By Peter Francis
The Eagle-Tribune
HAVERHILL, Mass. — Five first responders who were transported to a local hospital after falling ill while investigating an unattended death Wednesday afternoon were treated, released and had returned to work later in the day.
Andrew Gourdeau, a next-door neighbor to the deceased, said investigators at the scene told him the first responders had been exposed to fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that is 100 times stronger than heroin that can be absorbed through the skin.
When asked if fentanyl exposure was the cause of the first responders’ hospitalization, Haverhill Fire Chief William Laliberty said he “couldn’t confirm nor rule it out.”
First responders received a 911 call about an unresponsive man at 6 Anna St. about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Attempts to revive the 39-year-old man were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead, according to Carrie Kimball-Monahan, spokeswoman for Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett. She added that a state police detective assigned to the DA’s office determined that no foul play was suspected. The cause of death is still under investigation.
Kimball-Monahan said the man’s death is not believed to be connected to the source of the illness.
Little is known about the deceased man at this time, but Laliberty said he believes he had a wife and two kids.
While waiting for a medical examiner to arrive, five first responders fell ill inside the home and were rushed to a nearby hospital, which Laliberty believed to be Merrimack Valley Hospital in Haverhill.
The state fire marshal’s hazmat unit arrived shortly thereafter to determine the cause of the illness. They remained well into the afternoon Wednesday.
The other half of the duplex at 6 Anna St. was evacuated.
The neighbor, Gourdeau, has lived in the Anna Street duplex with his wife and two children since 2004 said he never felt anything in the air that made him feel ill Wednesday.
Gourdeau was doing yard work at 10 a.m. Wednesday when authorities arrived. He wasn’t allowed inside his home until early last night, and was unable to get to his job at a local limousine company.
He said investigators at the scene told him first responders had been exposed to fentanyl.
Gourdeau said the deceased man had only been living in the next door unit for five or six months with his wife and two children.
“He was paranoid. He had cameras up around the house,” said Gourdeau, adding that police have been to the man’s unit in the duplex several times over the last four or five weeks.
“He had people coming in and out. He said he owned a business,” said Gourdeau of the deceased neighbor.
Gourdeau’s daughter Samantha was out with a friend getting her haircut when authorities arrived at the duplex. Said she got back to the house around noon and then found out first responders had gotten sick.
Around 6 p.m., Laliberty addressed the media at the corner of Anna and Eudora Streets, and reported the five first responders who fell ill had been released from the hospital.
“They have returned to work,” said Laliberty, adding that nothing in the home was identified as the potential source of their illnesses. “We don’t know what made them sick.”
Haverhill’s fire chief said the first responders said they felt light headed and hot.
Whatever it was that made the first responders ill, Laliberty said it seemed to have dissipated, adding he’s “pretty sure there is nothing left in the building that will cause health problems.”
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