Mexico county.
Three individuals discovered inside the residence on Wednesday lost their lives. A fourth person who was present in the home and one emergency worker who fell ill remained hospitalized as of Friday.
A physician who examined the responders displaying symptoms such as nausea and dizziness determined their condition most closely matched fentanyl exposure. The investigation into the method and cause of the exposure continues.
During a press conference in Albuquerque, University of New Mexico Hospital Chief Medical Officer Steve McLaughlin stated that officials were operating “under the assumption” that fentanyl caused the illness. He described the responders’ symptoms as ranging from mild to moderately severe.
“It’s probably not absorbed through your skin, but it would be absorbed through your eyes, nose, mucous membranes, or if you inhale it,” McLaughlin explained to The Associated Press.
Officials noted during Friday’s briefing that methamphetamine poses notorious toxicity risks upon exposure, while fentanyl presents less danger. The responders who became sick had provided direct medical care to the individuals discovered inside the house located east of Albuquerque, in the rural community of Mountainair.
Over a dozen emergency personnel underwent quarantine and decontamination procedures following their response to the location.
Among the two individuals still receiving hospital treatment Friday, one was discovered unconscious in the residence where the three fatalities occurred. Officials reported receiving the initial call from a coworker of one of the people inside after they failed to appear for work.
New Mexico State Police Chief Matt Broom stated that investigators found no immediate evidence suggesting drug manufacturing operations within the house.
State police announced early in the investigation that no public danger existed and that the unidentified substance was not believed to be airborne.
Officials identified two victims Friday as Mika Rascon, 51, and Georgia Rascon, 49. The third deceased person’s identity remains unreleased, and the cause and manner of all three deaths await determination.
Recorded communications from the Torrance County Fire Dispatch channel on Broadcastify revealed that responders initially received a report about a 60-year-old man who was unconscious but breathing.
Minutes later, a dispatcher announced the presence of three additional people at the location, with two possibly not breathing. Emergency personnel then requested naloxone, the medication used to reverse opioid overdoses. Officials confirmed that naloxone successfully revived one person.
Within an hour of the original emergency call, the dispatch center reported multiple exposures had occurred.
Several emergency responders developed symptoms including coughing, vomiting and dizziness, according to authorities. Hospital officials noted that most responders experienced no symptoms.
Research evidence indicates that fentanyl, a powerful opioid, does not typically cause overdoses through casual skin contact or brief airborne exposure in standard field conditions. Medical experts explain that overdoses require substantial ingestion, injection or inhalation of the drug.
Local residents in Mountainair, a community of fewer than 1,000 people, have expressed concerns about drug use affecting their area and surrounding regions.
According to the most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, New Mexico ranked fourth nationally for drug overdose death rates in 2024, recording 775 fatalities.
